Tourtière, also known as pork pie or meat pie, is a combination of ground meat, onions, spices, and herbs baked in a traditional piecrust.
Growing up in a Northern New England paper town provided an eclectic upbringing of various nationalities and traditions. Like most mill towns, employment opportunities summoned immigrants from all over the world including Russia, Scandinavia, and Ireland. However, the largest immigrant group by far was French-speaking Canadians.
Employment opportunities at the many saw mills and logging camps drew numerous French Canadians south in several waves during the 19th century. Eventually, many French Canadians seeking work and preservation of their customs, language, and way of life relocated to New England towns. They settled, established Franco-American communities, and maintained their culture, language, and religion. My family is mostly of French-Canadian descent, and I grew up in a bilingual French and English speaking small town.
Among the customs passed down from generation to generation is the tradition of serving tourtière for special occasions such as Christmas Eve. This celebration meal was an adaptation of réveillon de Noël of rural Québec.
The Family Tradition of Tourtière (Meat Pie)
As our family Christmas traditions continue to evolve over the years, I often think about the old-fashioned customs and foods from my youth. I remember attending Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve, then returning home to feast on meat pies smothered with a generous amount of ketchup before we were ushered to bed so Santa could deliver presents. As the years went by, and family members got older, the tradition of Midnight Mass gave way to Christmas Eve Mass at an earlier hour but the ritual of serving tourtière after Mass continued for many years.
Tourtière, also known as pork pie or meat pie, is a combination of ground meat, onions, spices, and herbs baked in a traditional piecrust. There are many variations of tourtière throughout different regions of Franco-American communities and Canada and even among members of the same family. Most recipes include a combination of ground pork and beef, but it is not unusual to include venison or other game meats in the pie. Almost every family had a tante or mémère (aunt or grandmother) who had a tourtière recipe with a secret ingredient or two.
Some versions of tourtière are made from only ground or chopped pork, but my family always made it with a mix of pork and beef. Several accounts suggested that using potatoes was frowned upon because that meant you could not afford meat. In this recipe, I feel the potatoes are essential to help bind the ingredients together. The poultry seasoning that is historically used by many families in New England is Bells Poultry Seasoning and is still made today.
Tourtière, also known as pork pie or meat pie, is a combination of ground meat, onions, spices, and herbs baked in a traditional piecrust.
- 2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2/3 cup butter or lard
- 6-7 tablespoons cold water
- 1 pound ground pork
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 small onion finely chopped
- 1 clove garlic finely minced
- 2 large potatoes
- 1/2 teaspoon Bells poultry seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/8 teaspoon pepper
- 1 egg scrambled for glazing
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In a large bowl, combine flour with the salt. Cut in butter or lard until mixture is a roughly even crumbly texture. Add water and blend just until dough comes together.
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Shape into a rough disc, wrap and chill in the refrigerator. While pastry is chilling, prepare filling.
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Cook potatoes in a pot of water until tender, about 12 minutes. Reserve 1/2-cup of potato water and drain the rest. Mash potatoes and set aside.
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In a large skillet, cook the onion, garlic beef and pork over medium heat until no longer pink. Drain off excess fat. Add seasonings and reserved potato water. Mix in well and simmer for about 10 minutes until the liquid is absorbed. Remove the pan from heat, stir in mashed potatoes, and set aside to cool slightly.
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Preheat oven to 400°F/205°C
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On a lightly floured surface, divide dough in half and flatten one ball of dough with your hands. Roll dough to about 12-inches in diameter to fit a 9-inch pie pan. Place the pastry into the pie plate and add the meat filling. Brush around the outer edge of the pastry with the beaten egg. Roll out the top pastry and place on top of the filling. Fold the top crust under the bottom crust and pinch or flute the edges. Brush with egg wash and cut vent holes.
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Bake in a preheated over for 30 to 35 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown. Remove the tourtière from oven and let it cool at least 10 minutes before serving. Yield: Makes 1 pie, about 8 servings.
Does your family have traditions centered on food and meals?
What family traditions do you carry on?
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OOOOHHHHH Tourtière!!! Love it but have never made it….thanks for the recipe, now I’m going to have to try making it myself. <3
There are many recipes with little tweaks, but none are as good as the ones grandmothers or moms made. Even though the ingredients may be the same or similiar, it takes the love and traditions to make them the very best.
My husband’s family is French Canadian and they also celebrated the reveillon with midnight mass and then a party afterwards with Tourtiere. We’ve moved the party to before midnight mass as we’ve gotten older, but we still have the meat pies. We love it for breakfast the next day with eggs! Thanks for the recipe. I’ve never personally made one, but I know Meme was going to try and teach some grandkids this year! I’ll show her the recipe to see if this is similar to how she does it.
Looks delicious! I love traditions, especially those that surround the Christmas season.
Thanks for sharing on Let’s Get Real Party.
In my family, the filling was made mostly with ground beef and was used to stuff the Christmas turkey, with enough extra filling for the meat pies, which were then served for New Year’s.
