TOURTIERE – A CHRISTMAS EVE TRADITION
Moe and I have been together going on 52 years.
It has always been our Christmas Eve tradition to have Tourtiere as was his French Canadian tradition growing up.
Ready for the oven
Just out of the oven.
Served with homemade Chile Sauce.
Canned seven jars of Chile Sauce. Moe’s favourite condiment to serve with Tourtiere.
Tourtiere
This filling is for one pie. I usually triple the ingredients and make three at a time. I bake all of the pies
and when cold freeze.
Pastry to two crust pie.
1 large onion chopped
2 or 3 tablespoons oil or butter
1 clove garlic
1-1/2 pounds of pork
1 cup gravy or stock (saved from turkey or pork)
2 russet potatoes (par boiled)
2 tablespoons chopped celery leaves
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
1/2 teaspoon thyme,
1/2 teaspoon rosemary (or more)
Salt and pepper to taste
1/8 teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon allspice, more to taste
Sauté the onion in oil until transparent, add the garlic and sauté for one minute and then add the
ground pork. Cook until the meat is brown.
Add 1/2 cup stock or gravy and cover pan and simmer for about 15 or 20 minutes. Preheat oven to
425°F
Uncover pan and reduce liquid to 2 or 3 tablespoons. Add the seasonings and stir to blend.Adjust
seasonings to taste. Add the
coarsely chopped potatoes and add enough additional gravy to moisten. ( Should not be to wet.)
Spoon filling into pastry shell. Use egg glaze on along overhand.
Place crust on top and trim. Fold the top edge under the bottom and crimp edge. Brush with egg glaze
and decorate with extra pastry if
desired. Sprinkle with Coarse salt.
Bake in the lower third of oven for 15 minutes and then raise to the middle shelf, lower heat to 350 and
continue to bake until golden
brown. About 45 to 55 minutes.
HOMEMADE CHILE SAUCE
Posted by thibeaultstable on
HOMEMADE CHILE SAUCE
MY ADAPTED VERSION: (see below for original recipe)
I adapted recipe to use Canned Tomatoes
and I cut the recipe in half:
5 – 28oz cans of tomatoes
3 1/2 cups of sugar
2 1/4 cups of cider vinegar
1 bunch of celery
2 jalapeno peppers
2 large peppers 1 green 1 red
2 large onions
1 1/2 teaspoons ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
salt
1 tablespoon pickling spice in a cheese cloth
See original recipe below for for cooking instructions.
Will fill 8 to 9 – 500ml bottles.
Prepare mason jars.
Fill hot jars with hot chile sauce.
Process for 20 minutes in hot water bath.
When done , turn off burner, uncover and leave for five minutes.
Remove from water.
thibeaultstable.com 
When our elder son entered French Immersion in Kindergarten, we began our family tradition of enjoying Tourtiere on Christmas Eve and during our Festival du Voyageur held every year in februay in Winnipeg. Woul you sher your technique for the incredibly beautiful top crust of your pie?
Hi Ruth, I use an all butter pastry crust, adding more butter when I want it to be a little like puff pastry. The regular recipe is 2 cups of flour and 2/3rd cups of butter, but I like to add anywhere from 1 cup to 1 1/2 cups of butter. And I do a few folds when I am patting it out. That pattern was very easy. I just used a knife. Cut the hole in the centre and then starting from the outside, I cut in a swirl to the hole. I often cut out leaves instead, but I really like the way this crust looked.