Mme Benoits Tourtière Recipes

FRENCH CANADIAN TOURTIERE

Steps:

• In a saucepan, combine pork, beef, onion, garlic, water, salt, thyme, sage, black pepper and cloves. Cook over medium heat until mixture boils; stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to low and simmer until meat is cooked, about 5 minutes. Allow to cool to room temperature.
• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
• Spoon the meat mixture into the pie crust. Place top crust on top of pie and pinch edges to seal. Cut slits in top crust so steam can escape. Cover edges of pie with strips of aluminum foil.
• Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes; remove foil and return to oven. Bake for an additional 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Let cool 10 minutes before slicing.

TOURTIERE (FRENCH CANADIAN MEAT PIE)

Steps:

• Place flour, salt, and frozen butter slices into the bowl of a food processor. Pulse on and off until butter is about the size of peas, about 30 seconds. Stir vinegar into cold water; drizzle water/vinegar into the flour mixture. Pulse on and off until mixture is crumbly and holds together when you pinch a piece off, about 10 seconds. If dough isn't pressing together, drizzle in another teaspoon of water.
• Transfer mixture to a work surface. Press it together until it becomes a lump of dough. Wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until chilled, at least 1 hour.
• Mix salt, pepper, thyme, sage, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, mustard, clove, and cayenne together in a small bowl.
• Place potato quarters in a saucepan; cover with cold water. Add 1 teaspoon kosher salt. Bring to a boil over high heat; reduce heat. Simmer until cooked through, 10 to 15 minutes. Scoop out potatoes and transfer to a bowl; save cooking liquid. Mash potatoes with a potato masher.
• Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add chopped onion and a pinch of salt. Cook and stir until onions turn golden, 10 to 15 minutes.
• Stir garlic, celery, and spice blend into the skillet with onions. Stir until onion mixture is evenly coated with the spices, about 30 seconds. Add ground beef and ground pork. Ladle about 3/4 cup of the potato cooking liquid into the skillet.
• Cook and stir until meat is browned and has a very fine, almost pastelike texture. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until meat is tender and most of the liquid has evaporated, about 45 minutes. Stir in mashed potatoes. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Divide chilled dough into 2 pieces, one just slightly larger than the other. Roll the larger piece out into a 12-inch circle on a lightly floured work surface. Place in a 9-inch deep dish pie plate. Roll top crust out into a circle about 11 inches in diameter. Cut small slits in the top crust to allow steam to escape.
• Fill bottom crust with the meat mixture; smooth out the surface. Whisk egg and water together to make egg wash. Brush edges of the bottom crust with egg wash. Place top crust on the pie and press lightly around the edges to seal. Trim excess dough from the crust. Crimp the edges of the crust. Brush entire surface of the pie with egg wash.
• Place in preheated oven. Bake until well browned, about 1 hour. Let cool to almost room temperature before serving.

MME BENOIT'S TOURTIèRE

Steps:

• Place all ingredients except breadcrumbs and pastry in a saucepan.
• Bring to a boil and cook, uncovered, over medium heat for 20 minutes.
• Remove from heat and add a 3 or 4 spoonfuls of breadcrumbs.
• Let mixture stand for 10 minutes.
• If the fat is sufficiently absorbed by the breadcrumbs, do not add more. If not, add more crumbs in the same manner.
• Cool mixture and spoon into a pastry-lined pie plate.
• Cover with crust and bake at 400F until golden brown (follow directions for pie crust you chose).
• Serve hot.
• NOTE: Cooked tourtière may be frozen for 4 to 5 months and does not need to be thawed before reheating.
• To reheat, place your frozen tourtiere (covered in foil) in a medium oven and bake until a knife inserted in the center is hot when you pull it out.

FRENCH CANADIAN TOURTIERES

Steps:

• Coarsely chop celery, carrots and onions; place in a food processor with garlic. Cover and process until finely chopped; set aside., In a stockpot or two Dutch ovens, cook vegetables, pork, veal and sausage until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in broth, parsley and seasonings. Cover and cook over low heat 20 minutes. Stir in bread crumbs., Preheat oven to 400°. On a lightly floured surface, roll?half of dough into four 1/8-in.-thick?circles;?transfer to four 9-in. pie plates.?Trim?even with rims.??Add?about 4 cups filling to each crust.??Roll remaining dough into four 1/8-in.-thick circles. Place over filling. Trim, seal and flute edges. Cut slits in tops.?, Cover edges of pies loosely with foil. Bake 25 minutes. Reduce oven setting to 350°. Remove foil and bake pies until crusts are golden brown, 15-20 minutes longer. Freeze option: Cover and freeze unbaked pies. To use, remove from freezer 30 minutes before baking (do not thaw). Preheat oven to 400°. Place pie on a baking sheet; cover edge loosely with foil. Bake 25 minutes. Reduce heat to 350°. Remove foil. Bake until crust is golden brown and a thermometer inserted in center reads 165°, 50-60 minutes longer.

TOURTIERE DU QUEBEC (FRENCH-CANADIAN MEAT PIE)

Steps:

• Place all the ingredients (except for pie shell) in a sauce pan and bring to boil and cook uncovered for 20 minutes over medium heat.
• Cool the meat mixture and pour in pastry lined pan. Note: I like to cool mine in refrigerator over night if time permits.
• Cover with the top crust, cut steam vents and bake in a 400F oven until golden, about 45 minutes.
• Freeze well.
• Note: If ground pork and ground veal cannot be found, you can use meatloaf mix which is all 3 meat but I'm not sure of the ratio.