How do you like your tourtière?

How do you like your tourtière?

I’m pretty traditional in my taste for tourière and possibly boring making tourière. I say this because I do not really waver from the way my grandmother served her meat pies – without much seasoning. On the other hand, I do “over” season this recipe! This is a delicious and festive pie, definitely rich and very satisfying. I love it and we serve it every Christmas Eve with pickles or cranberry compote. What’s nice about a tourière is that you can make it ahead, freeze and then heat up when you are ready to serve.

This is the recipe I use and my family loves. Everyone who makes one puts their own stamp on it – mine  is that I put in more spices as that’s how we like it!

| For the Tourtière filling

1 lb each ground pork and ground beef

2 medium size onions finely chopped

1 clove garlic finely chopped

1 tsp salt

½ tsp black pepper

½  tsp thyme

½ tsp ground nutmeg

1 tsp ground cinnamon

¼ tsp ground cloves

In a large pan – I use cast iron – heat the pan and then slowly brown the meats. If your meat is very lean, use 1 tablespoon of vegetable or olive oil to prevent sticking. Once the meat is brown, add the salt and pepper. Stir. Add the onion and garlic and sauté for about 10 minutes. Add the spices and stir for 2-3 minutes. Let the mixture cool. 

Roll out the pie dough and using a 9” pie dish, place the bottom dough in the pan and heap the meat mixture into the pan. Roll the second dough out and place over the pie and crimp the edges. Brush with a mixture of egg and bake at 400 degrees for approximately 45 minutes or until the crust is a golden brown.

Serve warm with pickles, cranberry sauce, relish or anything you love.

| Pastry – for 1 double pie dough recipe:

2 cups flour
½ lb of butter cold cut into pieces
1  tsp of salt
¼ cup of ice water more or less

Make a crumb with the butter and dry mixture. Add water until it hangs together. Do not overwork the dough. Pat into a ball and wrap and put in the fridge for 1 hour or wrap tightly and freeze until you are ready to use it.