Moravian Chicken Pie, a Tradition Worth Preserving

Moravian chicken pie is a very savory dish.

How many times have I enjoyed Moravian chicken pie, a savory meat pie? I‘m not sure. Because I grew up in Winston-Salem, NC—the center of Moravian culture in America—it was featured often at church suppers.

This regional specialty is a flaky double-crusted pie packed with tender chicken that is served in slices with a rich gravy. A humble dish that is appetizing and hearty, it brings together chicken, pasty and gravy in a simple format with nothing else. Because the chicken has been boiled and chopped into bite-size pieces before being baked in the pie, it is deliciously tender, and the rich gravy guarantees a flavorful taste that is moist.

Chicken pies on the serving line at Fairview Moravian Church in Winston-Salem are ready to be served.

Colonial Origin

That city in the Piedmont region of the state grew out of the colonial settlements of Moravians known as Wachovia, a tract of almost 100,000 acres purchased in 1752 from John Carteret, the British statesman known as the 2nd Earl Granville.

Each table is decorated with a centerpiece of early Moravian settlers in colonial dress.

Most accounts credit the Moravians who in 1766 founded the town of Salem (that merged with the industrial town of Winston in 1913) as being the originators of the pie. They were familiar with meat pies, a staple of their diet in Europe. The Moravian Church, one of the world’s oldest Protestant denominations, has its roots in central Europe that is now part of the Czech Republic. Early Moravian immigrants to America began arriving—with their baking traditions—in 1735 in Pennsylvania to escape persecution by governments and state churches in Europe.

The serving line is staffed with very efficient (and experienced) church volunteers.

Simple Recipe

Unlike some Moravian culinary traditions—such as sugar cake (my favorite), cookies, and spiced tea—that are very popular at Christmas, the chicken pie is served year-round. Little has changed to the pie’s recipe since it was first served in colonial times. Unlike traditional chicken pot pies, the Moravian pie doesn’t have any vegetables.

A rich chicken gravy is ladled on top of each pie serving.

True to the Moravians’ simple, frugal lifestyle, the pie requires only five ingredients that would have been readily available: chicken, broth, flour, butter and salt. The pie was likely a way to use scraps of cooked meat.

Supper includes more than chicken pie. Fairview Moravian plates also have country ham, green beans, apples, and a biscuit.

The Tavern in Old Salem, a family-operated restaurant built in 1816 as an annex to the historic 1784 tavern, is steeped in Moravian traditions and history. Embracing its heritage, it serves a Moravian chicken pie and gravy for Sunday brunch and a tavern chicken pie with gravy, potatoes, and green beans as a plate at lunch on other days.

Proceeds of annual suppers at Fairview Moravian Church have paid for mission projects and building improvements.

Community Appreciation

Although I didn’t grow up in a Moravian Church in Winston-Salem (which still shares the distinction of having the highest concentration of Moravians in North America with Bethlehem, Pa.), members of my church (a Presbyterian one) and other neighboring churches were admirers of the Moravian pie, so much so that it was routinely duplicated by congregations at events regardless of their denominations.

Congregation members and guests linger after eating supper to enjoy each other's company.

In addition to satisfying the appetites of a church and the local community, chicken pie suppers (yes, they are not called "dinners") have also enriched social connections as well as contributed to fundraisers and building programs. According to Moravian archives, churches in Winston-Salem held chicken pie suppers as fundraisers as early as 1920.

A tangy Moravian cole slaw is served family style at each table.

Enjoying the pie at Fairview Moravian Church in Winston-Salem, which I still consider as a “neighborhood church,” with its congregation made me appreciate even more how Moravians have enriched our culture—religious, social, musical, culinary, and other aspects. I’m glad that the chicken pie served more often than at only Christmas.

Placemats come complete with the Moravian blessing (on lower left corner).

Note: Several recipes are available online, including, this one recently in Our State magazine.

Searching for Key Lime Pie

Key lime pie seems to be growing in popularity and is served at quite a few restaurants today. They don’t have to be in Florida (although it is the official pie of the state) or even in the American South. However, the pie seems to be the best on one of the Florida Keys. The most southernly the location is, the better the pie seems to taste.

