Mom's French Canadian Tourtière

Mom’s French Canadian Tourtière is a cherished meat pie made with seasoned ground pork (or a mix of meats), warm spices, and flaky, golden crust. A holiday staple and comfort food classic, this savory pie brings the warmth of tradition to every bite. Whether served at Christmas, New Year’s Eve, or a cozy winter dinner, this authentic family recipe carries the rich flavors and memories of French Canadian heritage.

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Course: Christmas, Main Course, Side Dish

Cuisine: Canadian, Quebec

Keyword: Canadian meat pie, French Canadian tourtière, Mom’s tourtière, Tourtière recipe, Traditional meat pie

Servings: pies

Ingredients

3 kg ground pork
1 kg ground beef
1 kg ground veal
1 kg ground venison
3 cups onions finely chopped
3 cups celery finely chopped
1/4 cup garlic finely minced
1 litre of dry red wine
1 litre of veal or beef stock
1/4 tsp of each - ground cloves nutmeg, mace, thyme, savoury
3 bay leaves
3 cups oatmeal or 1-2 large potatoes grated or a mix of both
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

In a large Dutch oven, sauté meat on high heat to brown well.
Add onion, celery, and garlic and sauté until soft.
Add red wine to deglaze the pan and reduce completely until virtually no liquid remains.
Add stock, oatmeal/grated potato, dried cloves, nutmeg, mace, thyme, bay leaves, and savoury and simmer 15 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste.
Refrigerate overnight.
Make mom's no-fail pastry (double recipe).
Roll 1/4" thick and place in pie plate and brush lightly with egg wash (1 egg and 2 tsp water, beaten).
Fill with meat mixture, cover with pastry and brush with egg wash.
Crimp edges and cut air hole in top.
Bake 350 degrees F until golden brown (45 minutes to an hour).
Serve warm or cold. Great with ketchup! :)

Notes

This recipe makes enough for 8 pies - reduce or increase as needed. Very scalable recipe! Use whatever ground meat you have to hand. :)