Leftover Turkey & Ham Slab Pie
This turkey & ham slab pie is a great way to use up Christmas leftovers! There's crisp pastry, tender meat & a rich and creamy cider sauce.
Prep Time1 hour hr
Cook Time25 minutes mins
Total Time1 hour hr 25 minutes mins
Course: Dinner, Main Course
Cuisine: American, British, English
Servings: 6 People
Author: Ben Racey
Large Saucepans
Large Baking Tray
Pastry Brush
Fork
Mixing Bowl
Pie Filling
- 250 ml Cider (See Notes)
- 125 ml Chicken Stock
- 50 g Butter
- 50 g Plain Flour
- 150 g Double Cream
- 1 tsp Dijon Mustard
- Grated Nutmeg (To Taste)
- 75 g Mature Cheddar (Grated)
- 250 g Leftover Ham (See Notes)
- 250 g Leftover Turkey (See Notes)
To Assemble
- 600 g Rough Puff Pastry (Or 2x 320g Packets Of Ready Rolled Puff Pastry)
- 1 Egg Yolk
- 2 tsp Double Cream
Pie Filling
Add the cider & chicken stock into a saucepan then set over a low heat & leave to get steaming hot.
Place the butter into a large saucepan, set over a medium heat then cook until melted.
Stir the flour into the butter then cook out for 1 minute, stirring constantly.
Next, pour in a third of the warm stock then whisk until smooth. Cook out until thick, whisking/stirring regularly. This will take 2-3 minutes over a medium heat.
Once thick, pour half of the remaining stock into the sauce then continue cooking until it has thickened up again, whisking regularly.
Add in the remaining stock then reduce the heat to medium-low. Continue cooking, stirring/whisking regularly until the sauce has thickened back up for a final time. This step will take 5-10 minutes.The sauce will seem quite thick at this point. It will thin out when we add in the double cream. Next, stir in the double cream, mustard & grated nutmeg, leave to warm through for a couple of minutes then add in the grated cheese, stirring to melt.
Season the sauce with salt & pepper, to taste then take it off the heat. Leave to cool slightly.
In the meantime, chop the ham & turkey into 1 cm chunks. Fold this through the sauce once it has cooled then transfer the pie filling to a shallow dish & chill in the fridge to cool down completely.
Assembly
First, add the yolk & cream into a bowl, whisk together then set aside. This is our egg wash.
Roll out half of the pastry on a lightly floured work surface, into a rectangle that's 30cm long, 22cm wide & 3-4mm thick. Place this onto a lined baking tray.If you're using ready rolled puff pastry, this is the size of a single sheet. Don't worry if your pastry isn't a perfect rectangle at this point. We'll neaten it up later on. Next, spoon the pie filling on top of the pastry then gently spread it out into an even layer. Leave a 2 cm border of pastry around the filling.
Brush a light layer of egg wash onto the pastry border.
Roll the remaining pastry into another rectangle (the same size as the first), then place on top of the filling/other piece of pastry. Press down lightly on the edges to seal then crimp with a fork.Dust your fork with flour to prevent it sticking to the pastry. Trim the edges slightly, to neaten up then chill the pie in the fridge for at least an hour.I like to use a pizza wheel/cutter to trim my pastry!
Cooking The Pie
Preheat an oven to 200°c/180°c fan (392°f/356°f).
Brush a light coat of egg wash over the top of the pie then return to the fridge whilst your oven heats up (20 minutes or so).
Next, brush another light coat over egg wash over the pie then sprinkle with sea salt. Bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, until the pastry is golden & crisp.
Once cooked, let the pie stand for 5 minutes then cut into portions & serve.
1. Cooking In An Aga - Make the pie filling on the simmering plate. Bake the pie in the roasting oven, on the bottom set of runners.
2. Turkey & Ham - This recipe uses both leftover roast turkey & ham. I used my cherry cola ham & turkey porchetta but any type will work!
3. Cider - Pretty much any apple cider can be used for the filling. I used Thatchers. To make the filling without cider, use extra chicken stock.
4. Pastry - If you'd like to make your own pastry, you'll need a batch of my seriously flaky rough puff pastry. Alternatively, you could use 2 sheets of ready rolled puff pastry.
5. Storage - Any leftover pie should be stored in the fridge & can be eaten hot or cold. To reheat, bake slices of pie in a 180°c/356°f oven until the filling is piping hot.
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