My holiday recipe: Let the smell of fresh-baked tourtière fill your home | CBC News (2024)

Montreal

Montreal food blogger Monique Dykstra is the brains behind My French Canadian Year, a project where she cooks her way through Quebec's culinary traditions.

Montreal food blogger Monique Dykstra is the brains behind the blog My French Canadian Year

My holiday recipe: Let the smell of fresh-baked tourtière fill your home | CBC News (1)

Marilla Steuter-Martin · CBC News

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My holiday recipe: Let the smell of fresh-baked tourtière fill your home | CBC News (2)

Montreal food blogger Monique Dykstra is the brains behind My French Canadian Year, a project where she cooks her way through Quebec's culinary traditions.

Over the course of the year,Dykstrahas been experimenting with all the classics: from pea soup to maple taffy to a full roasted Lac-Brome duck.

When the holiday season rolls around, she is quick to turn to the classictourtière, which has been a staple on Quebec Christmas tables for centuries.

Dykstrasaid that there's a lot of variation when it comes to the different recipes floating around, and no two are exactly the same.

"That was one of the hardest things,figuring out what was the quintessential tourtière recipe," she said. "And then I realized that it's really regional differences and there was no one recipe."

She ended up adapting her recipe from a fewdifferent sources, simplifying and tweaking to make it simple and approachable.

My holiday recipe: Let the smell of fresh-baked tourtière fill your home | CBC News (4)

​Dysktra insists that she's not a "natural chef," so when she experiments in the kitchen, she likes to keep things fun and easy.

Hertourtièreis amix of pork, veal and beef, and takes the better part of a day to create. It's labour-intensive, so not a bad option for Boxing Day or later, Dykstra said, since spending all of Christmas Day in a hot kitchen can take some of the fun out of it.

"So, this is something that I would make the26thor the27th, and it'sjust a nice simple dish that's tasty — it'scooking away and you can smell it," she said.

"It's delicious and itfills the house."

Now, having come full circle on her first year of running the blog, Dykstrasaid she's discovered a lot of new recipes and dishes that she plans to bring back year after year—tourtièredefinitely makes that list.

"It's really good. I don't even like tourtière, but after I made this,I've just come to love it."

Ingredients

Prepare 3-4 hours ahead of baking time

1½pounds ground pork or veal
1½ pounds ground beef
2-3 onions, finely chopped
2 tablespoons oil
6 potatoes, cooked then mashed
1-2 cups beef or vegetable broth (or just water)
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground nutmeg
½ tsp. ground cloves
Salt and pepper to taste

Pie crust
Makes two covered pies or four shells.

5 cups flour (635 grams)
1½ tsp. salt
2½ cups shortening (320 grams)
1 egg
½ cup cold water
1 tbsp. white vinegar

My holiday recipe: Let the smell of fresh-baked tourtière fill your home | CBC News (5)

Instructions

Start by making the tourtière​ filling. Heat a large skillet, add oil, then sauté chopped onions for about 10 minutes on medium heatuntil onions are soft and golden.

With your hands, mix the ground pork and beef together in a bowl. Add the fried onions. Return the meat and onions to the frying pan andcook for another 10 minutes, chopping up the meat as it cooks.

Add the remaining ingredients to the meat (broth, mashed potatoesand spices), and mix together. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid is absorbed.

Remove from heat. Taste the meat mixture and add more salt, pepper or spices if needed. Cool in the fridge for about twohours, until completely chilled.

Making pie crusts

Combine flour and salt in a mixing bowl. Add room temperature shortening. Cut the shortening into the flour mixture until it forms rough crumbs.

Beat egg, water, and vinegar together, then pour over flour mixture. Stir mixture together with a fork until moistened.Divide dough into four equal size balls, roughly 275 grams each.

Roll out out one of theballs of dough, and put it in the bottom of a 9-inch pie plate. Spoon in half of the meat filling, patting it down lightly to compress it a bit. Brush the pie rim with water, and place the second circle of dough on top, pressing the edges together to seal. Trim edges and decorate the top.

Repeat to make the second pie.

Egg wash

The egg wash will give your tourtière a golden glow, so don't be tempted to skip this step.Beat the egg and milk together and brush the mixture over the top of the crust and around the edges. Cut steam vents on top of both pies to let moisture escape.

With the rack in the bottom third of the oven, bake at 375 F for about 50 minutes or until the pies are golden brown.

Consult the recipe on My French Canadian Yearhere.

This is part one of a series where Montrealers share their favourite holiday recipes.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

My holiday recipe: Let the smell of fresh-baked tourtière fill your home | CBC News (6)

Marilla Steuter-Martin

Former CBC journalist

Marilla Steuter-Martin was a journalist with CBC Montreal from 2015 to 2021.

    Corrections and clarifications|Submit a news tip|

    My holiday recipe: Let the smell of fresh-baked tourtière fill your home | CBC News (2024)

    FAQs

    How long does Tourtière last in the fridge? ›

    Freshly Baked

    If your Tourtiere is already baked, please store it in the fridge. For best results, the pie should be consumed within 4 days of purchase. To warm, place on a baking sheet in a preheated oven at 350°F.

