Mommas Meat Pie Recipes

MOM'S PIE CRUST

Steps:

• Combine flour and sugar into the bowl of an electric mixer. Cut butter into tablespoon pieces; add it to the flour and butter. Use the paddle beater to cut the butter and flour together. Alternatively, this can be done by hand with a pastry blender.
• With the mixer on low speed , or while stirring the mixture with a fork, pour in the cold water. When the dough starts to clump, and before it turns into a ball, stop stirring.
• Lightly knead dough in the bowl until it forms a ball. Divide dough into two parts. Flatten each part into a disk, and chill for about 30 minutes before rolling.

MOMMA'S MEAT PIE

Steps:

• 1. Slowly saute onion, pepper and meat in margarine. Stir continually until browned.
• 2. Add remaining ingredients and heat through.
• 3. Place in a 9 X 13 well greased pan.
• 4. Top with biscuits.
• 5. BISCUITS - Cut margarine and shortening into self rising flour. Pour in milk and mix till blended.
• 6. Turn dough onto well floured surface and pat dough to approximately 1/8 inch thick. Top casserole with biscuits.
• 7. Bake 15-20 minutes till biscuits are browned. Cook any remaining biscuits to serve with dish.

MAMA'S CHICKEN PIE

Steps:

• 1. Place the chicken in a pot and cover with water, bring to a boil and cook thoroughly. Remove the chicken (save the cooking liquid), let cool and then chop up the meat.
• 2. In a mixing bowl stir together the soup, broth, salt, and pepper. Stir in the chicken, combine well.
• 3. Lightly spray a 9x9 baking dish with cooking spray. Spoon half of the chicken mixture into the bottom and spread around.
• 4. Then cover the mixture with a layer of the pie strips. Dot the strips with 1 Tbsp of butter.
• 5. Place in a 400 degree oven for 25 minutes.
• 6. Remove and spoon the remaining chicken mixture over the top.
• 7. Then place the remaining pie crust strips. Again, dot with 1 Tbsp butter.
• 8. Return to the oven for an additional 25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove and let sit 5 minutes before serving.

MY MOTHER'S SHEPHERD'S PIE

Steps:

• For the potatoes: Peel and cube the potatoes into a 1-inch dice. Put in a large pot and add enough cold water to cover the potatoes by 1 inch. Season the water with salt and bring to a boil. Boil the potatoes until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain the potatoes and pass through a ricer. Add the milk, sour cream, melted butter and egg yolks to the potatoes and stir with a wooden spoon until smooth. Season with salt and pepper and reserve.
• For the filling: Preheat the oven to 375˚ F. In a medium sauté pan over medium heat, melt the butter with the olive oil. Add the pearl onions and cook, shaking the pan occasionally so the onions brown on all sides, until caramelized, about 5 minutes. Set aside.
• In a large shallow ovenproof braising pan, heat the canola oil over medium-high heat. Add the diced onions and rosemary and cook, stirring often, until the onions are slightly browned and soft, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the lamb and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, until the lamb is cooked through, 4 to 6 minutes. Add the tomato paste, flour and sherry vinegar and cook for 2 more minutes. Add the chicken stock, peas and carrots and pearl onions and bring to a boil. Spoon off any excess fat. Season with salt and pepper and stir in the parsley.
• Top the lamb mixture with an even layer of the potatoes. For the topping: Drizzle the potatoes with the melted butter and sprinkle with the Parmesan. Transfer to the oven and bake until the potatoes are lightly browned, about 40 minutes. Garnish with additional parsley.

MOM'S MEAT PIES

Steps:

• Cut pie crust to make 4 pieces.
• For each pie crust put equal amounts ground beef, onion and potato, season with salt and pepper to your liking. All ingredients should be raw.
• Fold each individual pie to make a little pocket.
• Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until crust is light brown.
• When we were kids we would eat this with ketchup, my husband likes it with gravy.

MOM'S MEAT PIE (TOURTIèRE à MA MèRE)

Steps:

• In a large pan, mix together meats, spices and water.
• Bring to a boil, cook at medium heat uncovered until mixture is cooked but still moist (approximately 20 minutes).
• Line pie pan with one crust and fill with meat mix.
• Top with second crust and pinch to seal.
• Cut slits in top of crust to vent, at this point you might want to get creative by adding any christmas decoration with leftover pie crust using a cookie cutter.
• Brush crust with beaten egg and place filled pie pan on cookie sheet to catch any drips.
• Bake at 350F for 30 minutes until crust is golden.

MY MOM'S FRENCH CANADIAN TOURTIèRE

Steps:

• For the Pastry: Follow the instructions for making the pie pastry from either of the recipe links above. Chill the dough until required.
• For the Tourtière Filling: In a Dutch Oven or large saucepan, place the ground meat, breaking it apart with a large fork.
• Cover the meat with water, or chicken stock or beef stock, just barely above the surface of the meat. Bring the mixture to a boil, then, lower the heat to a simmer. Mash the mixture with a potato masher to separate and blend the meat together.
• Add the onion, garlic clove, chicken bouillon cube, sage, poultry seasoning, garlic salt, pepper and seasoned salt to the mixture. Continue to simmer, uncovered, for 1 ½ hours. (You are essentially braising the meat).
• The moisture will evaporate and become absorbed into the meat mixture during the braising process, creating a savoury meat filling. CHEF TIP: Do not drain all of the fat from the mixture as this is what helps bind the tourtière filling.
• Crush the soda crackers and stir into the meat mixture.
• Taste the meat mixture for seasoning and adjust (tweak) as necessary. It should taste quite savoury. Tweaking ingredients could include, according to your taste: 1 -2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce; a drop or two of lemon juice; a grind or two more of pepper; 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard; 1/2 teaspoon celery salt; additional sage, poultry seasoning and or 1/2 teaspoon summer savoury.
• Let the meat mixture cool completely before filling the pie shells. The mixture should be quite thick. If you are not ready to make the pies; refrigerate the mixture. CHEF TIP: For longer storage, I measure the amount of filling that I will need to fill a shallow pie shell (about 1 lb of filling/500 g) and seal it using a vacuum sealer system.
• Line two 8 inch pie shells with pastry. Divide the tourtière filling between the two pies and spread evenly. Brush the outer edges of the pie crust with water and place the top crust onto the pie and press the edges gently to seal.
• Trim the edges and crimp the edges with a fork like my Mom did or create your own scalloped edge. Cut a few steam vents in the top of the crust. Decorate the pie, if desired.
• Bake in a preheated 425°F oven (400°F if using a Convection oven) for 10 minutes and then lower the temperature to 375°F (350°F if using a Convection oven) for a further 25 minutes or until the crust is golden.
• To Serve: Cut each 8 " pie into 6 - 8 pieces. Serve the tourtière warm (or cold the next day). Refrigerate any leftovers. Enjoy!