Rustic Meat Pie (Tourtière du Lac St-Jean)

Yield: 8 to 10 portions Preparation time: 2 hours

+ 12 to 16 hours marinating Cooking time: 4¼ hours

+ 2 hours cooling

Tourtière made in the style of Lac St-Jean is different. It has cubes of different meats instead of ground meat, and sometimes incorporates wild meat from hunting season. The pie also contains cubed potatoes and is baked far longer in the oven, in a deep dish. But I always thought the traditional way of cooking it—we’re talking 6 to 8 hours in the oven—is, well... too long. I prefer to braise the meat for the filling first, then add it to the pastry shell.

Épices à Tourtière

5 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

4½ tsp ground cloves

4 tsp freshly cracked black pepper 3½ tsp ground cinnamon

1½ tsp ground ginger

In a small bowl, combine all the ingredients. Transfer to an airtight container and store in a cool, dark place for up to 6 months; after that, the spices will start to lose their potency.

Meat pie

1 kg pork shoulder, diced into ½-inch cubes 1 kg beef short ribs or shank, deboned and most of the fat removed, diced into ½-inch cubes

150 g lard or unsmoked bacon,

diced into thick lardons

1 cup amber beer from Québec

5 large cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 large sweet onions, thinly sliced

6 to 8 juniper berries,

crushed with a mortar and pestle

3 sprigs thyme, leaves only

2 bay leaves

1 tbsp + 2 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp Épices à Tourtière (recipe above)

4 cups chicken stock

3 tbsp all-purpose flour

1 kg Yukon Gold potatoes,

peeled and diced into ½-inch cubes 1 batch Pâte en Croûte (recipe top right)

3 legs duck confit,

pulled and roughly chopped*

1 egg yolk + 1 tbsp homogenized milk

lightly beaten for egg wash

In a large bowl, mix the pork, beef, lard, beer, garlic, onions, juniper berries, thyme, bay leaves, salt and Épices à Tourtière. Cover and marinate in the fridge for a minimum of 12 hours, and up to 16 hours.

Preheat your oven to 320°F, with the rack in the centre position.

Add the marinated meat mixture with all the liquid to a large ovenproof pot. Stir gently on medium-high heat until all the liquid is evaporated (about 15 minutes). In a separate pot on high heat, bring the chicken stock to a simmer. Sprinkle the flour on the meat mixture, then add the stock, stirring slowly. Cover tightly and braise in the oven for 1½ hours. Stir in the potatoes and cook for 30 minutes, until the meat and potatoes are fork-tender. Let cool at room temperature for 1 hour. Discard the bay leaves.

Meanwhile, on a lightly floured work surface, roll out two-thirds of the dough into a large rectangle about ¼ inch thick. Lay the dough in the bottom and up the sides of the casserole dish, letting the excess hang over the edges. Roll out the remaining dough to ¼ inch thick, in the shape of your casserole dish, and set aside. Increase the oven temperature to 425°F.

Add the duck confit to the meat mixture and mix well. Pour into the casserole dish. Cut off any excess dough from around the edges. Brush the edges lightly with egg wash and cover with the reserved dough. Form a cheminée by cutting a small hole in the centre of the top crust to let steam escape while baking. Pinch the edges of the crust to seal, and trim off any excess dough. Decorate the top of your tourtière as desired. Brush a thin layer of egg wash over top.

Place the tourtière on a baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes. This gives the tourtière a crispy inside crust. Lower the oven temperature to 355°F and continue baking for 1½ hours. Remove from the oven and let stand for 1 hour before cutting and serving.