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Tourtière: A French-Canadian Christmas tradition bringing families together

Tourtiere, ready to be enjoyed on Christmas Eve (Roland Tanglao/Flickr)
Tourtiere, ready to be enjoyed on Christmas Eve (Roland Tanglao/Flickr)

This story is part of a week-long series exploring how we as Canadians define "Canadian food," and how it has evolved in modern Canada.

There may be cold wind blowing snowflakes up against the window, but on the other side of the glass the air is warm and full of spices. Clove and nutmeg season every breath and my stomach grumbles as the smell of rich pork wafts towards me from the oven. It’s Christmas Eve and that means tourtière for dinner.

My dad grew up in a French-Canadian family and he remembers well the days his grandmother and aunts would gather to make tourtières by the dozen to feed the plethora of relatives visiting for the holidays. He describes the kitchen as an assembly line of women each doing a job to get the pies done. Despite the dish's simplicity, tourtières bring back decades of memories for French-Canadians like my dad, and like Camille MacLeod.

“My family all get together three to four days before the event to makes these pies,” says MacLeod about her own French-Canadian family’s holiday tradition. “We chat about our families, lives and generally catch up. I think that's what I like more about it: it's the first step to the holiday, making the feast. And I know we're not the only family doing the 'tourtière prep' routine.”

Tourtières have a long history and date back to the 1600s. Generations of French-Canadians have been including tourtières in their Christmas feasts and because of that link with an important holiday, this simple meat pie recipe has moved across the country and into the United States, following French-Canadian families wherever they go and put down roots. The recipes may change slightly depending on region and family, but the essentials remain the same.

Amanda Jerome's family share tourtiere every Christmas Eve, as do many families. (Amanda Jerome)
Amanda Jerome's family share tourtiere every Christmas Eve, as do many families. (Amanda Jerome)

“I think culturally we sort of hold on to the recipes our parents would have made and their parents would have made, and you hold on to those traditions,” says Chef Jason Inniss, Professor and Coordinator at George Brown College’s culinary school. “When people think Quebec cuisine they think poutine, they think maple syrup, they think tourtière. It’s delicious, it’s a fantastic meat pie and every family would have a different recipe or different way of making it. Some people mix potatoes into it, some people make it with elk, some make it with deer. I think it’s just one of those traditions that holds true and reminds us of our heritage and where their (French-Canadian) ancestors came from.”

MacLeod, who calls Montreal, Que. home, is now a vegan, so she’s changed the traditional recipe to better suit her lifestyle.

“It's on every holiday plate in Quebec, it's so important I made myself a version,” she says. “For the vegan version, we do the same spices but add Yves Veggie Grounds original instead of meat and obviously cook it for less time, around 15-20 minutes.”

Although tourtière is recognized as a uniquely French-Canadian dish, Chef Inniss says its cross-cultural appeal may be because, at its essence, it’s a meat pie and many cultures have those as part of their culinary traditions.

“I think it’s got the appeal because it really holds true in every culture they have a very similar style of food,” he explains. “In Spain and Mexico you’ve got empanadas, Indian cuisine you’ve got samosas, Scottish cuisine you’ve got a shepherd's pie...I think that the idea of meat in pastry or dough is just seen as a good thing.”

There’s no doubt that tourtières have been around for a long time, but where they got their name is up for debate. The Canadian Encyclopedia says they may be named for the shallow dish, known as tourtes, the pies are cooked in. Or the name may derive from “tourte”, which means pigeon in French. Passenger pigeons were commonly found in Quebec along the Saint Lawrence River. Easily caught, they made the perfect pie filling for large and hungry families. Regardless of which name myth piques your interest most, the real “meat” of this dish’s story holds true - tourtières, although originating from humble beginnings, have endured through generations to become a part of family tradition and French-Canadian identity.

The humble factor may be why it hasn’t faded from family cookbooks and has remained a dish well received at family gatherings. Tourtière is commonly made with pork, a blend of spices, and a pastry crust. All the ingredients are simple, but still fill the belly without depleting the wallet. Tourtière is the perfect dish to satiate large families with appetites that don’t match their tight budgets.

Preparing the ingredients for cooking tourtiere. (Benoît Meunier/Flickr)
Preparing the ingredients for cooking tourtiere. (Benoît Meunier/Flickr)

Chef Inniss thinks pork is a common filler because it holds up well in pie format, but that depending on your region and family tradition any number of meats can make up your idea of the traditional tourtière.

“From a charcuterie aspect, pork makes a great meat filling in terms of flavour and the fat content,” he says. “It holds really well when you cook it. Beef has a lot more flavour than pork, but the fat in pork is better for making a meat dish because it’s juicer.”

What to serve alongside tourtière may also vary depending on your family’s unique traditions. My family always has theirs with a green tomato relish and boiled, buttered potatoes, but Chef Inniss suggests a tempting alternative.

“I think traditionally, in the last 60 years or so, they’d eat ketchup with it,” he says about what people add to their tourtière. “I’d prefer eating it with some sort of fruit-based chutney, which has a vinegar component to it that also helps cut the fattiness, the richness of the dish. Around Christmastime you’re not going to get very many fresh fruits, but there will be dried fruits and you could do a dried cranberry chutney. Or if you make preserves in the fall you could do a lovely peach chutney or pear chutney.”

However you enjoy tourtière, know that when you take a bite you’re enjoying a dish that has been passed down through families for over a hundred years; a recipe that although simple has traveled the continent with French-Canadians wherever they have put down roots; a pie that means Christmas is here and family is around you.