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I’m not going to beat around the bush here: The new Joy of Cooking is huge. When I first heard about it, I wondered, “Do we need a new Joy of Cooking?” First published in 1931, the book went through several revisions over the years, to become what has the most enduring of all American cookbooks. Yet I wondered if the book would (or could) still be relevant, in the age of the internet, and as several other books had come along through the year, that could also be considered “encyclopedias” of cooking. I had some doubts.

The latest Joy of Cooking is a formidable volume. With 4000 classic recipes, revised and retested, and 600 new ones added, the new edition clocks in at nearly 1200 pages. Some previous editions attempted to tinker with the formula, dispensing with recipes and information that the editors didn’t think relevant, such as the much-missed preserving chapter and information on cooking game.

The information on canning is back as is the chapter on cooking game; the famous, or infamous, squirrel recipe, and diagram have been replaced by rabbit recipes, including Lapin à la moutarde, as the authors felt they were more applicable to how people eat today. (Muskrat and bear recipes remain in there.) Other additions to the new book include ingredients that have become more available in supermarkets, like salsa, fresh lemongrass, and dried chiles, as well as an extensive inclusion of recipes culled from the diverse cultures that make up America (and the rest of the world) such as couscous, miso-glazed eggplant, pho, fritto misto, queso fundido, za’atar, and kimchi.

Coincidentally, I happened to be reading Stand Facing the Stove at the same time the new Joy of Cooking came out. That book is a meticulous history of what started as one woman’s passion, and a way to cope with the grief of losing her husband after he lost his battle with depression, and his suicide, to become one of the most important cooking references in the world. (In case you don’t believe me, I spotted a copy of an older edition in a French friend’s apartment recently.)

Remarkably well-researched, Stand Facing the Stove traces the Rombauer and Becker family lineage; the first 84 pages are very detailed on that subject, which I’ll admit was a lot of information to digest (although I’ll also admit to having the world’s shortest attention span…) and continues to how Irma Rombauer convinced a publisher to publish her book, which introduced the inclusion of the author’s voice in the text, something new in cookbooks, as well as a radically different way of writing recipes: placing the ingredients in the steps of the technique, rather than as a list at the beginning of the recipe.

Stand Facing the Stove also chronicles one of the great catastrophes in the history of publishing, which caused immense grief, anguish, and substantial financial loss to Mrs. Rombauer, who made the mistake of signing away the copyright of the Joy of Cooking to her publisher, Bobbs-Merrill. (You can read an excellent article by Stand Facing the Stove author Anne Mendelson here, about the challenges she faced researching and writing the book.) In subsequent years, the publisher did everything they could to thwart and vex Irma, and keep her royalty payments low. Her daughter, Marion Rombauer Becker, who was quite different than her mother, eventually collaborated with Irma on the book, before taking over the reins completely when her mother passed away. She evolved the book to include tips on nutrition, gardening, and making environmentally conscious choices when shopping and cooking, which was another way that put Joy of Cooking ahead of its time, back then.

Of course, Irma could not have imagined that one day, the Joy of Cooking would be available on CD-Rom (which enabled me to bring the hefty book to Paris two decades ago), an app, an Instagram account, and more than 20 million copies in print. But her great-grandson John Becker and his wife Megan Scott spent nine years revising the book for how we cook today. Spending the last few months leafing through the book, absorbing all the information, I have to say, I love the new edition and it truly deserves a place on everyone’s cookbook shelf, including mine.

You’ll find all the family-friendly and classic recipes, from Banana Cream Pie and German Chocolate Cake to meatloaf and mashed potatoes in the book. There’s sensible information about avoiding food waste, a six-page chart on grain cooking, and an outstanding chapter called Know Your Ingredients that helpfully lists substitutions for almost all of the ingredients listed. There’s even an entry for “Emergency Water Purification,” which I hope I never need to use, but good to know I have that info should the occasion arise.

I was also glad to have this Tourtière, described as a “Canadian meat pie.” Its lineage is likely based on French pâté en croûte where a mixture of ground meat seasoned with a spice mixture similar to quatre-épices, that’s baked in a crust. The seasoning is used in larger quantities than it would be in France, which is likely a nod to North American tastes, where spices are more prominent.

As someone who writes recipes for a living, I was particularly delighted at how remarkably well-written the recipes were. Everything is explained just enough so you know what to do, and how long (and what temperature) to do it at, but with important keywords inserted here and there that tell you what to look out for, what you can (and can’t) do, as well as what the ingredients do, and how to serve the dish. Also, it’s obvious that they did revise and test the recipes since they described the process, which is a tip-off that the recipes were, indeed, actually tested.

