Today, I'm making my favorite version of tourtière (a French Canadian meat pie that originated in Québec) with my pal and yours Chef Frank Proto of @ProtoCookswithChefFrank and @epicurious
This is my personal recipe and recalls the tourtière I've had growing up in the Maritimes, but it's worth noting that there are many, many different ways to make a tourtière, including different meat mixes, spice mixes, and vegetables (or lack thereof). The dish was originally named after the deep pie plate it was baked in, and local recipes and family recipes often reflect the proteins most available in the area.
This recipe might look long at first glance, but it's actually easy as, well, pie!
Ingredients:
1 stick cultured butter
2 russet potatoes
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 cup Spanish onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
poultry seasoning*
1 Tbsp neutral oil
0.25 lb chopped fatty pork fat/belly/bacon
1 lb ground beef (80/20)
0.75 lb ground pork
spice mix**
salt to taste
double pie crust***
Equipment:
spice grinder or mortar & pestle
1 medium sauce pot
1 medium frying pan
1 large sauté pan
1 baking sheet
rolling pin
1 deep dish pie plate (1.5")
Process:
Roughly simultaneously -
1. Peel and cube potatoes, then place in salted water in sauce pan. Boil them until fork tender, strain (reserving about 1 cup of starchy potato water), and mash with salt and butter to taste.
2. Melt 1/2 stick of butter in medium frying pan. Add onion and celery and salt. Sauté until starting to soften, then add garlic and cook 2-3 more minutes. Add poultry seasoning mix, stir, and simmer until vegetables are cooked down and soft.
3. To a hot, large sauté pan, add splash of oil, then pork fat. Render pork fat down until starting to crisp. Add ground meat mixture and salt generously. Break up ground meat with a wooden spoon and aim to brown vigorously over high heat. After a few minutes, turn heat down to medium and stir in spice mixture. Use your spoon to break the meat into smaller crumbles (like you would when making a bolognese). Continue cooking until all meat is brown and a nice fond has formed on the bottom of the pan, but not so long that it dries out, between 10 and 20 minutes (depending largely on the power of your stove).
Once all the above is done, continue onto pie assembly-
1. Pour about a 1/3 cup potato water into the vegetable mix, using the liquid to scrape up any bits stuck to the pan.
2. Pour water and veg mix into the ground meat pan over a low heat. Use the liquid to then scrape up all the deliciousness from the bottom of the meat pan. If the water doesn't stretch enough to get everything up from the bottom of the pan, feel free to add a splash more. You don't want the mix to be wet, just glistening.
3. Combine mashed potatoes into the meat and veggie mix. Once fully incorporated, taste for seasoning (and adjust if you feel like it) - this mix will be the pie filling, so if it's not right, now is the time to fix it. If for any reason it's too wet and water, sprinkle on a little flour or cornstarch, or simply reduce by turning up the heat for a minute or two.
4. Spread finished meat mix out on a baking sheet and put in fridge or freezer to cool.
5. Meanwhile, prepare your double crust pie dough if not already ready for action. Preheat oven to 400 F.
6. Once the meat mix is cool, pack it tightly into the bottom crust, pushing it down and leaving no gaps in filling, then cover with top crust and seal (you can use egg wash like glue to create a tighter seal between the top and bottom crusts). Egg wash the top and cut vents in the pastry.
7. Bake at 400 F for 40 minutes or until the pie crust is fully cooked.
8. Allow to cool slightly, slice, and enjoy!
Make ahead:
*Poultry seasoning:
-1 tsp dried sage
-1 tsp dried thyme
-1/2 tsp dried rosemary
-1/4 tsp dried marjoram
-1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
-1/2 tsp black pepper
Grind herbs and spices together into a powder.
**Spice mix:
-1 1/2 tsp mustard powder
-2-3 allspice berries
-1/2 tsp nutmeg
-1/2 tsp cinnamon
-1/2 tsp black pepper
Ground all spices & mix together.
***Double pie crust:
-313 g all-purpose flour
-2 tsp white sugar
-1 tsp salt
-115 g cold cultured butter, cubed
-115 g cold lard, cubed
-1/2 cup ice water
1. Mix dry ingredients together.
2. Toss fats in dry ingredients until coated, then use fingers to break the fats up until no whole cubes remain and lard has slightly crumbled.
3. Slowly pour in water a few Tbsp at a time, mixing just to combine.
4. Pour half of the barely-together dough & any crumbles onto plastic wrap, pull into disc form, and roll in plastic to create a pie dough disc about 1-1.25 inches tall.
5. Repeat for second half of dough. Refrigerate at least 2 hours before using.
20 авг 2024