Jean, That seems like a very efficient use of time and ingredients. 🙂
Yes…my mother used only meat stuffing for chicken and furkey. French-Canadian.
We had our ” Reveillon ” religiously each year. And after midnight Mass as custom.
And I pass it on to our children’s. But the ” fat ” content is too high for today diet as one’s age’s.
Very good memories.
Also, after, mom played violin, Aunt played accordion, granddad played the clarinet, and uncle played the spoons. Played music for two to three hours. I loved the music.
Roger, Thank you for sharing your warm memories. I remember some very fatty meat pies over the years. That is the great thing about grinding your own meat, you can adjust the amount of fat that is included.
I’ve always liked tourtiere 🙂 I live in Quebec and now that I’m a mom I make it for special occasions. It’s worth to make it fresh. Thank you for sharing!
Hi Rachel! Oh, this looks wonderful! I’m sure my family would love it. We’re going to be relocating to northern New Hampshire in a few weeks, so I’ll have to make it at Christmas time. So nice to know that this is a local favorite. 🙂 Already pinned. Thanks!
Marge, Thank you for your kind comment. I hope you enjoy NH and the recipe. 🙂
My mom made something similar; sometimes she would put an egg or two in with the meat.we all loved it. Will try this one….see if it stacks up. Her’sister was always a favorite and there was not a recipe, most of her cooking was from memory.
We always have ours for breakfast Christmas morning. My mom was English, my dad French Canadian….so as a compromise we had it for breakfast instead of after midnight mass. My mom’s secret ingredients, some Bisto and a bottle of beer. Trust me everyone always loves it!
DebbieLee, It sounds like a fair compromise 🙂
My grandfather always made meat pies for Christmas, Love and miss him very much. Hope they taste as good as his, will love them.
This recipe is the closest I’ve ever seen to my mother’s. We grew up in Woonsocket, RI, which had a very large population of French-Canadians working in the textile mills. I still make it at Christmas.
Linda, There are so many different ways to make Christmas meat pie. My grandparents on both sides had different versions and they lived in the some town. I am glad you are carrying on the tradition. 🙂
Qis t possible to freeze the tortiere once all the ingredients are assembled- before cooking? To used later???
Jane, Yes, you can freeze it once assembled. Use a metal or foil pie plate and you can go from freezer to oven. I will take longer to bake, probably up to an hour in the oven.
Yes. It freezes well; just takes longer to bake.
I just thought I would let you know that the printable recipe does not have the lard/butter for the pastry in the ingredients.
My dad always made meat pie that his mother passed down to him. I had the recipe but lost it long ago but the one thing I was sure of was that he used Bell’s poultry seasoning. I searched many recipes and while I found some that had sage and thyme and other spices found in Bell’s I could now find a recipe that specifically called for poultry seasoning. Until now. Thank you for the recipe.
I think we must be from the same town! Reading about the recipe brought back memories of a time long ago. It was a wonderful place to live and raise children. We were all family there. I miss the French masses. Can’t wait to make the pie! Thank you!
Irene , sounds just like my home town too . Where are you from ? I’m from northern NH
Growing up we ate “cheesehead “. It was made with ground pork and beef, oinions, poultry seasoning, eggs. Mom would simmer it all day and then we would put it between 2 slices if bread and then grill the bread (like a grilled cheese). We ate it for breakfast on Christmas morning. Not sure why my family calls it cheesehead
Grew up in Livermore, ME. French Canadian family. Family worked in paper mill all lives. Grandmother “Me Mere” made this pie. You took me back and I thank you! Will be making tonight and thinking of how happy she was to cook and share ?. Thank you for making my day!
Jerry, Thank YOU for your comment. I hope you enjoy your meat pie.
Thank you for this recipe! My husband’s Mother was a Tremblay from the Gaspe. I am going to make this for him he will be so happy, and I will also make extra for his siblings.
Jan, thank you so much for your comment. I hope the flavors bring back warm memories of family.
My Memere made this every Christmas with her Tomatoe Ketchup..amazing my family moved from Sherbrooke and Coatcooke to Palmer,MA…beautiful memories wrapped up in that pie xo
I made this last night, teaching my niece
so she can make it for her French Canadian
fiancé. He was very impressed as was everyone else at the table! Easy recipe and directions!! Thank you for sharing!
Sharon, I am so happy to read your comment. Thank you!
Sounds exactly like a Northern NH town I grew up in
Do you freeze the meat pie before or after it is baked
Rosemary, You can freeze the meat pie after assembling or after baking. Either way works fine. Use a metal or foil pie plate and you can go from freezer to oven.
I prefer to bake and cool, then wrapped and freeze. That way it takes less time in the oven at serving time. Bake until heated through, about 30-45 minutes.
You can also freeze the pie once assembled, before baking. It will take longer to bake, probably up to an hour in the oven.
With either method, be sure to cool the pie quickly after cooking or filling. Place the pies into the fridge to cool, then wrap and freeze. Don’t let the pies sit out at room temperature for longer than two hours before you reheat them.
