A classic French-Canadian meat pie. My classic Tourtière features a delicious and lightly spiced ground pork filling and a homemade pastry.
Tourtière is a classic French-Canadian meat pie often served at Christmas. For me, it's a perfect Christmas eve meal. This is my Mom's recipe and it's one of my favourite versions. It's made with ground pork, is lightly spiced and beautifully moist.
Not sure how to pronounce it? Some suggest "tor-tee-air", but I more often hear it pronounced with just two syllables, such as "tor-tyair" or "tour-tyair".
What makes a great Tourtière, in my opinion, is a flaky, lard-based pastry, so I've included an easy recipe here, as well. I feel like I can call it easy as I am pastry-challenged and even I managed to make it. All that said, it's a busy time of year and if you'd prefer to go the store-bought pastry route, I'm certainly not going to judge :)
Tourtière is a classic French-Canadian meat pie, traditionally served at Christmas, though makes a great meal any time of year.
I love that Tourtière can be made ahead and frozen, then baked off as needed. It's a real time-saver and a great thing to have in your freezer during the busiest days of the holidays. It would also make a great, homemade gift!
Ingredient Notes for Classic Tourtière
Lard: Tenderflake brand is perhaps the best known lard in my part of the world, but lard is lard, no matter the brand. Lard differs from vegetable shortening as it is animal based, rendered fat. It bakes up differently and has a different flavour. If you'd prefer not to use lard, butter would be a better substitute than a vegetable shortening, though vegetable shortening will work.
Cake and Pastry Flour: Here in Canada, soft wheat flour is often labelled "Cake and Pastry Flour". Monarch makes a popular brand of this flour here (look for it in the red checkered bag!). Any soft flour labelled as cake or pastry flour is what you need.
Ground Pork: I prefer an all pork pie, but you can use a mix of pork and beef or basically any combination of meats, as long as they are ground.
Savory: First, as a Canadian, I'm having a hard time typing the name of this herb without a "u" in it :) And yes, savory is an herb, not a spice mix and no, it doesn't have a "u" in it. This is not a spice you see in many recipes anymore, so you may not have it on hand. If you've not needed it until now, you may not want to add a whole bottle to your spice rack. You can omit, if you like (it's only 1/8 of a tsp) or a pinch of marjoram would be a decent substitute. If you do have it on hand, you may have ground savory or something labelled Summer Savory, which is generally more coarse leaves. The 1/8 tsp measurement is almost surely meant to be ground savory, so if you only have the more coarse version, use a bit more.
Bread Crusts: This is simply fresh bread crumbs really, but using the crusts so it's not mushy. The crust off any fresh bread is fine here. I wouldn't recommend dry bread crumbs, as they won't behave the same way in the filling. You can "crumble" in a food processor, if you prefer.
Cook's Notes for Classic Tourtière
The pastry recipe here is pretty much the "back of the box", Tenderflake lard pastry recipe. The only problem is that the full recipe makes enough for three 2-crust pies. Doing this recipe for 3 pies seemed a little excessive, so I've cut it down to two. So you will have excess pastry here. It's just not easy to scale the pastry recipe down and it calls for 1 egg and 1/3 of an egg is tricky business, especially when it comes to pastry. Certainly if you'd like 3 pies, simply scale the filling recipe up to make enough filling for 3 pies.
Cloves are a common addition to Tourtière, but I'm not fond of them in this pie myself. If you are a clove lover, you can certainly add a pinch to the mix. Other warm spices such as cinnamon and allspice are also sometimes found in Tourtière, if you feel you'd like that addition.
As mentioned above, you can use all ground pork (my favourite version) or use a mixture of ground meats, such as beef, pork and or veal.
Be sure your pork mixture is cooled before adding to your pastry. I like to make the filling early in the day and refrigerate, then assemble the pies later in the day, to bake fresh for dinner.
Top Tip: For the flakiest lard pastry, keep your pastry cold. Work quickly when assembling if you can and if you feel it's warmed up too much, you can pop the assembled pie in the freezer for 5-10 minutes before popping in the oven.
How to Serve Your Tortière
To serve your Tourtière, you can offer an assortment of condiments such as ketchup or chili sauce. I love mustard, whether regular, honey mustard or grainy mustard. I find it balances the richness of the pie really nicely. Some suggest pickles or something like pickled beets or quick pickled vegetables, for the same reason. I don't think you need to fuss with a side dish for a Tourtière. I usually go just with a salad of some sort.
How to Freeze Your Tourtière
For best results, freeze your Tourtière after assembling and before baking. When ready to enjoy, cook from frozen, brushing the top with the egg wash before putting it in the oven. Baking time will be a longer from frozen.
