Chicken Balmoral pie recipe | Sainsbury`s Magazine (2024)

Chicken, bacon, haggis and whisky – the perfect combination for a richly decadent celebration pie

Sarah Akhurst

Our Food Director Sarah is a food obsessive, and spends most of her time scoping out the latest food trends, experimenting in her own kitchen, or making her family wait to eat while she photographs every dinner she makes for the 'gram! A complete Middle Eastern food junkie, she is never far from a good shawarma marinade, a pinch of Aleppo chilli or a sprig of dill

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Ingredients

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Step by step

1. Put the chicken in a large stock pot with the carrot, onion and peppercorns. Cover with cold water and bring to the boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover and poach the chicken for 1 hour. Remove the chicken to a board and set aside. Bring the stock back to the boil and continue to boil for 15-20 minutes or until reduced by half. Strain to remove the vegetables and peppercorns and measure out 500ml in readiness for the sauce. Set aside.
2. HHeat half of the butter in a large saucepan and fry the bacon and haggis for 4-5 minutes, or until starting to crisp up. Try not to move the haggis around too much or it will crumble. Remove to a plate with a slotted spoon, then add the remaining butter to the pan. Fry the leeks, garlic and rosemary on a low heat for 10 minutes, or until very soft.
3. Sprinkle in the flour and cook out for a couple of minutes, then slowly add the 500ml chicken poaching stock, whisking as you add it to prevent any lumps forming. Add the cream, whisky and mustard, then bring to a simmer and cook for 6-8 minutes or until thickened to a sauce-like consistency. Remove from the heat and season well.
4. Discard the skin from the chicken and strip off all the meat. Shred into chunky pieces and add to the sauce along with the bacon and haggis. Transfer to a pie dish and cool completely.
5. Preheat the oven to 200°C, fan 180°C, gas 6. Unroll the pastry and use to cover the pie dish, trimming then crimping the edges to seal. Brush with the beaten egg, make a steam hole in the lid, then bake on a tray for 30-35 minutes, or until crisp and golden brown.
6. For the mash, put the potatoes and swede in two separate pans of cold water and bring to the boil. Simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until tender – the swede may take a bit longer to cook. Drain and combine in one pan, add the butter and milk and mash until smooth. Season to taste and serve with the pie.