    What is Tourtière made of? ›

    The French-influenced pie is often made with pork, veal, beef, or game and sometimes a combination of the two. Mashed potatoes are folded in to help bind the meat, while celery and onion are other common aromatics. The spices give the pie character, such as allspice, cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg.

    Do you cook Tourtière before freezing? ›

    For best results, freeze your Tourtière after assembling and before baking. When ready to enjoy, cook from frozen, brushing the top with the egg wash before putting it in the oven. Baking time will be a longer from frozen. Cooked tourtière may be frozen for 4 months or so.

    What to serve with Tourtière? ›

    Traditionally, Tourtière is served with roasted vegetables or a light frisseé salad. An assortment of pickled foods is always delicious; pickled beets, spicy carrots, gherkins or pickled onions. Many enjoy a tomato-based chutney but most… just break out the ketchup.

    When should you eat tourtière? ›

    Tourtiere is a traditional part of the Christmas and New Year's Eve meal in Quebec. While typically made of pork and beef, Tourtiere can be made of other meats, such as chicken, venison, rabbit, or any other type of game.

    Will pies go bad if not refrigerated? ›

    If a pie contains eggs or dairy products, it should be stored in the refrigerator and not left out at room temperature for more than two hours. Pies that do not contain dairy products, such as fruit pies can be stored, loosely covered at room temperature for up to two days.

    What's the difference between meat pie and tourtière? ›

    Tourtière is originally from Quebec and while every family has its own unique recipe, they all follow a similar formula. It's double-crusted, meaning crust all over, and it is generally made with ground pork and what I call “fall spices”. The regular meat pie tends to have only crust at the top and is made with beef.

    What wine goes well with tourtière? ›

    Wine Pairing Advice: Tourtiere can be served with either whites or reds, but I think that reds go better (and in Canada, where the dish originates, red is what is traditionally served). Try pairing meat pies with light to medium-bodied reds and wines that are big on fruit like a Beaujolais or a Pinot Noir.

    What is a fun fact about tourtière? ›

    It gets its name from the tourte, which is what it was originally made from. Though the name "tourtière" is derived from its filling, the tourte—the French name for the passenger pigeon that is now extinct in North America—was historically used as its filling before the 20th century.

    How long to reheat frozen cooked tourtière? ›

    To reheat from frozen, do not thaw first. Place cooked pie onto a baking sheet directly into 350F degree oven for 40-45 minutes, until centre of pie is hot when tested.

    Is it better to freeze or refrigerate pie? ›

    Pie Storage Tips

    Be sure to refrigerate pies containing eggs (pumpkin, custard and cream pies). Be aware that custard and cream pies do not freeze successfully.

    Should I bake my meat pie before freezing? ›

    You can freeze Meat Pies either baked or unbaked. Either way, when you want to bake the Pies, you can bake them off frozen. They will, however, take a little longer to bake then the time stated in the recipe.

    Why is it called tourtière? ›

    Tourte means pie, and they were baked in a tourtière. Simple. The other story is that this pie got its name from the type of birds that were commonly used to make the pie. 'Tourte' or tourte voyageuse is also the French name for a passenger pigeon.

    What pairs well with pecan pie? ›

    Whipped cream is always the classic to serve with pecan pie. If you're looking for an ice cream to pair with it, I recommend white chocolate-fresh ginger ice cream, or it might also be nice with milk chocolate ice cream instead, if you're someone – like me – that has a hard time imagining dessert without chocolate.

    What is the difference between a tourtière and a tourtière du Lac St Jean? ›

    The tourtière du Lac-Saint-Jean differs from a regular tourtière by having thicker crust, cubes of potatoes, meats and broth (instead of only minced meat), as well as being placed in a much larger and deeper container. Like a regular tourtière, the meat chosen is usually pork, beef or veal.

    Is pie still good after 5 days? ›

    Fruit pies are best stored at room temperature and eaten within 2 days of purchase. However, they can also be refrigerated for up to 5 days. Custard pies (ex. Sweet Potato Coconut, Cardamom Tahini Squash, or Apple Butter Custard) are best eaten within 2 days of purchase if stored at room temperature.

    How long can you keep leftover pie in the fridge? ›

    Key pie points to remember

    Apple and other fruit pies keep at room temperature for up to two days, then in the fridge for two more. Pumpkin, custard, or other egg/dairy-based pies can be stored in the fridge for up to four days.

    How long can I keep meat pies in the fridge? ›

    How to Store Meat Pie. Store your leftover meat pie in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to four days. Reheat thoroughly in the oven or in the microwave.

    How to store Tourtière? ›

    Wrap in plastic wrap and foil, then place in freezer. Frozen pies will keep 4-5 months. To reheat from frozen, do not thaw first. Place cooked pie onto a baking sheet directly into 350F degree oven for 40-45 minutes, until centre of pie is hot when tested.

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