About the Recipe
This recipe is a much modernized version of the traditional “Tourtière”, or “Meat Pie”. It starts with all the traditional ingredients and then takes on strong connotations of a bourguignon with the addition of thick bacon lardons, tomatoes and red wine. Then, the experiment tickles Florentine with the addition of spinach and hints Greek with a dusting of feta cheese. It is so deliciously rich in flavor that it takes meat pie to a new height.
Ingredients
One batch of pie crust. Click on the link below for my Super Flaky Pie Crust recipe.
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1 Kg medium ground pork
1 Kg medium ground beef
~250 grams of thick sliced, smoky maple bacon, cut into ~½ pieces.
1 medium sized onion, finely chopped
2-3 buds of finely chopped garlic
½ teaspoon of ground black pepper
½ teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
¼ to ½ teaspoon of salt (to taste)
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon of beef bouillon concentrate
1 cup of beef stock
28 Oz (796 ml) diced tomatoes
1-2 bay leaves
½ teaspoon dried thyme (or 1 tsp fresh)
1 ½ cups of dry red wine
~100 grams of feta cheese (optional)
½ cup of cooked, drained spinach (optional)
Preparation
You can make your pie dough ahead of time or you can make it later. Click on the link below for my Super Flaky Pie Crust recipe.
Preheat the oven to 350˚ F (176˚ C) - Convection Roast.
Distribute the bacon on the bottom of a large roasting pan.
Roast for 35 minutes then stir the bacon and continue roasting for about 30 more minutes, or until it is well cooked and crispy.
Remove the bacon from the pot and set it aside and then drain out most of the bacon fat out of the pan.
Distribute all the meat in the roast pan and cook on the stovetop over medium heat.
Stir and mix the meat continuously as it is browning. Break the meat up using a large spatula to prevent the meat from cooking into hard clumps.
Continue this process until the meat has all browned and you have broken up all clumps to give the meat a granular consistency.
Add 1 cup of beef stock and continue cooking for 25-35 minutes to melt the fat off the meat.
Remove from heat and drain most of the liquid out of the roast pan using a fine mesh strainer. Make sure not to discard the brine.
Let the brine cool to room temperature and then put it in the refrigerator or freezer.
Once the fat has solidified, skim as much of it off the top as you want. Remember, a bit of fat is good so make sure you leave some.
In the original pot, add the following ingredients to the cooked ground meat:
The pre-cooked bacon
28 Oz (796 ml) diced tomatoes
1 ½ cups of dry red wine
1 medium sized onion, finely chopped
2-3 buds of finely chopped garlic
1-2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon of beef bouillon concentrate (You can wait until the latter stages of the cooking process to add the extra teaspoon, after a taste test. If the bourguignon is already salty/flavorful enough, omit the extra teaspoon)
1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon of ground black pepper
½ teaspoon of ground cloves
½ teaspoon of dried thyme leaves (or 1 teaspoon fresh)
¼ teaspoon of salt (to taste) – you can add more in the latter stages of cooking, if required
As you probably know, feta cheese is very salty, so, if you plan on adding it to your pies, be conservative with the salt. The bacon also ads a significant amount of salt to the bourguignon so it is best not to add any until the end of the cooking process.
Once solidified and skimmed, return the remaining brine to the pot. It will likely be a demi-glaze at this point and it would be a shame to omit it.
Continue cooking until most of the liquid has boiled off (60-70 minutes). There should only be a bit of liquid left on the bottom.
Remove the pan of meat from the heat source.
Preheat oven to 350˚ F (176˚ C) - Convection Bake.
Make enough pie crust for 2 large (10”) pies, which is one full batch.
Line the bottoms of your pie plates with a crust and let the crust overlap the edges.
Using a slotted spoon or spatula, fill the pies until you reach the overlapping crust on the edges.
Let most of the broth drip off with each scoop of meat or your pies might be too soggy. However, a bit of broth should remain to prevent the pie from being too dry. You have to try to find a balance with the liquid.
Roll your pie tops, making sure to cut air holes to allow the pie to breath while it is cooking.
Optional Ingredients
If you want regular bourguignon meat pies, skip this part and move on to putting the top curst on the pies.
Top the pies with a generous sprinkle of feta cheese. (Optional)
Sprinkle approximately ¼ cup of cooked, well drained spinach over each pie. (Optional)
Top Crust
Wet the surface of the overlapping edge of the crust by dipping your fingertips in warm water and then lightly rubbing them along the overlapping edges. You will have to dip your fingers into the warm water repeatedly to wet the circumference of the crust. This step will help make the top crust bond to the bottom crust.
Place the pie tops onto the pies, pinch the edges and cut off the excess dough.
You can either pinch the circumference of the pie to bond the two crusts together or use a fork.
Bake the pies for 60-70 minutes, or until the crust is lightly browned.
Use the lowest rack for baking. This will reduce the chances of a soggy crust.
How much you should let the crust brown depends on when you will be serving the pie. If you will be serving it immediately, it will likely take 60-70 minutes of baking, give or take.
However, if you will be freezing the pies, don’t let them brown too much as they will brown more when reheated. 50 to 55 minutes should be sufficient for pies that will be frozen and re-heated.
The pies can be served immediately.
If you are freezing the pies, let them cool to room temperature before freezing them. I use extra-large zip-lock bags to freeze my pies. Do not stack the pies in the freezer, if you can avoid it.
To reheat frozen meat pies, let them thaw for 4 to 5 hours at room temperature and then bake them at 350˚ F (176˚ C) - Convection Bake for 45 to 55 minutes.
Use the lowest rack for baking. This will reduce the chances of a soggy crust.
Allow the pie to cool for 5 minutes before serving.
If you have the time to get fancy, you can make single portion pies.