Cooked tourtière may be frozen for 4 months or so. There is no need for it to be thawed before reheating. To reheat, cover your frozen Tourtière loosely with foil and place in a 350F oven. Bake until a knife inserted in the centre is hot when you test it.
Classic Tourtière
Ingredients
Meat Filling (for 2 pies):
- 2 lb ground pork
- 1 medium onion (finely diced)
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp dry mustard
- 1 tsp thyme
- 1/2 tsp sage
- 1/4 tsp savoury
- 1 cup water
- Crust from 4 or 5 slices of bread (crumbled)
Pastry (see Notes):
- 1 lb lard
- 5 1/2 cups cake and pastry flour
- 4 Tbsp brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 large egg
- 1 Tbsp vinegar
- Water (as needed)
For brushing before baking:
- 1 large egg
- 1 Tbsp water
Instructions
- Prepare the filling: Mix all of the filling ingredients together in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the meat is no longer pink. Do not brown the meat. Lower heat and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes. Crumble bread crusts into mixture and stir until absorbed into the mixture. Remove mixture to a bowl, cover and refrigerate until chilled before using.
- Make the pastry: In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt. Cut in the lard with a pastry blender or two knives until the lard is incorporated. In a one cup measuring cup, beat together the egg and vinegar, then add enough water to the measuring cup until it measures 1 cup. Add this mixture to the flour mixture, adding about 2/3 of it at first, stirring, then adding just as much more as is needed to make a moist dough. Divide dough into 4 pieces, wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 400F.
- Take out 1 piece of dough and place onto a well-floured work surface. Roll dough into a circle large enough for a 9-inch pie plate. *Note: You will have plenty of dough. Roll to the desired thickness and trim off the excess. Place in bottom of pie plate. Add 1/2 of the meat filling. Roll another piece of dough large enough to cover. Pinch or use a fork to seal the edges together around the outside. Repeat with two more pieces of dough and the rest of the meat filling to make 2 pies. *Your excess dough can be refrigerated or frozen for another time and purpose, if you like.
- Mix an egg with 1 Tbsp of water and generously brush the tops of the pies. Cut a few slits in the middle to allow the steam to escape.
- Place in preheated oven (*If using glass pie plates, reduce the oven to 375F once the pies are placed in the oven and bake for about 40-45 minutes), otherwise, bake at 400F for 35-40 minutes, or until golden. If at any time you think your pastry may over-brown, simply lay a sheet of aluminum foil over-top for the last part of baking.
- Serve warm.
anna bellows says
I was surprised and happy to see this online! My mother was French Canadian, and growing up with this special yummy savory pie was the best part of Xmas. We always had this on Xmas eve, and again on boxing day so my mother didn't have to cook much!
My children are also carrying on this tradition. If you have never tried this, I encourage you to try it. You will be happy you did. Our pies were made with lean ground pork, there were never any leftovers. There are several differing spices, but they are all good.
Thank-you so much for sharing this with the rest of the world!
Jennifer says
Thanks Anna :)
Douglas Speeckaert says
So happy to have come across your recipe for the Tourtiere as it is very similar to what my Memere used to make. I haven't made one myself in years, but will be making one this afternoon for tonight's supper.
Jennifer says
Do enjoy! Merry Christmas :)
Shawn says
I've made these the other day and have assembled and froze. They smelled delicious and the consistency seemed great. I cannot wait to see if this beats my mom's recipie!
Question. How long approximately do you bake from frozen - unbaked shell.
Great tip with the bread crust to get rid of the excess water but keep the flavour!
Jennifer says
Hi Shawn, I've never actually from frozen, but my best guess would be about 1 hour. That said, just look at the crust colour (should be nice and golden) and maybe insert a knife in the centre to make sure it's nice and warmed through. Enjoy!
Anne Gallant says
This recipe looks great. I’ve always made these for Christmas Eve as well. I use Tenderflake for my crust too. I always wondered what to do so the filling is not so wet. I’m assuming the crusts helps with this. I’m making 4 pies so I can give one to my girls that can’t be here because of covid. I hope I can just double the recipe.
Jennifer says
Hi Anne, you can definitely double the recipe, but do note that the pastry recipe, as written, is enough to make 3 two-crust pies. Definitely double the filling for 4 pies. I've never found this filling to be wet, but you could dust the browned pork in a bit of flour before adding the rest of the ingredients, if you like.
Jeannie says
No worries you can double this recipe. I use this and I make 10 pies at Christmas
Jennifer says
That's a lot of pies, Jeannie :) Thanks for letting us know!
Tracy says
I’m going to try your recipe. I have a question as I’m surprised to see There’s no allspice or cinnamon. Are they traditionally included?? Also have you heard of making it with very thinly chopped leftover pork roast? I was thinking chopped to the size of ground pork and simmered slow would likely work. Thank you for posting this!
