Chicken Under Biscuit

Some time in 2001, I returned to the casseroles and hot dish of my childhood, to share them with my then-boyfriend who had never had any such thing. I cooked them for several years, but stopped sometime after my son was born but before my daughter was born. I've started in again, with this one, because they are so tasty.

The changes I make to these kinds of dishes are straightforward: add vegetables/reduce the meat, add worcestershire sauce and hot sauce, reduce the sodium (so pick a low sodium chicken broth, and use oil instead of salted butter or shortening) and remove all dairy products.

Based on the Beth Kidder cookbook, The Milk-Free Kitchen.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Grease a 2 quart casserole. Start the biscuit dough, but don't prep the cast iron dish, skip the sesame seeds and don't add the liquid yet.

2 Tbsp fat (margarine, oil, lard, bacon drippings all work just fine. Think roux.)
1 Tbsp minced onion
1 clove diced garlic
2 Cups sliced mushrooms, carrots, celery, bell pepper, frozen peas, etc.
3 Tbsp flour
1 1/2 Cups chicken broth
2 Cups cooked chicken
fresh ground pepper
Worcestershire sauce
hot sauce

Heat the fat. Saute the onion and garlic. Add the mushrooms and cook until they are limp. Add the rest of the vegetables later (they should stay crisp, so the frozen ones can go in very late). Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in the flour until all is moistened. Stir in the chicken broth. Return the pan to medium heat and cook, turning constantly until the mixture thickens and boils for two minutes. If you are adding anything frozen, now is a good time.

Add the chicken and season to taste with the spices, hot sauce, worcestershire sauce. Bring to a boil then pour into the casserole.

Add the liquid to the biscuits, then drop on top of the chicken mixture in the casserole. Bake for about 20 minutes or a little less, until the biscuits have browned on top.

Created January 12, 2002
Updated 11 February 2015