Good Gravy! The Key Ingredient to Homemade Style Chicken Pie
Date: February 2, 2012 | Author: Willow Tree Farm | 4 Comments
Category: Chicken Pie, Willow Tree
When you think about what makes a “stick to your ribs” chicken pie so satisfying, usually flaky crust and big chunks of chicken come to mind. But one key ingredient that is strong enough to stand on its own – the ingredient that really makes “the difference” — is the gravy!
Wholesome Recipe
According to Willow Tree Farm President, Wally Cekala, “We do make a ‘from scratch’ gravy – using a rue to thicken it. It’s really old fashioned.” Willow Tree gravy has been a complimentary ingredient to chicken pies since 1954, but more recently fresh, ready-to-eat gravy, has become available in both chicken and turkey varieties. And it’s been very well-received.
Willow Tree cooks over 25,000 pounds of chicken per day, on the bone, providing a lot of broth from which to make fresh gravy. If a company doesn’t have this kind of cooking operation, they might have to turn to packaged gravy mix, and the results simply don’t taste homemade.
Photo courtesy of Michelle Levine
Food blogger Michelle Levine, who recently reviewed Willow Tree’s Chicken Pie with Classic Vegetables, described it very accurately. Instead of just mentioning gravy in the filling as such, she described, “The filling of the pie has the veggies and chicken broth, thickened up with flour and flavored with margarine, onion powder, and salt to name a few ingredients.”
Holiday Life-Saver
Ask anyone who is responsible for holiday cooking and they’ll tell you that gravy is highly-anticipated by guests, but it’s very stressful to make. It has to be put together at the last minute, only when poultry drippings are ready, and it’s almost impossible to make the same way twice. You can master it one time, and mess it up the next. You never know what you’re going to get. But Willow Tree gravy gives folks the peace of mind of having perfect gravy ready on the spot.
We really appreciate when customers post quotes like this on our Facebook or Twitter pages. We tend to see a lot of this around the holidays:
“Where have you been all my life?? I just bought your Turkey Gravy and it is the BEST ever! Sensational!”
“Because it’s usually sold in the ‘ready-to-eat’ section of many New England grocery chains such as BigY, DeMoulas, and Stop & Shop, customers tend to use it on anything they want, not just chicken.”
– Wally Cekala, President, Willow Tree Farm
A Warm Reception from Food Bloggers
“My favorite pie of the three, is Chicken Pie with Red Bliss Potatoes! The perfect size potatoes are baked to perfection and covered in creamy gravy. It feels like velvet in your mouth.”
– Marla from SavingUGreen.blogspot.com
“I served it alongside white rice on a plate but next time would love it piled on top of the rice in a bowl instead, so I can scoop up every last drop of the creamy warm treat! It’s the perfect staple to stock in your freezer for a hearty meal, any time of day, when you don’t want to cook or venture out in the cold weather.”
– Michelle from EatAndSipintheCity.wordpress.com
If you don’t see Willow Tree gravy in any of these grocery chains, please ask a store associate for assistance.
4 Commentators
I have been in Florida since 1988 From Attleboro MA miss Willow tree chicken pie it is the greatest never to be forgotten.
On July 26, 2013 margie helbling said
why don/t you show what is in the pies
On January 15, 2015 bob dick said
i/d like to see the ingrediants listed
On January 15, 2015 bob dick said
Hi Bob, you can find our ingredients here: http://www.willowtreefarm.com/gravy
Hope this helps! 🙂
On January 16, 2015 Willow Tree Farm said
