It’s week 19 of 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks and this week’s topic is Food & Drink. During our LaViolet family Christmases, we could be certain of a few things: our family would always be loud, there would always be a mountain of presents, and Nana Connie’s meat pie would always be on the table. Meat pie, or “tourtiere” as it’s called in French, is a traditional Franco-American and French-Canadian dish that goes back to the earliest French settlers and is still commonly served in families as a holiday treat. Nana Connie cooked plenty of it for us to eat during our Christmas gatherings, and usually sent a pie home with each family. Today, my mother’s youngest brother and his wife continue the tradition and make a meat pie for each household in our family at Christmas.
Last week, I followed Nana’s recipe and made meat pie for the first time. I’ll share the recipe and instructions, but first I want to share some of the research my grandfather did on tourtiere back in 1974. Sorry if this comes across like one of those annoying recipe blogs that go on and make you want to scream, “Just give me the damn recipe already!”
So….a bit about the history of meat pie. Though it’s generally made with pork or a pork and hamburger mixture today, in the early days tourtiere was predominantly made with “la Tourtre Voyageuse” or Passenger Pigeon. In French, “tarte” means a dessert pastry, “tourte” means a pastry that contains meat and vegetables which is used as a meal, and “tourtiere” is the round pie plate used to bake both tartes and tourtes. Passenger Pigeon pie was called “une tortiere de tourtre” meaning “a pie plate dish of pigeon.” Passenger Pigeons were a plentiful species and easy to hunt because they traveled in large flocks, so pigeon pies became a household staple. Eventually the cumbersome-to-say “une tortiere de tourtre” was shortened to “tourtiere.” The Passenger Pigeon population began to wane in the mid-1850s due to overhunting and loss of habitat so other meats began to replace the Passenger Pigeon. Tourtiere was made with whatever meat was available, domestic or wild, mixed together or separate, until pork eventually became the main component. A simple pigeon pie that sustained our earliest ancestors evolved into a pork pie that is now a holiday treat for many families of French-Canadian descent.
There is no set, gold-standard recipe for meat pie. Every family has their own variation, but this is the recipe my Nana always used. I’m sure she made her own crust. I bought one because no crust recipe was provided. Also, I’m lazy.
Connie’s Meat Pie
1 ½ lb. ground pork (or 1 lb. ground pork & ½ lb. ground beef)
½ cup finely chopped onions
2 cups cracker crumbs (Saltines)
½ tsp. salt
⅛ tsp pepper
½ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp nutmeg
½ cup water
1 egg yolk
pie crust
9” round pie plate
In a saucepan, combine meat, onions, and water. Mix well, and simmer covered over low heat for 1 ½-2 hours.
Drain the fat and liquid. Add cracker crumbs and spices. Mix thoroughly. Note: crackers absorb fat. Taste and add more crackers and spices if you wish. Pie should hold firm when sliced.
Place in a pastry shell. Make a few slits on the top of the pastry crust. Beat one egg yolk and brush over the top of the pie.
Bake in oven at 400˚ for 20-30 minutes until pie is brown.
I did not taste this during or after I made it (meat pie may be a family tradition, but I’ve never been crazy about it) so I didn’t adjust the spices or cracker amount listed in the recipe. When it was done, I brought it over to my brother’s house. He and my sister-in-law love meat pie. Due to the pandemic, our extended family hasn’t gathered in a couple of Christmases, which means they haven’t had it in a while. My brother liked it --if it was terrible, he definitely would have told me -- and my sister-in-law was happy she didn’t have to cook, so it was a win-win. If you try my Nana Connie’s recipe, I hope you enjoy it. She was always proud of her cooking, and though I didn’t eat it, the smell of it conjured up happy memories and feelings of love.
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