Tourtiere (French Canadian Meat Pie)

I made this; the only change I made was to use all lean ground beef (didn't have any ground pork on hand and couldn't wait to make it!). The whole family raved and went back for seconds. If you are the kind of cook who aggressively salts the water when cooking potatoes, you may want to be careful about how much salt you add to the water in this recipe--you'll be adding that potato cooking water to the meat mixture which already has a good amount of salt in it thanks to the spice mix. This was such a hit, I'm making 4 more to freeze to enjoy during the holidays. Chef John is my hero!

I'm from Quebec and i agree this recipe is pretty spot on. However, skip the cayenne pepper, it has no business here. Made it without it and they came out perfect, well worth the effort and a great holiday treat, family was raving about it and agreed the spice was right (without the cayenne). Do not substitute from the kosher salt, used sea salt once and it didn't come out as it should have. I always used the Pillsbury ready crusts, time saver and just as good.

Well, I did what no one should EVER do, and I prepared this recipe for the first time ever for my family Winter Solstice dinner. It turned out perfect (and I even had my Canadian b'friend there who gave it the stamp of approval), and everyone loved it. Very filling and tasty. The crust was magnificent, and I will NEVER make another kind of pie crust. I won't say that I won't ever use premade again, because I can foresee that happening if I need it in a hurry, but if you follow Chef John's directions, you will feel like a pastry chef when it's complete! I wish I had made a picture. Next time!

Delicious! I used pillsbury prerolled crust to save time. I grated one carrot into the meat mixture while cooking. Other than that I followed the recipe. Reminds me of my Nan’s.

I made this exactly to the recipe. We loved it. It was so flavorful with all the different spices in it. Served with macaroni and cheese. I made the filling and the dough the night before to break up the work a little bit. I’m glad I did. Will definitely make this again. Update: Oh my heavens it is even better the second day. When I had mad the filling the night before, I thought that would be a better flair( ususally us in any recipe) but the next day was incredible. My husband said “can we try more Canadian food?” to which I had a good chuckle.

Followed the recipe - far too salty. I will make it again, but adjust the salt.

The spices are great and they give the meat pie a bit of tang. I cooked ground beef and ground turkey together. Added 2 large onions chopped to the meat mixture, which I covered with water and boiled for 20 minutes until all meat and onions were cooked. I then strain the meat and liquid. I put the liquid in the fridge so the fat comes to the top, I then scrape the fat off and thicken the liquid (make a gravy). I add the meat to the pie shell and then add the gravy to the pie, enough to make it wet but not runny, I did not use potatoes.. I really only used the spices and then made my pie the way my mother taught me. I am Canadian and love meat pie. I make my own crust with Tenderflake lard. Delicious. I may put them in tart shells. Makes a more individual serving. Delicious. A real treat.

True Canadian tourtière meat pie! The aroma and flavours of each spice compliment eachother in every bite! I have been reminiscing about my great-grandmother's tourtière and finally after trying several recipes I have found the perfect French Canadian Tourtière Pie like hers??! She always told me, "a true tourtière is made with venison and pork". I made my pie with all venison and it was devine!

I made this with my not so great baking skills. The pie crust was easy and Soooo good. The recipe was outstanding. My husband loved it and so did I. The spices were very unusual but the flavor was absolutely amazing. I'll never try another pie crust this was so good. Today a pie crust tomorrow perhaps a cake !!!!!!

I used a mix of beef, pork and veal and to save some time I used pre-made crust. It was really good. My husband loved it!

It is paramount that you eat this with maple syrup. I had major doubts about this at first but after trying it I’ll never eat it any other way.

Time consuming, but oh so delicious. Someone said it was “paramount” to have with maple syrup, and they were right! Just a drizzle of pure maple syrup (not the we Americans are used to). It was fantastic!

Very good flavor. Just takes a long time to make

Absolutely delicious...only thing I did differently was use a store bought crust....thank you Chef John....you rock!

I used venison instead of beef. Leeks for celery and sweet potatoes.

This was wonderful. Flavourful and moist with the perfect blend of spices. I used my own pastry recipe that is similar to the one provided. Other than the pastry I followed the recipe without any changes. Will make this again and again. Video is very helpful.

I used pre made our dough but followed the rest of the recipe exactly. Loved it!!! It was just like the one my Grandmother would always make. Her main difference was that she would make it t use up a leftover roast by grinding the meat and then adjusting the other ground meat as needed. I will make this a regular recipe. Thank you!

Followed this recipe exactly and it turned out incredible. Served with beef gravy or ketchup and we preferred the ketchup!

I didn't have ground pork so I used ground turkey and hamburger and used a premade pie crust. This recipe is a keeper.

My husband and son enjoyed this. It was a savory dish that was different than anything I’ve ever made for them. Definitely will make it for them again!

No changes at all. Followed the recipe exactly as written. The way I remember my Mom and Memere making it (maybe even better). Thank you for sharing.

This was delicious! I don't have a food processor or a meat grinder, so I finely chopped a leftover chunk of pork roast. The pieces were teeny tiny, which I think made the whole process seem very long to make, but boy was it delish, once the work was over. Picky Phil loved it!

I had this pie many, many years ago in Newfoundland. I thought I would give it a try. Delicious and brought back wonderful memories. This recipe is a keeper.

I just made this and it was delicious! I will definitely make again.

As a French Canadian this a pretty good recipe compared to what I grew up with. This kind of pie can vary quite a bit, the original ones the mean was not ground and cooked as a roast and then cut up with a knife and added to a pie with pretty much anything else that might be available in the early days of winter. I've made this recipe made it three times and my only adive is pay close attention to the crust, also maybe get a more detailed/better recipe for a pie crust and always use butter not lard.

