Tourtière: French Canadian Meat Pie

This French Canadian meat pie called tourtiere is a flaky all-butter shortcrust pastry stuffed with a hearty mix of aromatic spiced meat and potatoes.

Many people probably don't think of rich spices when they think of Canadian cuisine but just look at all the beautiful spices and aromatic ingredients in this French Canadian meat pie called a tourtiere.

Growing up in Toronto there were a lot of meaty carby snacks to choose from. From ubiquitous Jamaican beef patties and sausage rolls to the rarer and (in my mind) more exotic tourtiere.

The memory of tourtiere that stands out most in my mind is of a mile-high meaty concoction that seemed to have a sheer cliff drop along a steep wall of meat filling.

I've since learned that this is a deep dish tourtiere, which is less common than a shallow dish tourtiere that looks more like a regular pie.

This variation to the recipe just goes to show that there are a lot of different ways to make tourtiere. There are probably as many ways to make tourtiere as there are tourtiere-making households.

What really defines a tourtiere is the spiced meat filling. The filling has a unique combination of spices that give it an unexpected flavor.

Although not the same, it's quite reminiscent of Jamaican patties. Where tourtiere has clove and sage, Jamaican patties have thyme and allspice. A similar concept is Romanian meat pie which is the same idea of rich spiced meat in a crispy pastry shell.

Jump to:

• Ingredients
• Equipment
• Instructions
• Making ahead, storing and reheating
• Serving Suggestion
• Related
• Recipe
• Comments

Ingredients

The dish originated from French and British culinary traditions coming together in French Canada (i.e. Quebec).

You can see the influence of these two cultures in the ingredients - for example the whole concept of the meat pie might be inspired by Cornish pasties (like Jamaican patties are) but the mirepoix along with thyme and sage is more evocative of French cuisine.

pie dough

This is a very forgiving pie dough that can be rolled and rerolled. It bakes up golden and crisp with enough structure to hold in all the meaty goodness.

• Flour: A low protein flour like pastry flour is ideal since it makes a more tender pastry but I've also made this pie dough recipe with regular and even high protein flour and it still turns out.
• Butter: Unsalted butter that's chilled is best. Cubing it will give you more consistency and control in mixing.
• Eggs: Eggs give the pie dough structure and make it easier to work with. They are the secret for a forgiving shortcrust pastry.
• Salt: Salt for flavor.

filling

The filling might look like it's basically just meat and seasoning, but happy days - there are hidden vegetables in there.

• Ground beef: Tourtiere is traditionally made with ground beef or a mix of beef and pork.
• Potato: Any type of potato will do, either peeled or unpeeled. Especially thick potato skin could make for a coarser texture. You can dice or grate the potatoes in the food processor (makes it much faster). This tourtiere variation is made with a very fine filling but there are also variations with large chunks of potato. It's a matter of preference.
• Mirepoix: The holy (French) culinary staple of mirepoix is equal parts finely diced onion, celery and carrot.
• Garlic: Garlic melds all the other flavors together and makes a happy union between the mirepoix and seasonings.
• Butter: The butter is for pre-sautéing the mirepoix and garlic to bring out more flavor.
• Water: The water brings moisture to the mixture and ensures it will be fork tender.
• Seasoning: French Canadian meat pie is characterized by abundant seasoning. This recipe is made with a traditional mix of salt, celery salt, black pepper, dried thyme and sage, ground mustard and warming cinnamon, clove, ginger and nutmeg.

Equipment

• Food processor: A food processor makes it much easier to make the pie dough. If you don't have a food processor, freezer the butter and grate it with a fine grater. Mix with the flour and then add the eggs.
• Springform pan: Since this is a deep dish tourtiere you'll need a springform pan. The one shown here is 24 cm / 9.5 inches wide but any springform between 20-30 cm / 8 - 11 inches should be fine.

Instructions

How to make the dough

Mix the pie dough in a food processor per the recipe card directions. If you aren't ready to use it right away then wrap it up and put it in the fridge until ready to use.

Roll out the dough and use the springform pan as a guide to cut out a top and a bottom. Then reroll the rest and cut out strips for the sides.

I just estimated the length and width of the strips, and used the back of a teaspoon to gently press the pieces together. As you can see in the photos, you really can't tell it's cobbled together after baking.

If you want to to calculate the size strips you need then multiple the width of your pan by 3.14 to get the length. The height should be about 8 cm / 3 inches but this will depend on the size of your pan (a wider pan might mean the filling doesn't go up as high).

If you end up with a lot of excess dough up the sides of the pan after putting in the filling, you can either trim it off or just fold it inwards and cover it with the top.

How to make the filling

To make the filling you'll sauté the mirepoix, garlic, seasonings and half the salt in butter until reduced and very aromatic. Then mix in water and allow it to cool while you dice or grate the potatoes.

Putting the potatoes through a food processor makes prep much faster. but while the mirepoix should be as fine as possible, the cut of the potatoes is a matter of preference.

Some prefer very fine so all you see is meat (like in this recipe) while others prefer a chunkier cut so you can see bits of potato inside (like a Cornish pasty).

I recommend only grating or dicing the potatoes when you're about to put them in, or they can turn brown very quickly. This doesn't impact taste but makes them look a bit unappetizing.

After you add the potatoes, add the ground meat plus the remaining salt and mix well. Using your hands is better for making the mixture very homogenous.

Final assembly tips

After you put the filling in, use the back of a spoon or slightly wet fingers to gently smooth the filling out.

Finally put the top on and seal it all around the edges.

If you have leftover dough you can reroll it and out out thin strips to line the outer edge then use a fork to make a ridge all around if you like.

This is optional but looks very nice.

Making ahead, storing and reheating

To make ahead you can prepare the filling and the dough. Refrigerate both until ready to assemble and bake the pie.

I would not recommend filling the unbaked pie and storing it that way since the moisture can absorb into the pie dough and impact it's structural integrity.

You can store the pie in the fridge in an airtight container or wrapped up in plastic wrap, beeswax wrap, or foil.

To reheat you can either zap in the microwave for 2-3 minutes or bake at 200 C / 400 F for 12-15 minutes (just keep an eye on it so it doesn't burn).

Serving Suggestion

French Canadian meat pie is traditionally served with ketchup or some people like to have it with beef gravy.

Personally I like to riff on the French/British connection and serve it with both ketchup and dijon mustard. Both condiments bring out different flavors in the pie and in some ways make it feel like a different dish with each bite.

Related

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Recipe