It’s essentially a meat pie with pastry crust on top and bottom, but there are so many variations and different ways to make it.
This recipe is a hand-me-down recipe from my best friend’s mother, who happens to be Dutch but lived in Canada for years and years. It veers from tradition in that there is tomato incorporated into the meat filling, but I like the flavor that the tomatoes add and they help to keep the filling moist. Adding breadcrumbs helps keep the filling moist as well because they absorb any excess liquid and hold it. The result is a moist, but not runny interior.
I also love this recipe for pastry, using sour cream and an egg yolk as the liquid that brings the butter and flour together rather than water. Enhancing the dough with the grated Cheddar cheese is pretty (because you see the flecks of Cheddar in the finished dough) and the sharp Cheddar seasons the pastry so nicely. The two together – the luxurious pastry and the meat filling – is a match made in heaven.
Now you might be thinking that this is all too much for you to do, but it’s really not. The key is to make the components the day ahead of time. Make the meat filling on the stovetop. While the meat filling is simmering, make the pastry, wrap it in two round discs and pop it into the refrigerator. Then, transfer the filling to a container and cool it completely. Leave that in the refrigerator too. Do both of these steps the day before you want to make the tourtière. Then, when it’s time to put the two together, it honestly couldn’t be easier.
When I have tourtière, I serve it with a good chili sauce, some bread-and-butter pickles and a dollop of sour cream. My family also serves some Le Sieur peas (Le Sueur peas in the United States) along side. I know that is a bit odd – I don’t have canned peas any other time of the year, but there’s something about these peas that suits the meal. They are tender, petite, sweet peas that have a long history. The Canadian Le Sieur peas (“Le Sieur” literally translating to “mister”) have been traced back to a recipe from the 17th century, but the canned peas bear no real resemblance to that recipe (read more here). The American Le Sueur peas have been around for over 100 years and come from the fertile valley of Le Sueur in Minnesota. They, and the town they are from, are named after French explorer Pierre-Charles Le Sueur. Either way, the two cans are almost identical (save the spelling) and when there’s tourtière on my plate, I find them perfect and delicious.
I always have tourtière at Christmastime – usually on Christmas Eve and then leftovers (often even better) the next day. Christmas can be a busy time of year, but imagine how peaceful and relaxing it could be if your meal prep was done the day ahead of time and you just have to heat a can of peas as the side dish. Doesn’t sound glamorous, but believe me… it’s perfect!
Haven’t tried it yet but it reads wonderful. Thank you Meredith for all your excellent recipes and encouragement. Your rice pudding from the first book is am alltime favorite. Merry Christmas!
Can I ask you where you purchased your spoodle? I love it! Will try this recipe. Sounds so good
Hi Annette. You can find spurtles on Amazon, at QVC or directly from Mad Hungry.
I dont think you were clear on the juice from the tomato can. Are you squeezing the juice from all the tomatoes and using just the 1/4 juice from the can we reserved.?
Not sure from your video if you squished sll the tomatoes.
Be greatful if you answered this. Thank you
Hi Sandy. No need to squeeze the tomatoes. I remove whole tomatoes from the can and chop them by hand. I add these chopped tomatoes to the filling and then add some juice from the can – sometimes just ¼ cup and sometimes more if needed. It depends on how much or rapidly you simmer the filling. Hope that helps explain it.
ML
Made this recipe. The thyme ruined the flavor. Will change all spices as I am French Canadian. Labor intense. Will also change crust.
Well, I guess this is not the tourtière for you, Carol! 🙂 The French Canadian side of my family loves this version, but to each their own. As for the crust – it’s one of my absolute favorites, but we all have different tastes.
This looks like a yummy recipe. Do you think switching the ground meats with others like beef, venison, or lamb would work if you aren’t a fan of one in your recipe? TIA
Hi Patti. You can swap out the ground meats to suit your tastes. This year, I used beef instead of veal and it was delicious. Venison is more lean than beef so it will change the texture too. Lamb is very distinct in flavor, but if you like lamb, you could definitely substitute it in for part of the meat. Enjoy!
This recipe was so delicious! I made it exactly as written. The crust was especially good, flaky, and tender with the additions of white sharp cheddar cheese, sour cream and egg yolk. Following Meredith’s advice of freezing the butter and refrigerating overnight made this dough so easy to roll out the next day. This recipe is definitely a keeper. Thank you for this delicious recipe and helpful video.
My grandmother was from Australia and made something similar. But she boiled her ground meat (she called it minced meat!). She boiled it the day before and poured the water and cooked meat in a bowl and placed in the fridge. The fat raised to the top so she could remove it all. I don’t remember anything else in her “meat pie”, but remember how much I loved it. I’m going to try yours as it is the closest to what I remember. Thank you.
