We love seeing what you made! Tag us on Instagram at @afamilyfeast or hashtag #afamilyfeast so we can see your creations!
Chicken a la King
Chicken a la King has tender chunks of chicken, mushrooms, and vegetables in a rich and creamy sauce, served in a puff pastry shell – just like Grandma used to make!
Ingredients
5 cups cooked* chicken meat (use already cooked rotisserie chicken, or if poaching the chicken from scratch, buy ingredients below)
*If cooking a chicken from scratch
1 4-5 pound whole chicken with neck
1 onion peeled and quartered
2 stalks celery coarsely cut up
2 carrots coarsely cut up
2 cloves garlic crushed
1/2 bunch fresh parsley
2 teaspoons kosher salt
6 black peppercorns
2 bay leaves
For the 'a la King'
2 boxes frozen puff pastry shells (6 per box)
2 cups (approximately 2 ounces) dried sliced mushrooms such as Shiitake or Cremini (now carried in most supermarkets or you can order online here)
2 cups boiling water
10 tablespoons butter, divided
1 8-ounce package fresh mushrooms such as white button or Cremini, sliced
1 cup onion, diced
1 1/2 cups leeks, diced (whites only, cleaned of sand)
1/2 cup dry sherry
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 pint heavy cream (2 cups), heated
1 pint whole milk (2 cups), heated
2 egg yolks
1-2 teaspoons kosher salt (start with one then add more at end as needed)
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard powder
2 cups frozen peas, thawed
1 8-ounce jar chopped pimentos, well drained
Instructions
- If making the chicken from scratch, place whole chicken in large stock pot along with neck, onion, celery, carrots, garlic, parsley, salt, peppercorns and bay leaves and cover with water. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer and cook two hours. Strain stock to be frozen or used in other recipes. Pick meat from chicken and discard remaining solids. Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces and refrigerate until needed. Should yield about five cups.
- If using cooked rotisserie chicken, remove meat from bones and refrigerate until needed.
- Bake the pastry shells according to the box directions and set aside. They bake at 425 degrees F for 18-20 minutes. Once cooled, poke out top and discard. Or serve on top after ladling in the finished a la King.
- Place two cups of dried mushrooms in a small glass or metal bowl and cover with two cups of boiling water. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit 30 minutes while you prepare the other ingredients. After at least 30 minutes, strain and discard liquid. Once cool enough to handle, grab handfuls of the now reconstituted mushrooms and squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Set aside for next step.
- In a medium to large Dutch oven or nonstick pot, heat 4 tablespoons of butter over high heat. Once melted, add the squeezed-out sliced dried mushrooms along with sliced fresh mushrooms and saute for 8-10 minutes until nicely browned but not starting to stick and burn. Remove to a bowl.
- Reduce heat to medium high and add the remaining 6 tablespoons of butter and once melted, add the onions and leeks and saute for three minutes.
- After three minutes add the sherry and lemon juice and deglaze the pan. Once the liquid has evaporated, lower heat to medium and add the flour and stir to combine. Cook this mixture for three minutes. Whisk in the heated cream and heated milk after the three minutes.
- Place the two egg yolks into a medium bowl and slowly whisk in about two cups of the cream mixture, being careful to add slowly. This is called tempering the eggs.
- Whisk the tempered eggs back into the mixture. Keep the heat on medium and never let it come to a bubble.
- Stir in the salt, pepper, nutmeg, mustard powder, peas and pimentos along with the cooked chicken and cooked mushrooms.
- Stir and once hot, remove from heat and taste. At this point, add more salt if needed.
- Serve in and over the baked pastry shells.
Last Step! Please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.
Notes
Cooking time listed assumes you will be cooking a chicken from scratch.
Find it online: https://www.afamilyfeast.com/chicken-a-la-king/
