Bot boi: the Pennsylvania Dutch pot pie without a crust

Where it comes from

The Pennsylvania Dutch are descendants of German-speaking settlers who came to Pennsylvania mainly in the eighteenth century, and bot boi comes out of their farm kitchen tradition. The name is generally understood as a Pennsylvania German rendering of the English words pot pie, and how a crusted English pot pie became a crustless noodle stew is not precisely documented; one common suggestion is that simmered dough squares were a practical hearth-cooking adaptation, but accounts differ.

Within the region the dish is simply called chicken pot pie, which reliably confuses outsiders expecting pastry. Locals sometimes distinguish the two by calling the pastry version baked pot pie. Beef, ham, and even squirrel versions are recorded in older community cookbooks, but chicken is the standard.

Bot boi remains living food culture in Lancaster County and surrounding areas, served at family tables, church suppers, fire hall fundraisers, and Amish and Mennonite restaurants. Bagged pot pie noodle squares are sold in local groceries, a sign of how routine the dish still is. Regional food writers treat it as a signature dish of the area.

How it is traditionally made

The dish starts with a whole chicken or meaty pieces simmered with aromatics to make a strong broth. The meat is pulled from the bones and the broth kept at a gentle boil, traditionally with saffron in some households, a notable Pennsylvania Dutch touch, and often with chopped celery and onion.

The pot pie dough is a firm egg noodle dough of flour, eggs, and sometimes butter or broth, rolled thin and cut into rough squares an inch or two across. The squares are dropped into the simmering broth in batches, along with sliced potatoes in most versions, and cooked until the dough is tender and the starch has thickened the liquid to a silky, stew-like body.

The chicken goes back in at the end with parsley and generous black pepper. Bot boi is ladled into bowls and eaten with a spoon, often with pickled beets, chow chow, or bread on the side, and it is considered best when the broth is thick enough to coat the noodles.

What surprises a British or American cook

There is no crust, no dish, and no oven: the pastry a British or American cook expects has become noodle squares simmered in the gravy itself. The result is eaten from a bowl with a spoon, closer to a very thick chicken and dumpling stew than to a pie, and the optional saffron is a flavor few pie traditions share.