This Tourtière may look complicated, but it’s actually quite easy to make. If you can make an apple pie, you can make this savory tourte. With its pleasing mix of spices, and just-right richness, it’s a great, warming meal on a cold winter night paired with some vegetables or a salad, and a glass of wine, to keep your spirits high. There are a few steps, but the ingredients are easy to find, and you can make the dough at your leisure, then assemble it when the mood – or hunger – strikes, enclosing the filling in the buttery layers of pastry, then, an hour later, present this beautiful tourtière to everyone for dinner.

Tourtiere

Adapted from the Joy of Cooking by Irma Rombauer, Marion Rombauer Becker, Ethan Becker, John Becker, and Megan Scott I recommend using ground beef that's not too lean, and if you want to substitute the pork with ground chicken or turkey, I advise using dark meat ground poultry. You could likely swap out another root vegetable for the potato, such as parsnips, carrots, or rutabagas, peeled and cubed. The potato I used weighed in at 10 ounces/280g, if you want to use that as a guide. But the recipe is anything but fussy and you could certainly customize the filling to your tastes and whims.
Servings 8 servings

For the dough

  • 2 1/2 cups (325g) flour
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 8 ounces (230g, 1 cup) unsalted butter, cubed and chilled
  • 6 tablespoons (90ml) ice water, plus more if necessary
  • 1 tablespoon white or cider vinegar

For the filling

  • 1 pound (450g) ground beef
  • 1 pound (450g) ground pork
  • 1 large onion, peeled the diced
  • 1 large russet potato, diced (I don't peel it)
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne or red chile powder
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 cup (250ml) beef or chicken stock, or water
  • 1 egg yolk, lightly beaten

To make the dough

  • In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or in a food processor, or in a large bowl using a pastry blender), mix the flour, sugar, and salt. Mix in the butter at low-to-medium speed until the pieces of butter are the size of small peas. Add the ice water and vinegar and mix on low speed just until the dough comes together, but do not overwork it. For that reason, I often do the last of the mixing by hand. If the dough is too dry to come together, add another spoonful or so of water.
  • Divide the dough in two and shape each half into a disk. Wrap and refrigerate the disks for at least 1 hour. (The dough can also be refrigerated for up to three days, or frozen for up to three months.)

To make and assemble the tourtière

  • In a large skillet with a lid, or a Dutch oven, heat the ground beef and pork over medium heat. Cook, stirring to break up the meat, until it's browned and cooked through. With a slotted spoon, remove the meat to a plate or bowl, and drain from the pan all but 2 tablespoons of fat. (Any meaty juices that are in the pan should be reserved to add later.)
  • Add the diced onion to the pot and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in the potatoes, salt, spices, and bay leaf, coating the potatoes and onions with the spices. Stir the cooked beef and pork back into the pot along with the stock, and any reserved juices from the previous step.
  • Bring to a low boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer, cover and cook gently for 30 minutes, stirring once or twice while cooking. Transfer the mixture to a small bowl, remove the bay leaf, and cool to room temperature or chill in the refrigerator.
  • To assemble the tourtière, remove the dough from the refrigerator and on a lightly floured surface, roll one disk of the dough into a 13-inch (33cm) circle. Gently drape it into a deep 9- to 10-inch (23cm) pie plate or pan. (The authors say this can also be baked in a similar-sized skillet, with an ovenproof handle.) Scrape the meat mixture into the dough-lined pan, then roll out the second disk of dough to the same size, and drape it over the pie. Tuck the two pieces of dough that are overhanging the sides under the rim, inside the pie plate. Crimp the edges and chill the pie for one hour, or freeze it for 15 minutes.
  • To bake the tourtière, preheat the oven to 375ºF (190ºC). Brush the egg yolk over the top of the pie dough, cut a hole in the center, and make any decorative marks you wish in the top with the tip of a sharp paring knife. Bake the pie until the top is golden brown, about 45 to 50 minutes. If necessary, you can run the pie under the broiler a minute or so to get it to brown nicely. Let cool 10 minutes before serving.

Notes

Serving: Serve the tourtière warm with a green salad or a side of vegetables, such as steamed green beans.

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140 comments

    • Nicole Demers

    In Vermont I grew up having this at every Thanksgiving and Christmas – sans pastry, just the filling! We simply called it “dressing”. I’m guessing my (French-Canadian) grandfather just preferred it that way, since my (English) grandmother was no stranger to making pies.

