Tourtiére du Saguenay

(Deep Dish Meat Pie)

1 lb pork shoulder
1 lb beef, moose, or wild game fowl
1 lb veal shoulder
6 medium onions, chopped
4 large potatoes
3 tsp salt
1 tsp. pepper
Pie crust recipe

1. Grind the meat with a meat grinder or chop it into 1/4 inch cubes.
2. In a large bowl, combine meats, onions, salt and pepper. Cover and place in refrigerator overnight.
3. Peel potatoes and cut into 1/4 inch cubes. Soak immediately in cold water. Place in refrigerator overnight.
4. The next morning, prepare pie dough. Line one 4 quart casserole or two 2 quart casseroles with pie dough.
5. Drain potatoes, reserving the water. Combine potato with meat mixture. Fill pastry-lined casserole with mixture, leaving space to seal the top crust. Pour potato water into meat mixture; water level should be the same as meat level. If you don't have enough potato water use additional cold tap water.
6. Brush edge of crust with eggwash, cover with top crust and seal. In the center of the tourtière, cut a 2 inch hole. Shape a chimney around your fingers with a narrow piece of foil. Insert chimney in pastry hole and seal chimney with a narrow piece of dough, sealing with egg wash.
7. Place on bottom oven rack. Bake for 1 hour at 350°F, then for 6 hours at 250°F. By the end of cooking, you should see liquid in the chimney. If there is none, you can add a little hot water into the chimney

Serves 8 to 10

Tourtière is a dish that is very popular in the Saguenay / Lac St-Jean region of Québec, with nearly every cook having her own special way of preparing it.

From Traditional Quebec Cooking. With ingredients such as moose and wild fowl, and baked for several hours, it is representative of the tourtières made in the Saguenay.