The Creamiest Turkey Pie With Puff Pastry Crust

As cliché as it sounds, my grandmother really does make the best pot pie. Always placed on the table in a CorningWare baking dish, it’s extremely lush thanks to an ultra-creamy filling. Her secret? American cheese. Before you scoff, know that sodium citrate, an emulsifying salt, makes American cheese ideal for melting. Here, it disappears into the sauce, creating the most velvety base. Hers was always made with chicken, but the same basic principles work with any other bird. For this one, instead of starting with a whole turkey, make it easy on yourself and sear off a piece of boneless turkey breast; it makes for a streamlined process that yields plenty of browned bits for building flavor in the filling. If turkey isn’t your thing (we get it) feel free to swap it for an even weight of chicken thighs or breast. Serve with your favorite vinegary hot sauce, like Cholula or Frank’s RedHot, to balance out all of that richness.