      • Susan

      I grew up in Northeastern Massachusetts and we also had this on Thanksgiving and Christmas, in meat pies and also as a stuffing, rite in the bird… unbelievable! My father’s side was French Canadian and we called it a very French sounding word, with a very hard “G or C sound, like Gaton. Really push that G. Always made feel very international. I think one or 2 years my mom added raisins. No memory of how that went over, but the sweetness was fab!
      Also at Salisbury Beach, MA, they sold hand held meat pies that were similar tasting. Huge French Canadian vacation spot, a real honky tonk!❤️ Wonderful memories…

        • Maryn

        I am not French-Canadian, only Irish-American, but speak several dialects of French. I think your childhood word may have ben a variant of “cretons,” which is Quebecois for a loose meat paté?

          • Elisabeth

          Cretons is almost like a paté but instead of shredded pork it is made with ground pork, here in Quebec it is a winter staple, if you are lucky you have a « grand-mère » recipe that was past down. We find it in all our grocery stores and butcher shop sometimes makes their own house version. Really good on toast with a bit of mustard !

          • Lynn Marie

          Yes, French Canadian “cr” obviously sounds like a hard “g” to some New Englanders – they can’t hear the difference so it got anglicized as a “g”. Funny, they’re so insistent that it’s a “g” sound, and we’re wrong with the “cr”! Observed with much affection to both old Yankees and French Canadian immigrants, as an Italian-American who grew up in northern New England.

          • Claudia Levesque

          I suspect youre referring to cretons…same flavors, no crust

        • Michele Vaudreuil

        My parents were from Mass too. The word you’re looking for is ‘Creton’, which sounded to me like ‘Guh-taw’. It was a different dish. No potato. Different seasonings. My sister still makes it when the craving strikes her. Never used to stuff anything, but as a spread on bread (like pate).

      • Michele Vaudreuil

      It wasn’t just your grandfather. We too filled one end of the bird with the ‘dressing’, then used any leftover in the coming days to make a ‘meat pie’. Mother’s and Dad’s parents were from Quebec.

      • Claudia Levesque

      I suspect youre referring to cretons…same flavors, no crust

    • julie

    A pork-only version of this is our family tradition for Christmas Eve, thanks to a French Canadian great-grandmother. Always a huge hit.

    • Lisa

    Another Canadian with a Christmas Eve tradition of tourtière. I use mace instead of nutmeg. Your pastry looks amazing.

    • Susan Kelley

    My mother ( not French) used to make tourtiere in her later years. It wasn’t part of our childhood. We grew up in the NE of U.S. where many towns/cities had huge Quebecois communities who worked the textile mills. All of that is long gone but I remember the tourtieres and something called Gorton that could be bought in meat markets. Your pastry is gorgeous David.

      • Lynn Marie

      Perhaps “Gorton” was “creton”? kinda pate/kinda meat paste spread?

        • PatsyG35

        Different name, same thing.

        • Susan

        Most likely. I think it may have been a Quebec version of rilletes.

        • Sabiah

        Beautiful ode to this new version of a classic, going to order my copy today along with cook facing the stove, thank you for the inspiration David. I ended up making this twice in two days as the first time I forgot the potato, but upon reflection I (& my husband and 3 little boys) actually preferred the potato-less version, just thought those lacking a potato in the cupboard might want to know. Didn’t change a thing apart from that and although a little less dense came out very well indeed :)

    • beth

    You’re expanding my French vocabulary with the photo of girofle.

      • phanmo

      Clou de girofle; giroflier is the tree, clou de girofle is the spice

    • Jordie

    Tourtiere pie is a Chistmas breakfast tradition for my family! It comes from my grandpa’s family who are from upstate New York with French Canadian roots. We always thought it was a French recipe, but French Canadian makes a lot more sense

    • Gina Bisaillon

    I grew up (in Québec) eating and making tourtière, and as you can see from the comments here, the recipe varies from family to family, but one thing mine would never deviate from is that the pastry has to be the hot water kind made with lard, and that’s what I served in my restaurants both in Canada and in Mexico. If you haven’t tried it, you’re in for a real treat!

      • David
      David Lebovitz

      There’s a lard recipe in the book that you can use to make the pie, but I prefer butter crusts.

        • Kathi K

        I’m always torn between making an all-butter crust or one that includes both butter & solid shortening.

        Your thoughts?

          • David
          David Lebovitz

          I prefer the taste of butter so only use that.

      • Bridget

      Gina, would you share the pastry recipe please? I too remember only lard pastry used, but haven’t a traditional recipe.

