This was my first time making Tourtiere and there are plenty of recipes with a few alterations. It is my understanding that a traditional tourtiere recipe does not have potatoes; the addition of potatoes makes for a dense, thicker Tourtiere. This is one of my daughter's favourites and I received a double thumbs up from not only her, but my son and my husband. My son thinks the more seasoned a tourtiere is the better and he also added his final touches by creating the vent design on top of the pie.
Tourtiere
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1 Ib ground pork
1 lb ground beef
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup water
2 or 3 large potatoes, peeled and cut into quarters
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon mustard powder
1/2 teaspoon mixed spice or all spice
1 teaspoon summer savoury
1 teaspoon sage
1/4 teaspoon pepper
*other seasonings to use, thyme, oregano, or cinnamon
2 homemade pie crusts or 2 ready made pie crusts
Preheat oven to 450ºF.
In a large sauce pan combine the ground pork, ground beef, onion and the water. Mix well. Cook covered over low medium heat until the ground pork and beef are cooked through, stirring occasionally.
Place the peeled and quartered potatoes in a medium saucepan; cover with water and boil until just tender. Drain and give them a rough mash. Add to the cooked meat mixture.
Remove from heat and add the salt, mustard powder, mixed spice, summer savoury, sage and pepper. Mix well to combine the meat, potato and seasonings.
Roll your pastry out and line a 9 inch pie dish with it.
Fill with the meat mixture.
Roll the other pie crust out. Cover the top of the pie with it. Roll or pinch the edges. Press down the edges with the tongs of a fork. Then cut several vents on top. Brush with an egg wash and place in the pre-heated oven for about 20 to 25 minutes or until nicely golden brown.
Notes: Normally Tourtiere does not have the addition of potatoes therefore you may omit them, if you wish. You may also wish to tweak the amounts of the seasonings according to your taste. I made one large pie, as I do have a deep pie dish and a large quiche baking dish, I used the large quiche baking dish and made two batches of pie pastry to accommodate.