French-Canadien Meat pie “Tourtière”
Prep time 15 minutes/Cooking time 1 hour and 10 minutes/ 6 portions/make 1 large & thick pie or 2 small ones
This is definitely one of my favorite dishes, I cherish its history and the comfort it brings. I love that this meal takes after its chef's unique personality and rich cultural heritage. Some meat pies are rather salty and herbaceous, while others delight the palate with a warm, sweet, and clove-infused taste. During the holiday season, most restaurants feature their own special take on this beloved meat pie, showcasing their creativity and culinary flair. It truly is a delicious staple that holds a significant place in my memories of the holidays as a child. I truly hope that you take the time to try my take on meat pie, and that it brings you as much joy as it has brought me throughout the years.
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Involve your children in making a special dish by having them measure the spices. Lay out all required spices and measuring spoons, and give them a clean bowl for mixing. If they overpour, you can discard the excess. For younger children, avoid letting them add spices directly to the cooking dish to prevent overpowering flavors. Consider using a cookie sheet under the bowl to catch any spills. This hands-on experience strengthens connections and teaches valuable measurement skills they can use in future cooking.
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I absolutely loved watching my mother tying her passion for art to everything she did. She would thoughtfully set aside some extra pie crust, roll it out again, and create a variety of delightful shapes to decorate the top layer of the pie. Using her knife, she would skillfully create intricate lines inside the leaves she crafted, enhancing the overall presentation. It was always a beautiful sight. With time, I have adopted this way of thinking and now invite my children to execute the decorations featured on the top of our pies. My suggestion is to propose different cookie stencils to them and encourage your children to create and lay out their artistic designs all by themselves. Just remember to brush those beautiful pieces with a little milk or egg yolk to help them stick and adhere beautifully to the pie.
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My French-Canadian meat pie recipe freezes exceptionally well and is an absolute delight to come home to after a long day. Having this hearty and comforting dish prepared and ready to go is truly a must-have during the busy holiday season. It pairs perfectly with your Thanksgiving turkey, complements a festive brunch, and rounds out a lovely Christmas meal. Consider making a few ahead of time so you can enjoy them later and share them with your loved ones while celebrating special moments together.
Ingredients
2 tbsp of butter
1 medium size onion, chopped
1 lbs. of ground beef (I use sirloin 90/10)
1 lbs. of ground chicken, you can also substitute for veal for the authentic taste
1 lbs. of ground porc
2 branches of fresh thym
2 bay leave
1 1/2 teaspoon of dry thym
1 tsp of onion powder
1/2 tsp of garlic powder
1/2 tsp of dry sage (If you have fresh sage, add a clean stem to the cooking meats and remove before putting on the pie crust)
2 tsp of salt
1 tsp of pepper
1/2 tsp of ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp of ground cloves
1/2 tsp of all spices
1/4 cup of breadcrumbs
3/4 cup of broth (you can use chicken broth or beef broth)
2 medium size potatoes (about 1 1/2 cup of potato chunks)
2 pie crust of 20cm of diameter, click for my recipe here
the yoke of an egg mixed with 1 tsp of milk
Steps
Using a Dutch oven, melt the butter completely until it becomes liquid.
Sauté the chopped onions on medium heat until they become translucent and fragrant.
Next, incorporate all three types of ground meats into the pot, breaking them apart to ensure they cook evenly and add all of the spices to the raw meat. Cook for 15 to 20 minutes under medium heat while breaking apart with a wooden spoon, every so often.
While this cook, dice the potatoes into bite-sized pieces and set them aside for later.
When your meat is almost all cooked and you can still peak some pinkish color, add the breadcrumbs, water, potatoes, the bay leaf and a handful of fresh thyme to enhance the flavor profile. Stir once more to mix everything thoroughly, then cover the pot and let it simmer on lowest heat setting for 10 to 20 minutes. Be sure to keep an eye on your meat, stirring every so often to ensure it cooks evenly and develops a wonderful depth of flavor.
Your mix should be paste like, the texture should stay relatively moist and tender. If you separate your mixture, in your Dutch oven with your wooden spoon, you should not see liquid running to fill in the space. Add more broth if the texture is dry. If it is too liquidly, bring your temperature higher and it should evaporate quickly and return to low immediately. If that did not work, add 1 tablespoon of breadcrumbs.
In this recipe, we do not strain the meat to remove the fat, we in fact, need the fat to create a moist paste-like filling. That is why it is important to keep your cooking not too high and risk the chance for the meat to soak in the fat which would result in a crumbly meat pie.
If youd like to dish out some of the fat that bubbles up to the top of the dish, that is ok. There should not be much since we are using ground chicken.
Once your meat pie filling has cooked thoroughly, allow it to cool off to a manageable temperature, and then begin preparing the pie crust.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Using a pie dish of your choice, lay half of your carefully rolled pastry dough gently in the bottom of the pie dish (20cm). It’s important to make sure that the pastry layer has a diameter that is at least a couple of inches larger than your dish to allow for a nice overhang. Next, pour in the hearty meat pie filling, spreading it evenly. Brush the side of the crust with milk then cover it with the remaining layer of pastry crust.
Remove the excess of pie crust on the side by cutting it with a knife. Create a pattern around the rim using your fingers or a by pressing a fork to create lines. Roll the excess of pie crust and use cookie stencils to create shape to use as a decoration for the top of your pie.
For a lovely golden finish, brush a beaten egg yolk mixed with 1 tsp of milk over the top layer of your pastry crust (and under your decor pieces), and remember to
Make some small incisions on the top of your pie to allow steam to escape during baking.
Finally, place the pie in the oven and bake for approximately 45 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown and flaky. Serve with homemade ketchup or storebought ketchup.
You can freeze your meat pie filling as well as your pastry crust, providing flexibility for your meal planning. You can choose to freeze them separately for convenience or opt to bake the pie once and then freeze the finished product for a quick meal later on. This method makes it easy on yourself during the busy holiday season by allowing you to simply reheat it when you need it. For best results, you can keep the meat pie stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