        • Karen Keber

        This is our Christmas morning breakfast. My grandfather was French Canadian. But his recipe was to put the ground meat, potato and onion in a pot and simmer all in water til the potato was done, mash the potato and let all cook down until it was nice and thick. Had lots of cinnamon and cloves. There’s nothing like it. Yours is beautiful.

    • Debbie

    A New Year’s Day tradition in our family, from our mother’s French-Canadian heritage. Your pastry looks amazing!

    • Aimee M

    It is long established that everything you do is magic; but that pie crimping! I weep. Sublime

    • Tom @ TallCloverFarm

    David, This is why I continued to follow and enjoy your blog–such thoughtful, personable writing and insights. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and your discoveries. As a pie man, I am champing at the bit to try this French Canadian wheel of wonder. Merci mon ami!

    • Susan Ulevitch

    Re: The Joy of Cooking … the Potato Leek Soup has stood the test of time. Making for over 40 years and always delicious. I often freeze without the milk and add it when heating soup.

      • Gigi

      In 1998 I was a reseller in Florida. At a small rural flea market I bought a copy of the original Joy of Cooking. The one with woodcuts. I think there were only 3000 printed. I knew what I had but being a new widow, I was glad to sell it for $500. The person who bought it was delighted. I don’t regret selling it at all. But wish I had take pictures of every page for myself.
      Gigi

        • KittyWrangler

        Gigi, an affordable modern re-print of the 1931 edition does exist, if you’re interested: Joy of Cooking 1931 Edition (fascimile).

    • Amy Mintzer

    It’s possible the quantity and variety of spices is a a tip-off to the age of the dish. We think of classic French (and English…and Italian…) cuisine as using spices very sparingly, but Europeans were enthusiastic and aggressive seasoners (when they could afford it) centuries ago.

      • Dan T

      I can also imagine it had something to do with the kind of meat that ended up in a tourtiere a few hundred years ago, before refrigeration!

        • Amy Mintzer

        Dan, you’re quite that meat pies are old food! ;) But I think culinary historians have scrapped the idea that spices were used to cover the taste of spoiled meat.

      • David
      David Lebovitz

      It may be the other way around, as spices were (at one time) quite precious as they were imported and had to be used sparingly. My take is that the larger use of spices is because tastes changed, and so did the availability of spices, but that’s just a guess :)

        • MaryEllin

        In looking at recipes from Tudor England (Henry VIII especially) lots of spices used by those who could afford, also seemingly demonstrating sea going prowess. And lots of meat with fruit. No way they were using spices (mincemeat!) to disguise the taste of bad meat. If the meat was rotten, no amount of spices would keep you from sickness or death!

      • Ruth breil

      David love yr blog wish it was a bi-monthly thing… can’t even imagine how the strike interferes w daily life in Paris… enuf is enuf, but wish the American public would get fired up about many issues gone south here…The idea of undoing issues and ‘laws’ is worrisome…

    • Claus

    Love this dish. Also highly recommend Martin Picard’s tourtiere du Shack. Easy to find on the net.

    • Elizabeth

    Oh, how I miss them, the ancestors, and the tourtiere❤️

    • Charles Shere

    What a beautifully written, informative review.

      • Krista

      This meat pie is one of my favorite things to make and eat. The spices and fillings (and the filling texture; from ground to chunks) vary significantly from region to region within Quebec. My family uses Bell’s Seasoning, a mixture of finely ground rosemary, oregano, ginger, marjoram, thyme, and pepper. I’d highly recommend trying this spice combination! My family also made a crust less version called dressing that we had with turkey dinners for holidays.

        • Karen

        I grew up in northern NH not far from the Canadian border in. Mill town of French speaking Canadian/Americans. Everyone made this at the holidays as pies and to stuff turkey. We, too, used Bells seasoning or poultry seasoning along with small amounts of cinnamon, nutmeg and clove. I still make this at Christmastime.

      • David
      David Lebovitz

      Thanks Charles – It was interesting reading Stand Facing the Stove while perusing the new Joy of Cooking. The history of the book, and cookbooks, is really reflected in all the updates in the various editions, what was cut, what was added. I was skeptical of the new book, but it’s really terrific.

    • Virginia

    Can you show us, David, how you created that pastry?

      • Allie X

      I would also like to see this – how is design on the top achieved?

        • David
        David Lebovitz

        After crimping the pie, I took a sharp paring knife and used the tip to make demi-circles, radiating out from the center, then used the knife to carve out a hole in the middle.

          • Allie X

          Thank you so much!

    • Mara

    My family is Finnish from upper peninsula Michigan. We have our own version that the copper miners would take into the mines with them. Pasti. Ground beef uncooked mixed with potatoes or rutabaga, onion, peas, carrots, salt, pepper and butter. Wrap in pastry crust and bake at 350 degrees for an hour. Yum. Eat with ketchup and a glass of milk.

