The secrets of a successful tourtière

In this article, our version of the famous Quebecois holiday dish, tourtière, is made of a pie crust topped with a mixture of minced meats. To make a successful tourtière, here are some tips for choosing the dough and the meats and putting it all together.

Tourtière or meat pie?

Some refer to tourtière, a pie made of minced pork, beef and chicken, onions and potatoes, as “Tourtière du Lac-Saint-Jean.” But since the word tourtière is used more generally to talk about pies made of minced meats, we preferred this expression.

1. Opt for a pie crust

A pie crust is the most used option for tourtière. Its flaky layers cook uniformly on all sides, even under the meat toppings. It is made with water, flour, butter and salt—ingredients that everyone has at home. Refrigerate the dough before rolling it out so that the flour absorbs all the water and the butter firms up, and it handles more easily. Place the crusts in empty pie plates before cooking.

For more information on pie crusts check out: The art of making a successful pie crust

2. Use two types of minced meat

Calculate approximately 1 lb (450 g) of minced meat per tourtière. Traditionally, pork and veal or beef are used, but each meat has different properties that enhance the tourtière. Pork is fattier and will bring moisture in addition to binding the ingredients, while veal and beef have a more pronounced taste. Choose semi-lean or lean meat—extra-lean meat will make the tourtière too dry.

3. Season to your liking

The main aromatics of tourtière are garlic and onions. As for spices, you can add cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves to your liking. You could also try a little allspice, or throw in a bay leaf while cooking the meat.

4. Choose the texture of the potatoes

There are always potatoes in the pie filling since they absorb excess liquid from the meat. If you want a very even, smooth filling, you can add the potatoes in the form of a coarse purée. If you want a more textured tourtière, on the other hand, the potatoes can be diced and cooked at the same time as the meat. Opt for Yukon Gold or Russet varieties.

5. Refrigerate before assembling

The filling should be cooked—but cold—before placing it in the pie crust. If you put warm filling on top of the raw dough, it will absorb moisture and soak up liquid.

6. Assemble the tourtière generously

Before starting the assembly, roll out the pie crust to about 3 to 5 mm thick and place in a pie plate. Add the filling, making it overflow slightly to form a dome. As the filling expands a bit when cooking, there will be no air between the top and the bottom, so make slits in the top crust to create a chimney effect for steam to escape and to prevent the dough from cracking during cooking.