Tourtiere
Ingredients
Meat Mixture:
- 2 pounds ground pork
- 1 small onion finely chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup boiling water
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon thyme
- 1/4 teaspoon Bell’s Poultry Seasoning if you can find it at the store
- Pinch of sage
- 3 medium white potatoes peeled, finely chopped, and par-boiled
Pie crust (For a 2 crust 9 inch pie):
- This is my favorite piecrust dough. It is from “The Fannie Farmer Baking Book,” But you can make whatever crust you like the best. Even though this is not a plant-based dish,there are recipes that use whole wheat flour and olive oil, thus avoiding animal fats or other saturated fats and white flour.
- 2 1/4 cups flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup cold vegetable shortening
- 6-7 Tablesppons cold water
Instructions
Meat Mixture:
- In a large saucepan, combine ground pork, onion, salt, pepper, and boiling water. Mix and cook slowly over medium to low heat for 45 minutes. Stir frequently to break up any lumps of meat. Add the potatoes and allow to cook until they are completely done.
- Add the spices and cook for another 15 minutes to allow the flavors to marry. Let the mixture cool for about 1 hour. Then assemble the pies, filling 2 unbaked bottom crusts with the meat mixture. Then cover them with the top crusts, being sure to slash the crust for the steam to escape. Bake at 400 degrees F for 30 minutes.
Pie crust:
- Mix flour and salt together, add shortening, and work into flour with a pastry blender, two knives, or your fingertips until the mixture has taken on the texture of fresh bread crumbs.
- Sprinkle on water, a tablespoon at a time, stirring lightly with a fork after each addition, until the dough comes together.
- Form the dough into two flattened circles, cover with waxed paper, and chill for 1/2 to 1 hour.
- Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface until it is about 1/8 inch thick and about 2 inches larger than the pie plate.
- Place the first piece into the pie plate. Place the meat mixture into the pie and top with the top crust.Trim and crimp the edges and slash the top to allow the steam to escape.