      • Susan

      The Welsh and Cornish miners had pretty much the same thing and, it too, was called Pasties

        • Dan T

        That’s the origin — a huge number of people came from the mines of Cornwall to work in the UP, if I recall correctly.

        Some years ago I had a Cornish pasty in London and it was pretty much indistinguishable from what I’ve had in Michigan.

      • Katy

      Yes! Came here to say–David, based on this recipe’s similarity to Michigan pasties, you really must tell people to serve with ketchup. =)

        • David
        David Lebovitz

        That’s what comments (and commenters_ are for : )

        • Pam from Cape Cod

        No! The lovely spices in the tourtierre would be buried!
        I had a wonderful French Canadian neighbor who would make one for me every Christmas. I made sure she taught me how to make them!

      • Ilze

      Also a Yooper. My family made them more traditionally: no peas or carrots, just beef (more chopped than ground, potato, rutabaga, onion, salt, pepper, butter) served with ketchup. No milk because my European parents didn’t believe in milk after infancy!

    • Patricia Garvey

    My Memere made every Christmas and my mother after her. Now my turn…

    • Helen

    Okay you’ve convinced me to buy the new Joy of Cooking since my 1964 version is completely worn out from constant use. I learned to prepare food/meals from that cookbook and trust it above all others. Beautiful tourtiere BTW.

      • Linda I

      Your wonderful review may have persuaded me to purchase the new edition and pass my older one to a niece. My friends and I started our own tradition of gathering on Christmas eve to enjoy one another, good wine and a tortiere. I look forward to it more than almost any other gathering. Reading your post made me smile with the memories. And that crust is gorgeous! I’ll give it a whirl on my next pie. BTW, my sister sent me some lovely Creme de marron for my birthday after I shared your blog with her. Thank you for the inspiration.

      • Linda

      In the 1970s, living on a back-to-the-lander farm in KY, we shot a groundhog that was invading the garden and cooked it with a recipe from Joy of Cooking. It was not bad! It seemed you could find a recipe for anything in the that book.

    • Joanne

    A traditional Canadian, Quebecois, Acadian dish at Christmas, part of our family traditions (along with cabbage rolls from the Lebanese side of the family!). Thanks so much for highlighting and bringing up cherished memories.

    • Patricia

    Our family recipe uses only cloves and savoury (which is sometimes difficult to find in France). We always have it with homemade fruit ketchup. If you want to learn more about French Canadian cooking you can try to get your hands on a copy of Jehane Benoit’s cookbook – the French Canadian equivalent of the Joy of Cooking! Another Christmas classic is “ragout de pates de cochon”, much better than what it sounds like.

      • Anne

      I totally agree that Jehane Benoit’s is one of the most authentic recipes but there are regional variations. I use hers.

    • Kathrine

    I make a tourtière every year for New Year’s Day in honor of the French-Canadian side of my family!

    • Maggie

    Takes me back to the wonderful meals shared with my French Canadian friends from Hull, Québec. Good memories and I’m now inspired to make it for myself. Your pastry crust is spectacularly beautiful David.

    • Roger Boulet

    In my family, my maman’s Tourtière varied from year to year, but one given was 50% pork. The other 50% could be part veal, or moose or venison. My mom always sought out some moose. Spice blend was about the same. But to accompany the Tourtière, maman always served Green Tomato Relish, which I still make every year, and I now also serve a home-made Pear and Walnut Chutney.

    • Shari

    The Canadian Franco-Manitoban version of this stirs the meat and juices until broken-down into a fine texture, the potato is cooked separately and then carefully incorporated into the meat (no lumps). There is very little seasoning – just the onion and salt basically. Served with chicken or beef gravy if you’re lucky. Simple and delicious.

      • Chantale

      Interesting! My family’s Franco-Manitoban tourtière has meat (pork or pork and deer) and onion only, no potato. And definitely lots of spices, especially clove, pepper, and often savoury.

        • Chantale

        Oh, and we serve it with homemade crabapple jelly (aka gelée de pommettes)

    • Heather Smoke

    Wow, how pretty! I can’t wait to make this. I think a pinch of cardamom in the filling would be great, too.

    • Heather Smoke

    Oh, I think there’s a typo in the recipe for the pastry… 8 ounces of butter is equal to 1 cup or 2 sticks, not 1/2 cup which is only 1 stick. 1 cup of butter for 2 1/2 cups of flour is usually the standard in pastry or pie dough recipes.