I attempted this recipe during my quarantine time. The recipe was perfect. However, try as I might to flute my crust vertically, the butter spilled over and there was smoke everywhere. I have cleaned the oven and tried to salvage by returning the pie to the oven. This time I placed the pie on a rimmed sheet pan. Wish me luck!
Hi Merideth!
I have made this from your recipe twice, and will be making it again tomorrow for dinner.
It is absolutely delicious.
Your French apple slab pie is amazing too!
Thanks for sharing your recipes with us!
I’m confused. At the top of the recipe it says 70 minutes baking. In the recipe it says 40 minutes. what did I miss? Koi
Hi Eugenia. Cooking time includes the time it takes to cook the filling for the Tourtière as well as the baking time for the pie.
Hi Chef
That recipe looks delicious, but I’m going to do it with chicken instead..!!! I’m going to do a chicken fricase without too much sauce and it will be delicious..!!! I will post the photo… Merry Christmas and bless you all ( including Loulou and friend 🎄🎄
Hope you loved it Gloria. Originally, Tourtières were made with all sorts of game meats, including pidgeon, so making it with chicken is not too far off course. It’s really the blend of spices that makes a Tourtière what it is. But you can make a delicious meal with chicken and pastry too.
I’m sharing with my family. I truly cannot wait to make this. Oh my goodness. It’s perfect. I’m loving your dough recipe. Can be used for any Meat pie.. Christmas just became cheerier knowing this Recipe exists.. thank you. ⭐️❣️
Meredith: my French Canadian mother-in-law passed on her Tourtiere recipe (simply a mix of beef, pork, onion and spices in a crust). I’d like to condense it to an individual 6″ pie pan for the air fryer. Can you offer any advice on cooking times in the air fryer for such a small pie? Thanks in advance.
You can air-fry a 6-inch pie at 320°F for about 25 to 30 minutes. If the crust is getting too dark on top, cover with foil during the cooking process.
I worked for many years with a lady whose parents were Canadian. She was (is) a amazing cook and she gifted many of us yearly with her meat pies. Your recipe is as close as any I have tried ….so I am going to be”gifting” pies to my friends who appreciate good food but know nothing about “Tourtière”. Hopefully I can make them believers. Your crust is awesome. Having lived in Vermont for many years I shall be using some of Vermont’s finest cheddar. Thank you for this wonderful recipe. PS. My only variance is that I add the peas to the meat mixture.. .frozen petite peas.
So glad you liked it, Susan. As for the peas – go for it! We always have them on the side, but they’d be delicious in the mix too. 😊
Meredith, the pie was wonderful. Have you used the fabulous pastry recipe for anything else. Delicious and easy to work with. Thank you.
Your tourtière recipe looks delicious and I’ll be making it very soon. But, I’m wondering if there is any chance of getting your brother-in-law’s tourtière recipe (mentioned in your video)? Over the years I’ve tried to replicate my mother’s tourtière but cannot get it right and your brother-in-law’s recipe sounds very much like hers. Thanks for your consideration.
Hi Madeleine,
I’m afraid my brother-in-law doesn’t make it from a recipe. He juts doesn’t use any tomato product or potato in the base and uses a plain pastry crust, instead of the crust here which includes sour cream and cheese.
ML
My mother, born in MA of Canadian parents, made a similar pie with meat & potatoes. I haven’t made it in years & determined to make yours this holiday season. Thanks for all your tips – love your recipes! Happy Holidays!
Hi, Meredith, I haven’t tried your recipe yet but I have made a “‘meat pie” before. My friend got her recipe from her mother-in-law, who was French Canadian, and it includes just ground pork, mashed potatoes and no tomato products. It also uses ground cinnamon, which makes it so distinctive. So delicious! I love your recipes and your manner in teaching. Also loved you on QVC!
Being French Canadian, there are so many variations of the meat pie. My families recipe came from my grandmother and passed down to my mother to me. Our version is made of ground beef and pork, onions and mashed potatoes and seasonings baked in a covered pie shell. Traditionally my mom would prepare several dozen pies before Christmas and they would go into the freezer for the winter eating. We would have a couple the day my mom would make them and than wait until Christmas for the next time to have one. And than through the winter we would have them.
Made this last year at Thanksgiving and my family absolutely loved this! Amazing crust, and delicious filling! We’re of French Canadian heritage and have had many meat pies and hands down this is the best! Making this our new traditional holiday meat pie! Thank you for sharing this recipe, and your videos are super helpful!
This is the 2nd Christmas Blue Jean Chef Tourtierre; and just as good as last year’s.. This pastry recipe including cheese, sour cream and an egg yolk bakes to a perfect crisp bottom. At the same time the filling is moist. The spices are essential for the French Canadian flavour and I added plenty of thyme and sage from my garden. Preparing this over a couple of days is great too at this busy time. Thank you Meredith for sharing your knowledge.