Tourtière is a French-Canadian name for a meat pie traditionally eaten at Christmas in Eastern Canada. I had never heard of this until a few days ago when searching for a new dish for the weekend game. I literally stumbled across these at the bottom of a search for meat pies. It looked good, so what the heck. The fellas all liked this and some even said they preferred this to the regular quiche. Although this is not quite the traditional recipe, I added a few more eggs to hold it together better, it seems to taste exactly like the traditional tourtière.
Serves: 16 – 22 (2 pies)
Ingredients
Filling
- 1 lb of Ground Pork
- 1 lb of Ground Beef
- 2 cups Water
- 1 large White Onion, finely chopped
- 2 Russet Potatoes, cubed to 1/2 inch size
- 1 Tbsp ground Black Pepper
- 1 Tbsp All Spice
- 1 Tbsp Savory
- 1 tsp Rosemary
- 1 tsp Nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
- Salt to taste
The Rest
- 2 9 – 1/2 inch Pie Pans
- 4 Pastry Pie Crusts, 2 for each pie
- 4 Large Eggs
- 1/2 cup Half and Half
- 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
Preparation
Filling
In a large skillet (cast iron if possible), over medium-high heat, add the meat and water and bring to a boil. Add everything else except for the Salt. Continue cooking, reduce the heat to low, and cover for one and a half hours. Stir this about every 15 – 20 minutes and add more water if the mixture dries out. Near the end add the Salt. When done this mixture should contain just a thin layer of liquid in the bottom of the skillet. Remove from heat and place in a container and refrigerate until final assembly.
Pie Crusts
I’ve used store bought crusts and strangely they were pretty good. If you make your own crusts, start early. Just remember that you need enough for the top and bottom of the pie.
Final Assembly and Cooking
Preheat oven to 420 F. In a large mixing bowl and add in the Eggs, Half and Half and extra Cinnamon and mix thoroughly, whisking for at least 4 minutes. Then mix in the filling you prepared above. Half this mixture and place into each of the pie crusts. Place the top layer of crust on top of the filled pie. Trim the pastry and make sure to seal the edges. Cut some steam vents in the top crusts. Wrap the edges with 2 inch strips of aluminum foil. Put into the oven for 20 minutes. Remove the foil strips and reduce the heat to 375 F, and bake for another 25 minutes or so. Remove when the crust is golden. Either serve or pack them up to take to the to the rink.