    This looks so good, and I’m looking forward to making it for my family!

    Oops! I don’t usually use “sticks” of butter for measurements, so converted those. Fixed! -dl

      • MaryEllin

      Can we confirm butter measurement again please? USA confusion factor re oz, weight v fluid oz.
      David L, what’s the gram (weight) of the amount of butter you used to create the dough in the pictured tart?

        • David
        David Lebovitz

        The recipe in the book (page 665) calls for “2 sticks (8oz or 225g) cold unsalted butter.” I rounded it up to 230g, which is noted in the recipe, here, and I don’t prefer to use sticks of butter as a measurement, although many people do.

    • Brunie

    Hi David,
    Love all that you share and do, I want to make this pie, however, as I looked at your picture, the dough looks uncooked at the top, where it curls around in the inside, how do you get around this problem so that the pastry is flaky throughout? Thanks so much

      • David
      David Lebovitz

      The pastry was fully cooked through when it came out of the oven. It may have been how the light was hitting it (I’m not a pro photographer so don’t always capture the details correctly) – but the dough was perfectly flaky.

    • Yvonne

    Exchanging eating habits with a carpenter of French Canadian heritage (many in my area of South Coast Massachusetts!), we were bemoaning the use of ground beef having replaced forms of braised beef used by our grandmothers and great grandmothers. (My mother always used leftover pot roast to stuff peppers or cabbage or for shepherd’s pie, for example. I prefer this, maybe it’s just “comfort food.”) When he came to work the next day, he brought me his grandmother’s meat pie recipe complete with its provenance from Antigonish, Nova Scotia, from the 19th C. Rather than ground meats, it uses cubed beef and pork which are cooked the day before and cooled overnight to allow the gels to solidify before proceeding. In his family, this was a New Year’s specialty, as I find it to be among other French Canadians living near me.

    • Carol J. Butterfield

    The “Joy of Cooking” is the gift we give every newlywed. These days, they have that other Joy thing pretty much wired .

    • Dennis

    Similar, but not identical, to my family recipe (I’m also in Southcoast Massachusetts; my French-Canadian family is from around Chambly, outside Montreal.) I also use a lard crust, but I use a cream wash and not egg, and the spices in the filling drop the red pepper in favor of a little mace and a pinch of sage.

    Curiously, my mémère’s recipe started with ground meats, but the cooking process for them is effectively a braise, not entirely dissimilar from what you describe here.

      • Yvonne

      I’ve wondered when grinding meat became more accessible (meat grinder developed ca. 1850 in Germany) — certainly not so tedious — but I also think there was a certain amount of prestige associated with the newly developed method in the 19th C. Many people feel that some flavor is lost with the process.

    • Judith Bluysen

    Thank you, David, for this excellent review of the new Joy. An aunt had given me a pre-1970’s copy when I graduated from high school, which I took to be a snide comment on my future, but kept and used it until it fell apart 25 years later. At that point I had not become the suburban wife and mother she’d expected, and after I opened my Parisian restaurant in the early ’90s I bought an updated version that included Tex-Mex and Thai but omitted squirrel and bear. Gone too was the image of stout women in white aprons, hairnets and sensible shoes. I still refer to it from time to time for a detail but it’s nothing like the bible the old powder blue canvas covered volume was. But this last one sounds promising! Thank you for the recipe and pique.

      • David
      David Lebovitz

      Yes, there were a number of controversial omissions and deletions, and additions, over the years. Marion, Irma’s daughter, eventually retired a lot of things like jello-salads, that fell by the wayside over the years.

    • Sharon Wichmann

    What joy, the Joy of Cooking! What I love best are descriptions of how-to: how to cleanse a snail, for example. What fun, what adventure, what pleasure!

    • Joan Garneau

    Great recipe to perfection…in our French Canadian home we served it with chow chow a green tomato relish.

    • Carole Myles

    My French-Canadian parents would make this at Christmas time. I don’t eat pork or red meat, yet I make the pie during the holidays for my friends who love it. I love the smell of the spices since it reminds me of my childhood.

    • Jean Husson

    If you say the latest Joy of Cooking is worth it, I will give it another try. I have always disliked it, but you make an intriguing case. My non-French Canadian family has had tourtiere for Christmas Eve and I have riffed on several recipes over the years. This one sounds wonderful. Thanks.

