Personal Grilled Chicken Pot Pie Soups

Stuff You Need

• 1 pie crust (this is enough for 3 soups)
• 3 bone-in, skin-removed chicken thighs
• 1.5 cups frozen mixed vegetables
• 3 stalks celery, 1/2″ sliced
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 2 cups whole milk
• 1 large Vidalia onion, diced
• 1 can (10.5 oz) cream of chicken soup
• Salt & pepper to taste
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 1 egg for egg wash for pie crust

Buy Bone-in, Skin on Thighs

Take thighs out of packaging and pat dry – in total I used 3 bone-in, skin-on thighs.

Season the skin and meat side with salt + pepper + garlic – you could use your favorite SPG rub or make this one.

In a bowl combine:

• 2 tbsp diamond crystal kosher salt
• 1 tbsp granulated garlic
• 1/2 tbsp black pepper

This is enough for 3-5 chicken thighs.

Get Your Grill to 300-325F for Direct Heat BBQ

The idea here is to elevate the meat above the hot coals so that it doesn’t burn.

Any grill can work but I used my charcoal grill with an elevated grill grate.

Place chicken thighs skin side down for 1 hour.

After 1 Hour, Flip the Chicken Thighs

At this stage for this recipe, I peel the skin off to expose the meat.

The skin is really just a snack but you could opt to cut it up to add it into the soup later but it’ll just go soggy.

When you peel it off, leave the skin inside the grill away from the heat – all the fat under the skin should be rendered but leaving it in the grill will allow it to dehydrate and harden.

Allow the chicken thighs to grill for 30 minutes on this side.

After 30 minutes, flip back to the skin side (the side you removed the skin from) – and allow to grill for 30 more minutes.

All sides should be deeply browned.

Take Off the Grill When ALL Chicken thighs are 200F+ Internal and Rest for 5-10 Minutes

Going this high ensures the meat is fall-off-the-bone tender.

Don’t worry about drying the meat out – chicken thighs aren’t white meat and are filled with collagen.

Meaning they’ll taste better when cooked to this high of a temperature.

We’re also adding them back to a liquid, which ensures they’re not dry.

Take off the grill and allow to cool for ~10 minutes.

Then remove the bone and shred the meat and set aside for when you make your soup.

Make the Pot Pie Filling

Take 3 celery stalks, remove ends and slice into 1/2″ pieces.

Take a large vidalia onion and dice.

To a large pot add ~1-2 tbsp of EVOO or similar neutral oil, add the onion and celery and allow to saute over medium heat for ~3-4 minutes – season with salt and pepper to taste.

Add your frozen mixed veggies and allow to reheat and cook down for ~5 more minutes.

Everything in the pot should have some color/browning and smell fragrant.

Then add:

• 2 cups chicken broth
• 2 cups whole milk
• 1 can (10.5 oz) cream of chicken
• All your shredded chicken
• 1/2 tsp dehydrated thyme

Mix and then bring to a slight boil and reduce to a simmer.

I allowed this to simmer for ~20 minutes before it was at the consistency I like; You can adjust your simmer time based on how viscous you want the soup.

Prepare the Pie Crust

Flour a work surface and then place you prepared pie crust on top.

Use a rolling pin to thin it out so that you can use it for ~3 onion soup bowls or for a number of ramekins.

Take you bowl and invert on the pie crust and use a knife to outline so that it’s slightly larger than the bowl.

In a bowl whisk 1 egg and a splash of water to make the egg wash.

Assemble and Bake the Pot Pies

Preheat your oven to 400F.

Ladle your pot pie soup mixture into your bowls – I used 3 (22.5oz) onion soup bowls. Regardless of what you use, ensure you fill the bowls up to around 3/4″ from the top.

If the bowls aren’t full the pie crust will fall in on itself.

Cover the bowls with your pie crusts and either crimp the edges with your fingers or use a fork to press down to seal.

Use your knife to cut a small hole in the top to vent.

Use a basting brush and lightly apply your egg wash to the pie crust.

Put the bowls on a baking sheet to catch any bubbling and bake for ~30 minutes until the pie crust is a golden brown.

Then allow to cool for ~10-15 minutes and enjoy.