Something about the dense, frigid forests of the northeastern US and southeastern Canada provoke a certain dedication to coziness. Wood-burning stoves, maple taps, wide-plank floors, and big puffy coats proliferate throughout the region. Is it any wonder that a dense, hearty meal like tourtière became popular? Filled with aromatic spices and root vegetables, tourtière is an English-inspired meat pie with French Canadian roots. Though you can find them in grocery stores throughout Quèbec year-round, tourtière is especially popular for New Year’s Eve. Find the recipe for this unique and filling pastry below.
Tips for Making Tourtière
Though it’s not quite as hands on or lengthy as making kolaches, tourtière is not a set-it-and-forget it dish. Nor are there many shortcuts to be had (except perhaps pre-made pie crust). When making your pie, make sure you keep these things in mind.
Adjust for Altitude
Because this recipe was developed for the (relatively) low altitude of 1,000 feet, I found that my mile-high kitchen greatly affected the timing of the recipe. Because the air is thinner and dryer, recipes that reduce often take less time. I’ve made note of the times carefully in the recipe – make sure to watch closely!
Don’t Skip the Spices
Many of the spices in the pie, (cloves, allspice, ginger, nutmeg) are associated with sweets in the United States. However, they’re not necessarily used that way in India (where they largely originated) or in Europe. Even if your red, white, and blue palate balks at the possibility, I encourage you to try the spices as written!
Cooking Timeline
When typically making a pie, it behooves us to make the crust the day before so it has adequate chilling time. With this recipe, however, because the filling takes some time to come together, you can set aside some working time in the kitchen and knock it out in an afternoon, using this timeline.
- Assemble the crust (by hand 10 minutes, via food processor 5 minutes).
- Wrap and chill for an hour. In the meantime…
- Set the potatoes to boil (about 15 minutes).
- Chop celery and prepare the spice blend.
- Mash the potatoes and set aside the potato water (about 5 minutes).
- Cook the meat, spices and celery (30-45 minutes, depending on altitude).
- Set filling aside to cool (20 minutes)
- Preheat oven while the filling continues to cool (10 minutes).
- Bake pie (1 hour).
- Total time start-to-finish: 2 1/2 hours
How to Make Tourtière
Tourtière
Equipment
- Food processor (optional)
- Medium pot
- Potato Masher
- 2 Small mixing bowls
- Whisk or fork
- Large frying pan
- Pie plate
- Rolling Pin
- measuring cups and spoons
- Pastry brush
- Paring Knife
- Cutting board
Ingredients
- 2 prepared pie crusts most recipes make enough for the pie top and bottom
- 1 large baking potato peeled and chopped in big pieces
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp dried sage
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- ¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
- ¼ tsp ground allspice
- ¼ tsp ground mustard
- ⅛ tsp ground cloves
- ⅛ tsp cayenne pepper
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 pinch salt
- ½ c diced celery appx 2 large stalks
- 4 cloves garlic finely diced or crushed
- 1 lb ground pork
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 c potato cooking water plus more as needed
- 1 large egg
- 1 tbsp water
Instructions
Make the Filling
- In a medium saucepan, add chopped potatoes and a generous pinch of salt. Bring to a boil and cook until very tender, about 12-15 minutes.
- Pour about 1 c of the cooking liquid into a measuring cup. Drain the rest through a colander, then add the potatoes back to the saucepan. Mash the potatoes in the saucepan and set aside.
- Whisk together salt, black pepper, onion powder, thyme, sage, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, mustard, clove, and cayenne in a small mixing bowl.
- Turn the stove to medium heat, add the butter to the large frying pan and cook until melted. Add the celery and garlic, then sprinkle evenly with spice mixture. stir well until celery is well-coated.
- Add the meat and 1 c potato cooking water to the frying pan. Keep on medium heat and cook, stirring a lot at first, and then only occasionally, uncovered, until the meat is brown and most of the potato water has reduced (30-45 minutes depending on altitude, stove, and other factors).
- Take the pan off the heat, add the mashed potatoes to the mixture, and let it cook to room temperature (about 30 minutes depending on the temperature of your kitchen).
Bake the Pie
- Preheat your oven to 375℉ or 190℃.
- Skip for store-bought dough. Divide your pie dough in half and roll out in a circle of about 12 inches in diameter. Place in the pie plate, ensuring the lip of the plate is totally covered. Save the other half for now.
- Fill the bottom crust with all of the meat mixture, making sure the top is as even as possible.
- Whisk together the egg and 1 tablespoon water in another small bowl until totally smooth.
- With a pastry brush, brush the egg mix around the edges of the exposed part of the crust.
- Roll out the remaining half of the crust in a circle about 1/4 inch thick, and lay on top of the pie. If using store bought, take the second crust out of the pie plate and roll out with a rolling pin.
- With sharp kitchen shears, cut the excess pie off around the edges.
- Use a fork (or your preferred crimping method) to smash the top and bottom edges of the pie together to seal it.
- Using a sharp paring knife. cut slits in the top of the pie to vent steam as it bakes.
- Brush the top crust generously with the egg wash.
- Bake until the pie is a deep golden brown, about 1 hour.
- Serve warm or at room temperature for a delicious addition to a ploughman's lunch.
Leave a Reply