      • Monique

      This is simply stunning – I would LOVE some tips to make my tourtiere crust look even half this beautiful. My family is from Quebec and I grew up eating this at holidays. My husband’s family is from Nova Scotia and made theirs with chunks of beef like another commenter mentions. This Christmas, I made “dueling” pies using both traditions, it was a lot of fun. Please show us how to make this crust! :)

    • Kathleen Hughes

    It is traditional to serve this French-Canadian dish with a home-made relish or so-called chutney or chili sauce. I served mine this year with rhubarb relish.

    • Cheryl

    Thanks for the wonderful recipe (anything in pie form must be good) and the extended history. I’ve a 1975 copy of *Joy* that no longer has the front or back hardbound covers (they’re around somewhere) and is spattered and wrinkled from use. If I had to have only one cookbook, of course…need I say?

    • Susan Penner

    Hard to talk about tortiere without mentioning the queen of Quebec cuisine. Madame Benoit ! Check her out.

    • Elizabeth Thomas

    David, thank you for the respectful and full-of-admiration for “Joy” and its authors over the years. I’m 75 and a home cook only; like many people I knew only a little about cooking when I embarked on it in my early 20’s. “Joy” was my education! The 1962 version remains on my shelf, oil- and fat-stained, spine broken but beloved.

      • David
      David Lebovitz

      It’s an amazing comprehensive book. Perhaps because it had been revised so many times, and the people who revised it was very diligent about adding things, removing things, and correcting things, as they went over the years. And it was a family affair, so they had a personal stake in the book as well, in preserving its heritage.

        • rose

        And so I wondered if her family regained full royalty rights with the revisions? Assuming the original contract would end upon her passing? I’m so hoping that would naturally be the case. Any idea?

    • Kiki

    Maybe I missed out on the info but I’d be interested to know if all weights and temperatures are also in gr/C° in this important cookery book or if it is just your kindness of providing both.
    Many thanks – the luscious photos make me really hungry.

      • David
      David Lebovitz

      Some of the measurements are in grams, but many are not. (Perhaps with 4600 recipes, it may have just been too daunting of a task. I know how much it takes just to write a standard cookbook in two systems of measurements!) The temperatures are all in fahrenheit.

    • Jake S

    Small kitchen tip: OK, this comment is totally irrelevant to the tourtiere recipe; but I ended up following links and came to a flatbread recipe in which you lamented not having space for a wooden baker’s peel in your kitchen. Yeah, me neither. But I do have a couple of heavy duty aluminum cookie sheets. I use one of them instead of the wooden peel and it works perfectly well.

    • Hope Anderson

    Beautiful pie, David! Though I’m happy with my old JOC (bought in 1979), I’m glad to know the new edition has the old classics and the canning instructions. JOC is the only cookbook I have that tells how to prepare game and organ meats–it’s an encyclopedia of cooking

    • Elizabeth Woods

    The original Quebecois tourtiere was not made of either beef or pork. It was made from passenger pigeon, or tourtes. the tourtes were extremely plentiful wild birds and they were put to good use by the inhabitants of Quebec. The tourte is now extinct but once numbered in the billions.

    • Jane Stilgenbauer

    Am just now plowing thru “Standing at the Stove”, your comment about the 1st 84 pages was kind. But I realize it was necessary to understand the author of JOC – I’m 74 and it did give me a better understanding WWI and German-American culture. Grandparents from “the old country”. Grew up with JOC and received one for wedding in ‘68 – glad you give the new one a good review. Enjoy your writings a lot, don’t cook as much (disability) but am going thru biographies of noted cooks and chefs.

    • Jane Stilgenbauer

    P.S. Will be trying your tourtiere this winter – Thanks for featuring it.

    • Tina

    My father’s side of the family were from Quebec and made tourtière. My mother’s family were from Prince Edward Island and their version uses bread dough as a crust and cubes of beef and pork cooked in liquid until it’s falling apart with bay leaf, onion, garlic, and poultry seasoning. It’s magnificent!

    • Kay

    My husband was born in Montreal, and his mother made tourtiere every Christmas, to be eaten following midnight mass on Christmas Eve and on through, until it was gone. I’ve been making it now for about ten years, using different recipes until I found one that he says tastes like his mother’s. It’s very similar to this recipe except for the potato, which is baked and then mashed until completely free of lumps before incorporation with the meat. I also use a butter pastry. The pie is delicious and makes him very happy!

      • David
      David Lebovitz

      Seems like there are a number of versions, some using cubed meat, some ground. Others have cubed potatoes, and sometimes it’s mashed. There’s an interesting article here about the differences/variations (in French.)

