Chicken and Bacon pie

Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Roast chicken on a sheet pan with a rack until cooked through 45 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Roll the pastry out to remove any seams. Score decorative diagonal lines, in opposing directions, vertically along the pastry, being careful not to cut through the pastry, otherwise the sauce will rise up and spill out over your browning pastry and prevent it from puffing up fully.

Place pastry on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and keep refrigerated until ready to use.

In a 10” (25 cm) cast-iron skillet, cook bacon until crispy. Remove bacon with a slotted spoon, onto a plated lined with a paper towel. Keep the fat in the pan!

Cook the onions in the bacon fat until tender and fragrant. Then add the thyme and continue to cook for 1-2 minutes. Then remove onions with a slotted spoon and transfer them to a large bowl and set them aside. Keep the fat!

Cook mushrooms in the bacon fat, or add 1 tbsp (15 grams ) of butter if needed. Saute until golden brown and they release their juices. Add mushrooms to a large bowl. Do not wash out the pan.

Melt the butter in the pan, once foamy add the flour, whisk until a paste forms, then add the chicken broth, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, and heavy cream (if using) and stir until combined. Allow to simmer.

Shred the cooked chicken off the bone into large shredded chunks. Set aside.

Add back in the mushrooms, onions, cooked bacon and the chicken. Stir to combine.

Taste for seasoning. Add salt and pepper if needed. Allow to cool for 15 mins. Meanwhile prep the puff pastry.

Remove the pastry from the refrigerator. Transfer it to the cooled filling, tuck pastry under on all sides, into the pan, brush with beaten egg. If pastry has warmed up too much, pop the whole pan in the freezer for 10 minutes to firm back up before baking. Bake at 400F for 20-25 mins. Serve immediately oven to table.