Tourtiere

I'm sharing with you all tonight a traditional Christmas Eve French-Canadian dish, tourtiere.  Tourtiere is a spicy meat pie traditionally served in Quebec for Reveillon, which is a long dinner held on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve.

I've never made a tourtiere before even though my ancestors were from Quebec.  There are many many different recipes, but I chose this particular one for a couple of reasons.  Number one, it's from King Arthur Flour and they have never let me down, and number two it's baked in a cast iron frying pan (or you can use a pie plate), and I'm always looking for excuses to use my cast iron frying pan, especially to bake in.

Tourtieres are usually made with minced pork and/or veal, or beef.  I made mine with half pork and half veal.  Some pies contain just pork and onions and some include potatoes and spices (like this one).

This pie can be eaten hot, warm, at room temperature, or even cold and for some reason tastes really good with ketchup!  It really doesn't need any sides.  We like ours room temperature or just slightly warm.

We all thought this pie was absolutely fantastic!  I just loved the spices.  It was so flavourful and a bit different than your typical meat pie.  A definite hit all around and I will not be waiting until next Christmas to make it again.  In fact, I'll probably be making it for New Year's Eve.  Delicious!

I want to wish all my fellow bloggers and readers a very Merry Christmas and a healthy and happy 2011.  I'll be taking a blog break next week, but will be back next weekend. 

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

Tourtiere
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Crust

2 1/2 cups pastry or all-purpose flour
10 T cold butter
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
5 to 8 T ice water, enough to make a cohesive dough

Filling

1 tsp. salt
2 cups water
1 large potato (about 12 ounces), peeled and cut into 1/2" dice; about 2 cups diced potato
2 pounds ground pork, or a combination of ground pork and ground beef; or meatloaf mixture*
1 medium-to-large onion (about 8 ounces), diced; about 1 1/2 cups diced onion
1 to 2 large cloves garlic, chopped fine
1/2 tsp. ground clove
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ground allspice
3/4 tsp. ground sage
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. ground black pepper
1/2 to 3/4 tsp. salt, to taste

*I used 1 lb. of ground pork and 1 lb. of ground veal.

To make the filling:  Put the salt, water, and potato in a medium saucepan, and bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat.

Boil until the potatoes are fork-tender, about 5 to 6 minutes.  Drain the potatoes, saving the water.  Mash about half the potatoes, leaving the other half in chunks.

In a large skillet, brown the meat, draining off any excess fat when finished.

Add the onion, garlic, spices, salt, and reserved potato water to the meat, stirring to combine.

Bring the mixture to a boil, then lower the heat to simmer.  Stirring occasionally, continue simmering the mixture for 35 minutes or so, until the liquid has evaporated and the onions are tender.

Add the mashed potatoes to the meat mixture, stirring until thoroughly combined.  Gently stir in the diced potatoes.  Set the mixture aside to cool.

To make the crust:  Combine the flour, salt, and baking powder in a bowl.  Add the butter, mixing it in thoroughly.  Unlike a typical American pie crust, this "short crust" shouldn't have any large pieces of butter remaining; the mixture should look like breadcrumbs.

Drizzle in the water, tossing as you go, until you've added enough water so that you can squeeze the dough together and it's cohesive.  It should hold together nicely; if it doesn't, add a bit more water.

Divide the dough into two pieces, making one slightly larger than the other.  The larger piece will be the bottom crust; the smaller piece, the top crust.  Shape each piece into a flattened ball, or wheel; they should look like big hockey pucks.  Wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Note:  make the dough ahead and refrigerate it overnight, if desired.  Next day, let it warm at room temperature for about 30 to 45 minutes before rolling it out.

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Select a 9" cast iron skillet that's 2" deep; or a 9" pie pan that's at least 1 1/2" deep.  Roll the larger piece of dough into a 13" circle (for the skillet), or 12" circle (for the pie pan).  Let the dough rest for 10 minutes; this will help prevent it shrinking as it bakes.  Gently settle it into the pan, being careful not to pull or stretch it.

Spoon the filling into the crust, gently patting it flat.

Roll the other piece of dough into a 10" circle, and lay it atop the filling.  Tuck the overhanging bottom crust over the edge of the top crust, pinching and pressing to seal.  Crimp the edge of the crust, if you like.  Cut a circular hole, or four slashes in the center of the crust, for steam to escape.

Bake the pie for 45 minutes, until it's golden brown.  Remove it from the oven, and set it on a trivet or rack.

Allow the pie to cool for about 10 to 15 minutes before serving, or serve at room temperature.

Makes one pie, about 10 servings.

Source:  King Arthur Flour