Traditional French Canadian Tourtiere Food

TRADITIONAL FRENCH CANADIAN TOURTIERE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• In a large pot, mix the pork, beef, onion, and water. Season with salt, pepper, allspice, cloves, cinnamon, and chicken seasoning. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer 30 minutes.
• Drain liquid from pot into a bowl. Transfer remaining meat mixture to a separate bowl and chill until ready to use. Place bowl with liquid in the refrigerator and chill 1 hour, or until fat has congealed on the surface.
• Scrape and discard fat from the chilled liquid. Spoon the meat mixture into pie crusts. Add 1 tablespoon of reserved liquid to each pie. (This prevents them from becoming to dry.) Place top crust on top of each pie and pinch edges to seal. Cut slits in top crust so steam can escape.
• Bake in preheated oven until golden brown, about 50 minutes. Serve immediately or freeze until ready to use.

FRENCH CANADIAN TOURTIERE

Steps:

• In a saucepan, combine pork, beef, onion, garlic, water, salt, thyme, sage, black pepper and cloves. Cook over medium heat until mixture boils; stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to low and simmer until meat is cooked, about 5 minutes. Allow to cool to room temperature.
• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
• Spoon the meat mixture into the pie crust. Place top crust on top of pie and pinch edges to seal. Cut slits in top crust so steam can escape. Cover edges of pie with strips of aluminum foil.
• Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes; remove foil and return to oven. Bake for an additional 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Let cool 10 minutes before slicing.

TOURTIERE

Steps:

• Sift the flour.
• Cut the butter into small cubes and add to flour with the salt.
• Incorporate flour to butter by kneading quickly with the fingertips.
• Dig a well in the middle of the flour. Dilute the egg yolks with water. Combine with flour gradually.
• Roughly form a ball.
• Work the dough with the palm of the hand by pushing and crushing on the worktop. Form a ball. Wrap in a clean cloth.
• Refrigerate for at least an hour or overnight, so that it is easier to roll.
• In a large pot, sauté the bacon for a couple minutes over medium heat.
• Add onions and sauté for 2 minutes over medium heat, stirring constantly.
• Add garlic and sauté 1 minute.
• Add all the remaining ingredients and mix gently. Season with salt and pepper.
• Grind the meat one more time using a potato masher.
• Cook covered over medium/high heat until half of the liquid is evaporated, about 15 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 400 F / 200 C.
• Put the meat mixture into a baking dish and bake 30 minutes, stirring regularly.
• Remove the bay leaf, cinnamon stick and the cloves. Allow to cool.
• Preheat oven to 450 F / 220 C.
• Grease an 8-inch (20 cm) diameter cake or pie pan.
• On a floured surface, roll the dough into two unequal discs of about 11 inches ( 28 cm) and 9 inches (24 cm) in diameter.
• Place the dough in the pan so that the dough overflows slightly.
• Place the stuffing into the pie shell. Cover with the second disc of dough.
• Attach the pie circles with a little water, pinching the edges or crushing them with the back of a fork.
• Create a little chimney through the center of the pie shell to slide a small roll of parchment paper.
• Brush the dough with egg yolk.
• Bake 20 minutes at 450 F / 220 C.
• Lower the thermostat to 350 F / 180 C and bake for another 15 minutes.
• Wait 15 minutes before serving.

TOURTIèRE: A FRENCH-CANADIAN MEAT PIE RECIPE

Steps:

• Combine flour and salt in a large bowl.
• Cut in butter or lard until mixture is a rough crumbly texture.
• Add ice water one tablespoon at a time and mix just until the dough comes together.
• Shape the dough into a ball, flatten, wrap, and chill in the refrigerator. While pastry is chilling, prepare the filling.
• Peel and cut potatoes into 2-inch chunks, add them to a medium saucepan, and fill with water until it covers the potatoes by 2-inches.
• Bring the saucepan to a boil over high heat and then reduce the heat to medium-high and boil until the potatoes are until tender, about 12 minutes.
• Reserve 1/2-cup of potato water and drain the rest. Mash potatoes and set aside.
• Heat a large skillet over medium heat.
• Add olive oil, onions, and garlic, and sauté until softened, about 3 minutes.
• Add the ground beef and pork and cook until the meat is no longer pink. Drain off excess fat.
• Add the poultry seasoning, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, salt, pepper, and reserved potato water. Mix well and simmer for about 10 minutes until the liquid is absorbed.
• Remove the skillet from the heat, stir in mashed potatoes, and set the filling aside to cool slightly.
• Preheat oven to 400°F/205°C
• On a lightly floured surface, divide dough in half and flatten one ball of dough with your hands. Roll dough to about 12-inches in diameter to fit a 9-inch pie pan.
• Place the pastry into the pie plate and add the meat filling. Brush around the outer edge of the pastry with the beaten egg.
• Roll out the top pastry and place on top of the filling. Fold the top crust under the bottom crust and pinch or flute the edges. Brush with egg wash and cut vent holes.
• Bake the pie in a preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown.
• Remove the tourtière from oven and let it cool at least 10 minutes before serving.
• Yield: Makes 1 pie, about 8 servings.

TOURTIERE DU QUEBEC (FRENCH-CANADIAN MEAT PIE)

Steps:

• Place all the ingredients (except for pie shell) in a sauce pan and bring to boil and cook uncovered for 20 minutes over medium heat.
• Cool the meat mixture and pour in pastry lined pan. Note: I like to cool mine in refrigerator over night if time permits.
• Cover with the top crust, cut steam vents and bake in a 400F oven until golden, about 45 minutes.
• Freeze well.
• Note: If ground pork and ground veal cannot be found, you can use meatloaf mix which is all 3 meat but I'm not sure of the ratio.

FRENCH CANADIAN TOURTIERE

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, mix first 8 ingredients. Bring to a boil, simmer and stir until meat loses its pink colour.Continue to simmer 30 minutes, uncovered, stirring occasionally.
• Stir in mashed potatoes. Cool at least two hours.
• Press filling in to uncooked pie shell.
• Place pastry on top of filling, crimp edges to seal. Top crust can be brushed with egg or milk before baking.
• Cut a hole in the centre, about the size of a dime.
• Bake at 425 F for 25-35 minutes.
• Allow to cool and set at least 20 minutes before serving with beef gravy and petite pois (tiny sweet peas). You can also bake only until top is slight browned and then freeze in advance of holidays or for a last-minute meal idea - reheat at 400 F for 15 minutes and then allow to sit for about 5 minutes before serving.

TRADITIONAL CHRISTMAS TOURTIèRE RECIPE

Steps:

• Make your pie crust. Refrigerate for a minimum of one hour before rolling out.
• Place potato quarters in a pot with water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium high until cooked through (10 to 15 minutes). Reserve ½ cup of potato cooking water, strain potatoes and return them to the pot. Add ½ teaspoon of salt and mash potatoes with a potato masher.
• Melt butter in a large skillet and add diced onions. Cook onions for a few minutes until they're translucent and starting to brown. Add chopped garlic and mix well.
• Add ground beef and ground pork and brown for a couple minutes. Then add salt, pepper, dried herbs and spices and mix well to combine.
• Add the ½ cup of reserved potato water and stir everything together to combine.
• Cook the meat filling over medium heat for about half an hour or until excess liquid has evaporated.
• Add in mashed potato and stir well to combine. Meat filling should be thick and almost paste-like, so break down any large chunks. Let filling cool while you prepare your crust and preheat the oven.
• Preheat the oven to 375ºF (190ºC). Cut your pie crust in half and shape one half into a disc. Generously flour your surface or countertop as well as a rolling pin and roll out your crust to fit a 9" pie pan. Place your bottom crust into the pie pan and get ready to add your filling.
• Spoon the meat filling into the bottom pie crust. Then roll out the other half of your pie crust and place on top. (Make sure to cut a hole or slits in the middle of the pie crust so that steam can escape). Crimp the edge of the pie crust and brush with egg wash.
• Bake pie for one hour, then remove from the oven and let cool. Alternatively, place unbaked pie in the freezer and bake from frozen later (just add an extra 15-20 minutes to your baking time).