I made Tourtiere meat pie filling.I put a little too much cloves. What do you suggest to add to differ the taste of clove
Armande, You could try adding a little more of the other spices to balance the flavors.
I am making the filling right now and assembling tomorrow to have on Christmas Eve, as always. My father was English, but my French Canadian mother was from Trois Rivieres. Her family also followed the Midnight-Mass-then-Tourtiere tradition when I was a kid. Your recipe is nearly identical to ours, minus the garlic and adding pinch of allspice. Now I am a Protestant pastor’s wife, but also a Mémère, and still make this for a new generation. Thanks for the post!
This looks delicious and I’m planning on making it for my boyfriend and I for Christmas! Does the dough have to chill for a certain amount of time before rolling it out and adding the filling?
Yes, per the instructions #2 for the pastry, pop the dough in the refrigerator before you make the filling. You can chill it longer too if you are breaking the tasks up over a few days.
When my cousins and I were children, we had Christmas Eve at my French-Canadian-American grandmother’s, after evening mass. She always made pork pie. This September, Gram passed, two weeks shy of her one-hundred-and-second birthday. I’m making the tortiere, in her memory, tonight, Christmas Eve, even though I’m the only one in attendance tonight that was at her get togethers. Great memories. Thank you for the recipe!
Looks gorgeous! I loved enjoying this for holiday meals in my family.
My dad was from French Canadian, English and Sioux stock in Minnesota. Mom made French meat pie with cranberry sauce each Christmas. It’s time for me to do the same!
Try the Publick House in Sturbridge Mass, my family is from there and my dad was a bus boy many many years ago, their pie is the BEST!!!! I GET IT EVERY TIME I GO TO VISIT. I am going to try this recipe.
Can you add peas and carrots to this, kind of like a turkey pot pie? (I will be using turkey in this recipe)
Shauna, You can add whatever you want.:)
When I have made pork pie, I always have a problem with the bottom crust being soggy. Suggestions on how to prevent that? It happens with store bought frozen pork pies as well as those that I make from scratch.
Barb, There are so many reasons for a soggy piecrust. Some examples are a filling that is too wet, cracks or air pockets in the bottom pastry, or not cooking the pie long enough. Not knowing your situation, I can only share what I do. I use a glass pie plate, drain off extra fat from the meat filling after step 2, and bake until the bottom crust browns. I have never had a meat piecrust that was soggy. I hope these steps help.
Hi! Thanks for a great recipe! I have never made this before and today was my first time! The only think I noticed is that when I cut into it to serve it the filling was kind of dry and falling out of the pie. Any suggestions? Thanks!
Darlene, The moisture content will vary depending on the meat. Baking it in the oven will dry it out a bit. Did you add the water in step 2? If so, maybe next time try simmering for a shorter period and leaving the mixture a little more moist.
My French Canadian Great Grandparents have passed this down for more than 175 years. Midnight mass was the tradition but now we do it earlier on Christmas Eve. My Grandmother told me it originated because it absorbed all the alcohol consumed after church! . We never use potatoes , garlic or poultry seasoning. We do use allspice. We also were taught to add water to just cover the meat as it was cooking. Added a bit of white bread to absorb some liquid. Best tip that makes the most difference is to have your butcher grind it twice. I pick out 8 pounds of pork shoulder and 8 pounds chuck roast. My brothers and there children all try making them but no match to mine.? Actually all the men in our family do the preparation. Great tradition that never gets old.
Oh… you definitely must use ketchup or chili sauce or a combination!!
I am half French Canadian, born in Woonsocket RI but we moved away when I was 9, so the tradition of meat pie was left behind…sadly! I remember loving it! Aunt Blanche and Memere made it but my Irish Mother made meat stuffing, which was probably a variation of the pie. I have looked and looked for a recipe for the meat stuffing for years, but could only find sausage stuffing. I make my own version of meat stuffing and it’s a family favorite, but I have always wished I could find an original recipe. This must be very close to it…but my Mother used bread crumbs, not potatoes which makes no sense because the Irish love their potatoes! Thanks for the trip down memory lane…merci beaucoup!
All these years, I thought “meat pie” was just a recipe from my mother’s Canadian family (she grew up in Pawtucket, RI). She made it every Christmas, and it was my dad’s absolute favorite. Once she died, the holidays were extra hard on him. I got the recipe from my sister and figured I’d give it a shot, praying the whole time I’d be able to replicate it. On Christmas Eve, I set it down in front of him (slathered in ketchup, of course)…he took one bite, his eyes filled with tears, and he said that just for a brief second it felt like she was there with him again. It was the best thing he’s ever said to me, and of course I cried like a baby over that one! I just stumbled across your column and your recipe is almost exactly as my mom had it written. I loved reading all of these comments from readers whose families have shared the same traditions my mom and dad gave us growing up. Best to you!!
Thank you for your comment, Lauri! It warmed my heart.:)