Columbia Restaurant in St. Augustine, Florida, is one of several restaurants in Florida that serve the pie.

On a trip through the Florida Keys, my wife and I were watching for signs where Key lime pie was being served. The more homemade the sign was, the more enticed we were to stop. As we drove from Key Largo to Key West and returned, the first option for food had to be Key lime pie. If it wasn’t on the menu, we weren’t interested in eating there.

I found my favorite pie in Islamorada, Florida.

For me, the best Key lime pie was served in Islamorada, a village that stretches 18 miles across five keys. At the Islamorada Fish Company, I found the perfect Key lime pie, served with a graham cracker crust (not a pastry crust, which I don’t prefer) with a lime slice and a dob of whipped cream (not meringue or extra cream to avoid diluting the lime flavors) in an attractive white ceramic cup.

A  table at Islamorada Fish Company that overlooks the Gulf of Mexico is the best place to enjoy the pie. 

Although some people think that Key limes grow in only Florida, they are grown primarily in Mexico and Peru. Although they are named for the Florida Keys (the small, low islands located off the southern coast of the state) where they also grow, they are not indigenous to the area. They vary in size and color and are smaller in size and harder in texture than the more common lime (citrus latifolia).

Key limes are grown primarily in Mexico and Peru.

The juice of Key limes with egg yolks and sweetened condensed milk creates a magnificent dessert. The original recipe didn’t call for the mixture to be cooked because during mixing a reaction between the acidic lime juice and the proteins of the egg yolks and milk cause the filling to thicken on its own without baking. However, pies today are usually baked for a short time because consuming raw eggs can be dangerous.

The city of Marathon, set on 13 islands in the Florida Keys, is the home of Sweet Savannah's, which always have pie ready.

I always check to see if Key lime pie is on the menu of restaurants even in locations outside of Florida; however, whenever a restaurant in the Florida Keys indicates it serves the pie, I stop.

Whole pies are available for takeout in Key West, Florida.

Finding a Squash Pie

Imagine getting a daily allowance of vegetables and enjoying dessert – both at the same time. Some desserts are so sweet and hardly have any food value, not so with a traditional squash pie.

A pie made with yellow summer squash may not be familiar to many people. I confess that it’s not a pie that I remember eating, much less ever seeing before.

How do you think children who need encouragement to eat vegetables would react when they see a piece of squash pie? Walking by a potluck table when I was young, I’m sure that I would have skipped over it, but now that I’m older, I know better.

Nestled among apple dumplings, peach cobblers, and sweet breads, a squash pie for sale in Galax, Va., caught my attention.

Because one of my favorite pies is sweet potato, both in childhood and as an adult, I’m tempted to try a dessert made with a vegetable because it likely is based on a long-standing family tradition. Plus it reminds me of a time when desserts could be made without expensive ingredients if they included creativity, love, and maybe a vegetable.

Tables at the farmers market in Galax attract an early crowd when it opens on Saturday morning.

When I was meandering along the tables of foods for sale at a farmers’ market in downtown Galax, Virginia, the label “squash pie” immediately caught my attention. Topped with a baked meringue, it looked like something that I’d enjoy.

Marie Jones smiles at the table with her foods for sale.

The 95-year-old lady who was selling it made buying it an easy decision. She said that she’d been making squash pies since she was old enough to walk. Galax, a small town in southwestern part of the state, also seemed the perfect setting to find a homemade dessert.

When I got home, I enjoyed the sweetness of the pie, which is from the natural sweetness of the squash, not from sugar. The recipe is quite simple. In addition to sliced squash pieces, the pie includes margarine, eggs, and a dash of sugar. Because so much squash is included in the pie, it’s very dense and filling.

After the pie has been taken home and cut, a piece look delicious.

The taste of the squash pie is as good as that of a squash casserole. Of course, you have to be a fan of yellow squash to like either. They both deserve a place on a summer dinner table, but it you can only serve one, serve pie.