Tourtière

A traditional French-Canadian meat pie.

It’s that time of year here in Vermont where the weather has us questioning whether we are still in summer or if we skipped a step completely and went straight to winter. Some call it second summer, some call it actual fall - we just call it Stick Season. It can be hard to plan (and cook) a menu when the temperatures dip to a crispy 25℉ just before dawn, and then three hours later it’s 75℉.  That’s why we lean into the huge harvest that the farm and garden put up to guide our palates, and simply embrace the place we’re in with dishes like this: Tourtiere. 

A traditional French-Canadian meat pie (we’re a stone’s throw from the border), Tourtiere is a great, mostly un-fussy option for those in between times when you need a dish for a crowd that’s fairly unattached to whatever is going on outside. With all of our meat put up for the winter, and an admirable amount of storage crops harvested just before the first frost, most of what we need for this hearty and delicately-spiced pie comes from our land, or locally. And a bonus: if you’re busy hurrying around putting your own garden to bed and buttoning things up - this is a great make-ahead meal.

Yield: 8 servings

Prep time: 30 minutes

Cook time: 60 minutes

A crusty meat pie traditional to French-Canadian cuisine.

For the Crust:

  • 3 cups all-purpose flour

  • 2 sticks unsalted butter, frozen

  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt

  • 7 tablespoons ice-cold water, or as needed

For the Filling:

  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt

  • 1 tablespoon butter

  • 2 large onions, finely chopped

  • ½ cup finely diced celery

  • 1 pinch salt

  • 4 cloves garlic, crushed and minced

  • 1 pound ground pork

  • 1 pound ground beef

  • 2 large russet potatoes, peeled, small diced

  • 1 cup water, plus more as needed

Spice Blend:

  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt

  • ½  teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme

  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

  • ½ teaspoon dried sage

  • ¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

  • ¼ teaspoon ground allspice

  • ¼ teaspoon ground mustard

  • 1 pinch cayenne pepper

Egg Wash:

  • 1 large egg

  • 1 tablespoon water

Prepare the pie dough. Using a box grater and a large bowl, grate the butter into the flour, or, alternatively, use a fork or your hands to “cut” the butter into the flour. Add the salt and mix to combine. Add the cold water to the mixture, and, using your hands, mix until a shaggy dough starts to form. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator while you prepare the spice wash and filling. 

Prepare the spice mix by mixing all of the spices together in a small bowl and set aside.

Preheat oven to 375°.

Prepare the pie filling: Prepare and cut the vegetables as noted. In a medium pot or pan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the onion, celery and salt, and cook until translucent. Add the garlic, pork, and beef, and cook, breaking up the meat and stirring constantly - until the meat is cooked through and the garlic is softened. Add the diced potatoes, spice mix, and water, stirring well. Lower the heat to low, and continue to cook until the potatoes are tender, adding water as needed to prevent filling from sticking. Set aside to cool. 

For assembly:

Prepare the egg wash by beating the egg and water with a fork in a small bowl. Set aside. Grease or butter a deep 9” pie plate or tin. Divide chilled dough into 2 portions. On a floured surface, roll one portion of dough into a 12” circle. Transfer to the prepared pie plate. This is your bottom crust. Set aside. On the same floured surface, roll the second portion of dough into a 10” circle. Add cooled filling to the bottom crust, and top with the 10” circle. Trim excess dough, and crimp or cut as desired. Brush the top crust with reserved egg wash, careful to liberally coat the dough. 

Bake in the preheated oven until crust is well browned and filling is bubbling - about one hour. Cool for 10-20 minutes before serving.