This was wonderful. This was my first time making pie crust (I don’t have a mixer) but it turned out great. The filling was delicious and easy. The next time, I’ll make the crust thinner at the lip, otherwise this recipe is a keeper

Awesome! Seasonings were just perfect.

Somehow as a Canadian,I had never heard of this until I visited Montreal. and had one. Chef Johns recipe tasted exactly as I remembered.It turned out amazing! served it with a little H.P. sauce instead of ketchup. The only changes a made was to the pastry, I added 1/2 cup of ice water and no vinegar.instead of 1/4 cup.

This was worth the work and wait. The only thing I would change would be to add less salt. We tried it (1) alone; (2) with gravy; and (3) with ketchup. All were wonderful.

First time making this recipe....Fantastik...will make more before Christmas....For someone who is not known to get it right.....got this right! .....actually I don't have a photo...but I must say it looked like the one with this recipe...Hubby loved it as well. Thank-you too much salt....adjust to 1 Tsp.

Pretty good recipee. I wanted to compare it to my husbands recipee that is passed down from generation to generation (it beat this one out of the water). I subbed the meat for venison and rabbit to make it more authentic and removed the cayenne, which does not belong!

I made this as written, except I used store bought crust. I also didn’t add cayenne or allspice as I didn’t have any. It was delicious. I made it into tartlets as I’m serving them as hot appetizers for New Years Eve. Tastes just as it should! Thank you!

It was delicious and will definitely make this again, however I will cut the salt way down! I added some onion powder, minced garlic and rosemary to the top of the crust to cut saltiness.

turned out great

the spice blend is fantastic. would reduce the amount of salt next time. this recipe doubles easily

Very interesting taste, live it!

It was delicious. My husband loved it and said it tasted the same as he remembered his favourite meat pie taste. Made 11 pies, ate one and froze 10.

i made this as stated (except i left out the potato, which I regret not adding or at least substituting another binding agent) and it was spot on. i thought there was too many spices but added them all anyways and it was perfect. not one spice overtook the other and made for a very balanced flavor. i served mine with cranberries as something sweet/sour is a great compliment to the richness of the filling. very authentic flavors and i will definitely make this again (but with the potato!).

sorry to say this was a disappointment. despite all the spices/herbs it had little flavor.

My dough did to come together so ended up adding almost half again on the water but it came out great!!

absolutely the best tortiere pie I have made. Everyone loved it!

I love this meat pie. I love delivering this savory deliciousness to neighbors and friends throughout December. I make it exactly to the recipe frankly because Chef knows what he's doing. This is a keeper. Thanks, Chef!

We've now made this twice to rave reviews. Such a wonderful mix of flavors. Chef John does it again!

Did not have pork so used all beef. Excellent tourtiere. Thanks Chef John!

AMAZING !

Again and again...So good !!!

It will become an annual tradition!

wayyy too much salt , but nice flavor will do again less salt

it just came out of the oven so I haven't tasted it yet. But my tastes through out making it reminded me of meat pies from New England. I can't wait for a full slice (with ketchup!)

Simply awesome! The crust was so flaky - even without lard. Paired with a spicy CdP!

The only change I made was to add green onions to this recipe

I liked it a lot, but I had a very strong nutmeg flavor I don't no if that is good or bad.

I found the spice blend excellent and used beef and lamb which actually made 2 regular size pies. Used gluten free crust.

came out great

Like someone mentioned in the comments, I went without cayenne to make it more authentic. I ended up not having enough dough, so I would honestly add another cup of flour and another teaspoon of salt to the dough mix. Otherwise, it's good and hearty with a nice flavor!

Fantastique!

Chef John.....THANK YOU! I love this recipe, my family is from northern Quebec where they make pork pie & my husband is from P.E.I. where they make Canadian meat pie & the seasonings from your recipe are reminiscent of the meat pie to satisfy him & still true to my Memere's recipe. Also this crust is my new go to for savory pies , last night we made turkey pot pie & the even the bottom crust is sturdy enough to stay crisp through the sauce without blind baking, which was hard for me to accomplish before & the very subtle vinegar gives a nice flavor to boot... Merci beaucoup!

This was my first meat pie attempt and it turned out amazingly. I'm not great at making crusts so I used a frozen store - bought one. The filling was easy to make and tasted great with all the spices. I will definitely make it again.

Have made this twice so far. Once for Halloween with the face in it using just ground beef; and then for Christmas Eve. Will definitely make again. Thanks Chef John!

I made this exactly according to the recipe, and it was delicious! The filling was so flavorful. Next time I may use a second potato and put some chunks in it.

Love it made with potatoes. Believe it or not, it’s really good with cranberry sauce on the side. We

Best meat pie ever! Very flavorful. Just the right amount of spices! Even my French mother in law was impressed!

This recipe contains a hideous amount of salt. I worked on this for a few hours, I cut back on the salt and I still would not serve it.

Made as written. Skimmed the fat off when the meat was cooking and used some of the fat for a flavourful gravy to serve with the tourtiere.

Ok so I was short on time so I cheated with a frozen pie crust. However, the flavors inside this pie were amazing! The entire thing was gobbled up. I will be making this again soon - and attempting the pie crust recipe portion as well. I did not expect this to be such a hit with the family.

I grew up eating this when living in New England. Moved away to Virginia, Washington, and California and no one ever knew what this was. Made for first time for my boyfriend and his three teenage kids and EXACTLY how I remember it. Everyone lives it. Soooo good!