Can you make chicken pie without stock?

What to use instead

Stock mostly contributes savoury depth and salt. You can rebuild both from other ingredients already in the kitchen.

Mushrooms deserve a special mention here. Cooked hard until properly browned, they bring much of the same savoury depth stock does, which is why so many meat free pies lean on them.

• Whole milk: makes a bechamel style sauce, comforting and mild
• Water plus a knob of butter and well browned onions, leeks, or mushrooms
• Dry white wine or cider: 100 to 150ml, boiled hard for 2 minutes before the liquid goes in
• A teaspoon of Dijon mustard, soy sauce, or Worcestershire sauce for savoury depth
• Herbs cooked in the sauce: thyme, bay, or tarragon

Make the pan do the work

Brown the chicken pieces properly in the pie pan before anything else. The caramelised residue left behind, deglazed with water or wine, is effectively an instant stock.

Sweat the vegetables in the same pan, scraping the base as they release moisture. By the time you add the flour and liquid, the sauce already tastes of roast chicken, no stock cube required.

Bacon or pancetta rendered at the start does the same job in a pie that welcomes it, leaving salty, savoury fat to build the roux on and small crisp pieces to fold through the filling.

A two minute cheat stock

If you have 10 spare minutes, simmer the chicken trimmings, an onion half, and a bay leaf in 400ml of water while you prepare everything else. Strain it straight into the sauce.

It will not be a deep homemade stock, but it is fresher tasting than a cube and costs nothing. Season the finished filling generously and taste before assembling, as stock free sauces almost always need a touch more salt than the recipe suggests.