Tourtiere: Canadian Meat Pie Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the difference between meat pie and tourtière? ›

Meat pie is primarily made of ground meat (pork, beef or veal) and aromatics (onion, garlic, spices, etc.). In Saguenay–Lac‑Saint‑Jean and Charlevoix, however, “real” tourtière is a lot heartier than meat pie and contains other meats (such as game) and potatoes that have been simmered in stock.

As the breadcrumbs and the broth help add moisture to this recipe, added fat is an unwanted quantity that tends to make the tourtiere fall apart when cutting and also is just not very pleasant. Many of the same qualities that make a great meatloaf are also applied to this meat pie.

It gets its name from the tourte, which is what it was originally made from.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.

PREHEAT OVEN TO 350°f (180°C). BAKE FOR 20 MINUTES (50 GRAM PIE) OR 30 MINUTES (125G GRAM PIE), UNTIL COOKED THROUGH AND A MINIMUM INTERNAL TEMPERATURE OF 165°F (74°C) IS REACHED.

Tourtière is a meat pie that can be a combination of beef, pork, or veal, as well as potatoes and other vegetables, and seasoned with spices.

Traditionally, Tourtière is served with roasted vegetables or a light frisseé salad.

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.

In Canada, it's called tourtiere. Made with potatoes, pork, beef and spices, and wrapped in a light and flaky crust. It's fully cooked and ready to simply warm and serve for a delicious gourmet meal in minutes. Each Meat Pie weighs, 35 oz.

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.

Québec cookbook author Julian Armstrong suggests that its roots may be traced to a 5th-century cookbook that includes “a pie called La Patina that was made in a bronze pot with four layers of pastry, the top crust with a hole in the centre.” Meanwhile, the word tourte comes from Latin slang: tortus panis, meaning “a ...

Why is tourtière Canadian? ›

"Tourtière is very much a Québécois dish. And it came from rural French coming to Canada," she said. "A lot of the urban French actually went to Acadia instead. And their cuisine is quite different — although they too have various pies that are a little similar.

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.

Tourtière can be traced back to the 1600s, when Québécois settlers attended midnight mass on Christmas Eve and celebrated afterwards with réveillon, a late-night festive feast fit for a king.

Tourtiére is a traditional addition to the holiday table. It's also perfect for busy weeks since it can be made ahead, baked, frozen and reheated.

A good way to tell if a pie is hot all the way through is to take it out of the oven, poke a thin knife into the center, hold it there for 15 seconds, then (gently!) hold it to your lip to see if it's hot enough for your taste.

tourtière, a double-crusted meat pie that is likely named for a shallow pie dish still used for cooking and serving tourtes (pies) in France. The ground or chopped filling usually includes pork and is sometimes mixed with other meats, including local game, such as rabbit, pheasant, or moose.

This French Canadian meat pie (tourtière) contains pork, potatoes, onions, and spices.

What's in tourtiere? 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.

Tourtiere is a savory mix of ground beef and pork, sauteed onions, garlic, thyme, a wonderful blend of spices, and potatoes in a flaky deep-dish pie crust. Of course, homemade pie crust is the best.