There’s a magic to holiday recipes that seems to turn back time—to grandma’s kitchen, school snow days, a first Christmas with your sweetheart. This one, though, goes much further, all the way back to George Washington’s days, when streets were full of horses and tables full of pie.
Mmm … pie. The phrase “Christmas Pie” conjures visions of sugared apples and indulgent whipped cream, but Washington’s version was a meaty mountain of a dish, descended from a British classic—Yorkshire Pie—sometimes baked up to 9 feet around. At Mount Vernon, historians suspect the Washingtons opted for a platter-sized version—still hearty enough to leave absent guests sulking.
The prep was as grand as the meal: two days’ labor, a turkey, a chicken, a pound of bacon, and serious pastry skills.
Yorkshire Christmas Pie Recipe
Recipe courtesy of George Washington’s Mount Vernon
Serves 8–10
3 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons salt
⅔ cup lard or vegetable shortening
¼ cup whole milk
1 whole turkey breast (about 4 pounds), skin on and boned
1 whole chicken (about 3 pounds), skin on and boned, or 4 chicken breasts (about 6 ounces each), skin on and boned
Salt
Ground black pepper
2 to 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 large carrots, peeled and diced
1 medium onion, peeled and diced
3 ribs celery, diced
½ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons chopped fresh winter savory
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
About 1 pound thinly sliced bacon
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
2 cups chicken stock
2 sprigs fresh parsley
2 sprigs fresh thyme
4 leaves fresh sage
Pastry
- Sift the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl.
- Melt the lard in the milk, bring to a boil, and pour into the flour.
- With a wooden spoon, mix quickly to form a firm dough (quite like Play-Doh).
- Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth.
- Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature for 20 minutes.
Tip: The dough should be firm but pliable—if overly sticky, dust the surface lightly with flour.
Filling
- Season the turkey and chicken all over with salt and pepper.
- In a large sauté pan over medium-high, heat 2 Tbsp vegetable oil.
- Brown the turkey breast skin-side down; remove and set aside.
- Brown the chicken skin-side down; remove and set aside (keep both on a plate together).
- Reduce heat. Add about 2 more tablespoons oil if needed.
- Add the carrots, onion, and celery; cook ~5 minutes, stirring often until softened (avoid browning).
- Season with salt and pepper and stir in the cloves.
- Add the wine and scrape the pan to deglaze (loosen browned bits); simmer ~5 minutes until reduced by half.
- Transfer the vegetables to a bowl and let cool.
Preheat & pan
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Grease a 9-inch springform pan with vegetable shortening.
Assembly
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out two-thirds of the pastry to ¼-inch thickness. Line the greased pan, leaving a ½-inch overhang.
- Layer in this order, using one-third of each ingredient per layer:
- Sprinkle ⅓ of the herbs (parsley, winter savory, thyme) on the bottom and sides of the pastry.
- Line bottom and sides with ⅓ of the bacon.
- Spread ⅓ of the vegetable mixture over the bacon.
- Place the turkey breast skin-side up on the vegetables. Trim to fit, using trimmings to fill gaps.
- Cover with another ⅓ of the vegetable mixture.
- Sprinkle with another ⅓ of the herbs.
- Add a thin, even layer of another ⅓ of the bacon.
- Arrange the chicken skin-side up on top of the bacon, trimming if needed.
- Cover with the final ⅓ of vegetables, herbs, and bacon.
Pastry lid & decorations
- Roll the final one-third of dough into a ~9-inch circle on a lightly floured surface.
- Brush the ½-inch overhang around the pan rim with beaten egg.
- Drape the pastry circle over the filling and fold the overhang over the lid to seal.
- Decorations (use any scraps):
- Roll scraps to about ⅛–⅙-inch thickness.
- Use small cookie cutters (leaves, stars, trees) or a paring knife to cut shapes.
- Transfer shapes with a thin spatula; arrange on top as desired.
- Press gently to adhere and brush all pastry (lid + decorations + sealed edge) lightly with beaten egg.
- (Optional) Chill 10–15 minutes if decorations feel soft — this helps them keep shape during baking.
Baking
- Place the pan on a baking sheet.
- Bake 30 minutes uncovered at 400°F.
- Loosely tent with foil and bake about 1 hour more.
- After that hour, check every 10 minutes by piercing an instant-read thermometer through the crust into the filling; bake until internal temp reaches 155°F.
- Remove from oven and set on a wire rack — the temperature will rise to 165°F as it rests.
- Cool 1 hour before carefully releasing from the springform pan.
Tip: Use an instant-read thermometer and avoid touching the bottom crust when probing.
Gravy (while pie cools)
- Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat.
- Whisk in flour to make a blond roux.
- Slowly whisk in chicken stock; simmer 2–3 minutes until thickened.
- Remove from heat, add parsley, thyme, and sage, and let herbs steep 15 minutes.
- (Can be made ahead and reheated before serving.)
To serve
- Set the cooled pie on a platter.
- At the table, cut a small hole in the crust and carefully pour in hot gravy.
- Slice into wedges and serve.
This article originally appeared in the December 2025 issue.
