Tourtière (French Canadian Meat Pie)

Tourtière is a French-Canadian meat pie with spices and a double crust. It is an important part of the Christmas and New Year’s celebrations in Quebec and for those of French-Canadian ancestry.

The history of tourtière meat pie

Meat pies are not exclusive to Canada, by any means. 

You find them referenced through history, with versions even as early as Mesopotamia.

Roman kings added their own twists and then spread the concept throughout Europe. The Middle Ages also saw a great love for meat pies. 

You’ll find meat pies of all sorts across the globe. Empanadas in Latin America. Samosas in India. And traditional mincemeat pies for the British Christmas table. (Traditionally those were made with meat, unlike the more common mince pies made with fruit that you find today.  

Meat pies in Canada date back to when Quebec was a French settlement. 

While it is thought tourtière goes all the way back to the early 1600s, the first written recipe appears in an 1840 cookbook, La cuisinière canadienne. 

Why is it called tourtière?

Some believe that the name of the pie comes from now extinct passenger pigeons, called ‘tourtes’, that were used in the original pies.

Others prefer to believe that the name comes from the deep baking dish that families would traditionally use to cook their pies, also called a ‘tourte’.

What is tourtière made of?

Also known as pork pie or meat pie, tourtière is made with ground meat, onions, and spices all baked in a double pie crust.

It is the particular spicing mixture that makes this pork pie so special to those who call this pie a Christmas tradition, and enjoyed by everyone who is introduced to it.

What meat is used in tourtière?

Traditionally tourtières were made with many different types of wild game including the previously mentioned pigeon.

Nowadays, pork, beef, and veal are commonly used. 

In my family we call these ‘pork pies’ because pork is what my French-Canadian grandma used and what my mom still uses every year when she makes these pies for family and friends.

While the meat would have been chopped finely with a knife in the early versions, most cooks today use ground meat. Which is much easier, but does result in a bit of a different texture than the original tourtières would have had. (But, if these original ones used pigeon, I think I’m perfectly ok with the way this recipe has evolved through the centuries.)

When do you eat tourtière?

It is a much-loved tradition to serve this meat pie on Christmas Eve.

Traditionally, no meat was eaten on Christmas Eve until after midnight Mass. French-Canadians would come home after midnight Mass (called the Reveillon) and start their Christmas celebration by sitting down with family and enjoying tourtière.

Many families also eat tourtière on Christmas Day and New Years day.

I have fond memories of going to Christmas Eve Mass in Maine with my French-Canadian Grandparents (typically is was just after dark, and not true midnight Mass). We would return home to a late dinner of pork pie, with all the fixings.

What is traditionally served with tourtière ? 

In our family, we always serve our Christmas Eve pork pie with a large spread of pickles. Dill pickles, sweet pickles, pickles beets. I even remember pickles onions and pickles eggs showing up in random years.

If pickles aren’t your thing, I have heard of families serving it with mashed potatoes and gravy. (But there are mashed potatoes in the pie itself.)

We have also served a salad or steamed broccoli with it in an effort to bring more vegetables into the meal.

You can eat tourtière hot, warm, or cold. (I personally love a cold slice of pork pie for breakfast – it reminds me of Christmas morning!)

However you eat it, be sure to serve it with ketchup and mustard!

Can meat pie be frozen?

Yes! Every year my Mom makes a bunch of pork pies early in her Christmas preparations and freezes them for our Christmas meals and for friends.

If you plan to freeze the pies, be sure to use fresh meat (not frozen). 

My mom prefers to freeze the pork pies un-baked. To bake them you thaw in the refrigerator overnight and bake from a cold oven for roughly 1 1/2 – 2 hours.