Recipe: Canadian Tourtiere Meat Pie

CANADIAN TOURTIERE MEAT PIE

TOURTIERE PIE FILLING:
1 lb ground pork
1 small onion, diced
1 small garlic clove
1/2 tsp celery salt
1/2 tsp savory
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/2 cup water
One 9-inch unbaked two-crust pie pastry (recipe below)

Combine ingredients in a Dutch oven or other heavy pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 20 minutes, or long enough to remove the pink tone from meat and to reduce most of the water. The mixture should be damp but not watery. Remove garlic clove.

Let mixture cool, then use a slotted spoon to put it into a 9-inch pastry lined, unbaked pie shell (recipe follows).

Cover with pastry, seal edges and prick to allow steam to escape (or place a china blackbird in centre to hold up the top crust).

Unbaked pie can be frozen.

To bake, place fresh or frozen pie into a 450 degrees F oven. After 10 minutes, reduce heat to 350 degrees F and bake 25 to 35 minutes, or until crust is golden brown.

This pie is delicious with homemade chili or other relishes.

TOURTIERE PASTRY FOR 9-INCH TWO-CRUST PIE:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
3/4 cup lard or shortening
5 1/2 tsp cold water

Sift 2 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour on to a piece of wax paper. Set empty flour sifter in a medium-size bowl. Measure 2 cups of the sifted flour back into the sifter. Add 1 tsp of salt and sift into the bowl.

Drop 3/4 cup of lard or shortening into bowl and cut it into the flour with a pastry blender, blending fork or with two knives (one in each hand, cutting in a crisscross fashion, like scissors), until particles are the size of peas.

Put another 1/4 cup of flour from wax paper into a small bowl. Slowly stir in 5 1/2 tsp of cold water and mix until smooth.

Add to shortening mixture, stirring with a fork until particles stick together when pressed gently.

Shape into a ball, wrap in wax paper and chill for 30 minutes.

Makes 6 to 8 servings.
Source: Canadian Magazine in the Saturday Otawa Citizen newspaper, Dec 3, 1971.