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Ready to eat fully baked meat pie

Tourtière: Canadian Spiced Minced Meat Christmas Pie


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  • Author: Noreen
  • Total Time: 2 hours 25 minutes
  • Yield: 6-8 people 1x

Description

Tourtière: Canadian Spiced Minced Meat Christmas Pie with dried breadcrumbs.


Ingredients

Scale

The Tourtière Filling

  • 1 pound ground pork
  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 2 medium onions, diced
  • 4 stalks celery, diced (for about 1/2 cup)
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup dried breadcrumbs (preferably panko)
  • 2 sticks fresh thyme, finely chopped
  • 1 stalk fresh sage (optional, but recommended)
  • 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
  • 1 cup vegetable stock (or water)
  • 1 egg, beaten for an eggwash

Pie Crusts

  • 2 1/2 cups super fine pastry flour
  • 1 cup grass-fed butter, cubed
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon sugar (we used coconut sugar)
  • Up to 1/3 cup ice cold water
  • 2 tablespoons pure vodka (optional, but it helps)

Instructions

Stage 1 – Prepare the Pie Filling

  1. Take a thick-bottomed stockpot or Dutch oven (on Amazon) and put it over medium-high heat. Add in a dollop of olive oil and heat
  2. Once the oil is heated, add in your garlic and onions and sauté for 2-3 minutes as the onions become translucent
  3. Next, add in your celery and cook again for another 2-3 minutes
  4. As your celery starts to soften, add in your ground pork and ground beef into the stockpot, and mix it well with the other ingredients and break the meat up into smaller pieces
  5. When your meat has broken up a bit, let everything cook together for roughly 1 minute as the meat starts to brown
  6. With your meat starting to brown, add in your vegetable stock and stir around
  7. Very shortly thereafter, add in your ground cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, allspice, pepper, salt and aromatic herbs like sage and thyme into the tourtière filling. Stir everything together and let it cook for another 2-3 minutes
  8. Finally, add in your breadcrumbs and stir well into the mixture to help drain up any excess liquid. Reduce your heat on the stove to a simmer while you do this, taking up to 1 minute to make sure everything is mixed well
  9. Turn off the heat of your stove and set your filling aside to cool for at least 1 hour. Ideally, you can put the covered stockpot into the fridge once the bottom has cooled, since the key is to have your stuffing as cool as can be before baking

Stage 2 – Prepare the Pie Crust

  1. As your tourtière filling is cooling in the fridge, you can now tend to the pie crust. Start by placing your flour, sugar and salt into a food processor (on Amazon) or mixing bowl
  2. Next, add in your cold chunked butter. If using a food processor (on Amazon), pulse several (6-8) times until the butter has broken into quarter-sized chunks. If using a mixing bowl, use a pastry blender or pastry cutter to cut the butter and integrate it with the flour
  3. When you have a mealie consistency to your flour-fat mixture, pour it out onto a clean flat surface
  4. Use the palm of your hand to press in and up into the mixture, moving towards the top of your surface as you go. Continue to make these “streaks” in your dough until it starts to stick and form together more
  5. Take your combined dough (pressing in any excess flour-fat mixture that hadn’t yet integrated), and divide it into two pieces. Form each piece into a disk shape and cover with plastic wrap and place into the fridge for at least 1 hour

Stage 3 – Fill and Bake the Pie

  1. First, preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit
  2. To bring your tourtière together, start by taking one of your pieces of pie crust dough out of the fridge
  3. On a well floured surface, use a rolling pin to flatten out your dough until it has enough surface area to cover a 9-inch diameter round baking dish. Moving the dough around and flipping it over will help prevent the dough sticking to your surface.
  4. Line your baking dish with either oil or butter, then place the bottom of your pie crust into the pan
  5. Take your tourtière filling out of the fridge and begin to scoop it into the inside of the crust. Pack the pie with as much of the meat filling as you can, without it spilling over the top of the pie dish
  6. Next, take your other disc of pie dough out of the fridge and roll it flat as well
  7. Take your flattened pie crust and lay it on top of your tourtière, then slightly wet your hands and pinch it closed
  8. Cut a few slits into the top of the pie (to help the pie steam), then place your tourtière in the oven to bake for 45 minutes

Stage 4 – Finishing Touches

  1. At the 45 minute mark, take your tourtière out briefly to brush it with egg wash, then place it back into the oven
  2. Repeat this eggwash again after 5 minutes, then let the tourtière bake for a final 10 minutes
  3. Take your tourtière out, let it cool, and enjoy!
  • Prep Time: 1 hour, 15 mins
  • Cook Time: 1 hour, 10 mins
  • Category: Dinner
  • Cuisine: Canadian