Jennifer says
Hi Tracy, when it comes to Tortiere, there are as many ways to make it as there are makers :) This is the way I enjoy it, with savory spicing. Spice like allspice, cinnamon and cloves make a different kind of tortiere. If you prefer that kind of spicing, you can certainly go that route instead. Likewise, if you want to try it with chopped pork, you are certainly free to do that, too.
Lola says
Hi Jennifer, a friend introduced me years ago to her family's traditional tourtiere and I've been making it ever since. I love making it in the fall for some reason...I think it's a comfort thing! I always serve this with a homemade pineapple chutney and it pairs amazingly with the pork!! My family won't eat the tourtiere without it now! Thanks for sharing your version of a family favourite.
Jennifer says
Hi Lola and yes, it's perfect Fall comfort food, too :) Love the sound of the pineapple chutney!
Ann Stevenson says
Hi Jennifer, thank you for your recipe! In my Mom’s French Canadian family, tourtiere pies were made Thanksgiving weekend & frozen...until Christmas morning☺️! We enjoyed it through the New Year. My Nana grew her own summer savory. Tourtiere was as much a part of Christmas as going in the woods for the tree, Church, Carols & gifts! It’s been so many years since I’ve made this cherished pie during the holiday season, having read your article, I just may give it a whirl. Thanks again🦋
Jennifer says
So happy to read you lovely food memories, Ann :) I hope to give it a try as holiday season approaches. Thanks!
Anne says
Wow. This recipe is nearly identical to the one my Franco-Ontarian grandmother made and that I still make. Mine does not have savory in it (perhaps that got lost over the many times this recipe has been copied) but I always have it on hand since I use it in several things, especially stuffing. Also, we use mashed potato not bread. I do use cloves - that's essential, though it must be added very judiciously. A small amount goes a long way!
The last difference is how I found your recipe. We don't measure the water but pour on enough to cover. We drain that off when the simmering is done. The stock is fantastic and I save it. I have just thawed some intending to use it as a soup base. I came looking to see if someone might have already done something like that. It led to discovering this page.
And yes, this was the classic Christmas Eve dinner while I was growing up.
Jennifer says
So many ways to make this wonderful dish :) Thanks for sharing yours, Anne :)
Anne Gallant says
I’ve always drained it as well but am trying it with bread crumbs this year.
Leanne says
I love the idea of enjoying this savoury pie for Christmas! I've never made tortiere, but it looks like a hearty meal my husband and I would love!
Jennifer says
Thanks Leanne and yes, it's great to have on hand over the holidays. Makes a great lunch or dinner :) Merry Christmas!
Kathy says
Hi Jennifer, oh my goodness you’ve warmed my heart here and brought back many wonderful memories! My Mom and Grandma used to make these every Christmas. They were from New England of French-Canadian descent but I was born and raised in Los Angeles, so none of my friends had ever heard of it. We used to have them with ketchup on top and to anyone who hasn’t tried these, they are DELICIOUS! Cozy, hearty fare, and I highly recommend! Thanks again for posting this.
Jennifer says
So happy to hear, Kathy :) We always had a feed of Tortière at some point over Christmas growing up. Great memories and yes, delicious :) Thanks!
Dawn - Girl Heart Food says
Looks like a delicious and hearty comfort food recipe! Love that you made your own crust too!
Jennifer says
Thanks Dawn :) I really don't love making pastry, but my desire for this kind of pastry over-ruled!
Mary Ann | The Beach House Kitchen says
I have never heard of this pie Jennifer, so thanks so much for sharing. The best recipes are the ones that have been handed down, I totally agree. I know my husband and my boys would enjoy this!
Jennifer says
Thanks Mary Ann! There's nothing fancy about this pie. Just a nice meat pie, really, so it makes a great dinner anytime :)
Milena says
Definitely a recipe I'd love to try. And thank you for the lard pastry recipe - I firmly believe that lard makes all kinds of dough taste better and contributes to extra flakiness:) Glad it is an easy recipe too!
Jennifer says
Thanks Milena :) A flaky lard pastry is the best way to enjoy this meat pie for sure. It's worth the extra bit of effort!
Linda says
Thanks Jennifer for your version of Tourtière Pie. I have been making for years for Christmas Eve, however I do not use a bottom crust and instead of bread I add mashed potato. Looking forward to trying this recipe.
Jennifer says
I have seen that type of Tortière, but have never tried it. I like the addition of potatoes :)
Tricia B. says
This is a fascinating recipe Jennifer. I've always wanted to try more savory pies and this sounds like a great one to start with. Of course my husband will love this meaty slice of heaven :) Pinned
Jennifer says
Thanks Tricia and you will be able to rock this pie, with your mad pie making skills :)