Pork And Apple Tourtiere Recipes

CLASSIC TOURTIèRE OR QUéBEC PORK PIE

Steps:

• In a large, heavy frying pan, combine pork with cold water and heat to boiling point. It should be slightly soupy.
• Add onion, celery, pepper, bay leaf, savory, rosemary, nutmeg and cinnamon. Cook, covered, over medium-low heat for 1 1/4 hours; stir often. Add more water if mixture dries out.
• Halfway through cooking time, season with salt to taste.
• Stir in rolled oats and cook, stirring, for 1 to 2 minutes. Remove bay leaf and allow to cool. Setting the entire pot in the snow bank speeds up this process!
• Meanwhile, line two 9-inch pie plates with pastry. When meat mixture is lukewarm, divide it between two pie shells and spread it out evenly.
• Brush around outer edge of pastry with the beaten egg. Place top crust on the tart and press gently around the edge to seal. Trim pastry, crimp edges and cut steam vents in top crust. Decorate as desired.
• Bake in preheated 425°F oven for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 375°F and bake another 25 minutes or until crust is golden.

CLASSIC TOURTIèRE

Steps:

• Prepare the filling: Mix all of the filling ingredients together in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the meat is no longer pink. Do not brown the meat. Lower heat and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes. Crumble bread crusts into mixture and stir until absorbed into the mixture. Remove mixture to a bowl, cover and refrigerate until chilled before using.
• Make the pastry: In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt. Cut in the lard with a pastry blender or two knives until the lard is incorporated. In a one cup measuring cup, beat together the egg and vinegar, then add enough water to the measuring cup until it measures 1 cup. Add this mixture to the flour mixture, adding about 2/3 of it at first, stirring, then adding just as much more as is needed to make a moist dough. Divide dough into 4 pieces, wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 400F.
• Take out 1 piece of dough and place onto a well-floured work surface. Roll dough into a circle large enough for a 9-inch pie plate. *Note: You will have plenty of dough. Roll to the desired thickness and trim off the excess. Place in bottom of pie plate. Add 1/2 of the meat filling. Roll another piece of dough large enough to cover. Pinch or use a fork to seal the edges together around the outside. Repeat with two more pieces of dough and the rest of the meat filling to make 2 pies. *Your excess dough can be refrigerated or frozen for another time and purpose, if you like.
• Mix an egg with 1 Tbsp of water and generously brush the tops of the pies. Cut a few slits in the middle to allow the steam to escape.
• Place in preheated oven (*If using glass pie plates, reduce the oven to 375F once the pies are placed in the oven and bake for about 40-45 minutes), otherwise, bake at 400F for 35-40 minutes, or until golden. If at any time you think your pastry may over-brown, simply lay a sheet of aluminum foil over-top for the last part of baking.
• Serve warm.

PORK AND APPLE TOURTIERE

Steps:

• Remove the crusts from the box and let sit at room temperature.
• In a large skillet over medium heat, cook the bacon until it begins to brown, about 5 minutes. Add the onions and sauté until tender and golden, about 10 minutes.
• Add the ground pork. As it cooks, break it up with a spatula or wooden spoon, cooking until no traces of pink remain, about 5 minutes. Stir in the apples, thyme, salt, pepper and nutmeg.
• Transfer the pork mixture to a shallow bowl, cover and refrigerate until slightly cooled, about 15 minutes.
• Heat the oven to 400 degrees.
• Line the bottom of a 9-inch pie plate with one of the crusts. Add the cooled pork and apple filling, spreading it in an even layer. Place the remaining crust on top, then pinch and crimp the edges together. Make several small slits in the top crust for venting.
• Bake the pie for 35 to 45 minutes, until the crust is golden and the filling is bubbling.

TOURTIERE (FRENCH PORK PIE)

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, mix together the ground pork, cloves, cinnamon, onion, salt, celery, bay leaf and water. The water will help break up the raw pork. Simmer over medium-low heat for about 3 hours, or until the water has evaporated. Remove from the heat and discard the bay leaf.
• Towards the end of the pork cooking time, place the potatoes into a separate saucepan and fill with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil and cook until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain and mash potatoes. When the pork is done, stir the mashed potatoes into that pan until evenly blended.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Line two 9 inch pie plates with bottom crusts. Spoon equal amounts of the pork filling into each crust. Cover with top crusts and flute the edges to seal.
• Bake for 45 minutes in the preheated oven, or until crust is golden brown.