        • Jennifer

        I live in Ottawa, right by the provincial border with Quebec, and I can tell you there are some major disputes about what a tourtiere actually is. I’ve been served the “other” version twice now, by Quebecois guys who assure me that theirs, the Lac-St.-Jean version, is the only “real” tourtiere, and the dish the rest of us consider tourtiere is merely a “meat pie.” It’s not just a matter of cubed vs. ground: the Lac-St.-Jean tourtiere is a soupy stew of mixed meats and poultry sealed in with a pastry lid (no bottom crust) and baked. It’s not my thing, to tell the truth: I do a ground pork version from La Beauce, that was published years ago in Saveur, and is nothing but pork, onion, milk, and a little mashed potato for thickening, seasoned with quatre-epices. And a tomato-pear relish on the side–absolutely essential to have a relish of some kind. My partner’s curling buddies and work colleagues (the Lac-St.-Jean faction) can sneer all they want at my “meat pie”–and they can keep their soupy stew!

    • Margaret

    This is how much I love David’s blog – I am a vegetarian but his discussion and the comments are utterly fascinating. I love history and food and it’s so cool to read the stuff on this site. Keep up the great work David and all of you foodies out there in the cybersphere! You are very much appreciated by this cabbage butt in the PNW! (Yes, it is pouring down rain right now.)

      • David
      David Lebovitz

      Thanks Margaret! It is an interesting recipe, and has quite a history. It’s also evidence of how Joy of Cooking is crossing borders, and remaining relevant.

    • Joycelyn

    I’ve been making French Canadian Tourtiere for well over 50yrs but we have ours on Boxing Day, Dec. 26th instead of Christmas Eve as its the only day all family members can make the visit.
    Never made ours with chunked/diced potato though. My recipe, the potato is boiled and mashed separately then added to the meat mixture towards the end of cooking time in the pan. Different amount of spice in mine too. not so much cassia unless I have Saigon cinnamon on hand, only a pinch of cloves as cloves tends to be off putting to many. I don’t add bay leaf or cayenne or hot pepper flakes either but do add a pinch or two of sage or home made poultry seasoning if I have it on hand. Lard crust only for my toutiere, as that’s how my mother and grandmothers always made theirs. All butter crusts are lovely in their own place of course, but to me are best used for dessert pies and delicate tarts where the buttery taste and texture will be more appreciated. I used to make assorted meat tourtiere some years ago with my Mother and sibling where chunks of rabbit, pork, beef, and sometimes game or whatever other meat might be in the shed, was used. The meats were cooked/boiled then cut into very small pieces before searing but it became too time consuming when having to do it on my own, so switched to buying good quality freshly ground meats from a local butcher shop.

    Have to add. It’s nice to see so many still take the time to make tourtiere or are showing an interest in making it thanks to your enlightened post, David. That’s pretty wonderful considering we’re living in the days of skip the dishes, and all the other pre-cooked meals from whatever restaurant delivered to your door in an instant days, now!

    • Emilie Quast

    Ahem – If you ever decide to peek into “fly-over land”, you’ll discover a city that has a fairly deep tradition of ethnic cookery, including this:
    https://tinyurl.com/vvugl3a

    or if you prefer the original link:
    https://www.atlasobscura.com/foods/french-meat-pie?utm_source=Gastro+Obscura+Weekly+E-mail&utm_campaign=61c873d26c-GASTRO_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2019_10_19&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_2418498528-61c873d26c-67172213&mc_cid=61c873d26c&mc_eid=7543582f18 or, if you

    • rainey

    The version I know comes from an old
    “Canadian Living” cookbook and uses pork, potato and spinach cooked together. It’s just delicious. …though not nearly beautiful or formal in appearance.

    It’s a delight to be sure but too heavy for Southern California. Still, just seeing your photo brings back delicious memories.

    • Camille

    You have GOT to elaborate on how you manage to do an all-butter double-crust with NO shrink-back during baking!!! My crusts always shrink despite my desperate efforts to keep the dough chilled.

    • johanna

    love savory and meat pies!! my fave!
    thanks for this awesome recipe!
    can’t wait to try it!
    i usually do a shepherd’s pie (we raise sheep) and incorporate organ meats as well as skeletal meats into it; i like the root veggie top crust too-

    • David Lapointe

    Dear David, calling this ‘meat pie’ a ‘tourtière’ is a very slippery slope…

    I’ll be the guy from the so-called original place (Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean, and Jonquière to be precise), that will tell you that this meat pie is indeed a meat pie and not a ‘tourtière’. A tourtière is not made of ground meat, but of proper chunks of either beef, pork, rabbit, hen, partridge… A bit of venison would not be out of place neither.

    Potatoes are correct. Salt and pepper too. A bit of broth (preferably beef) too. Onions finely chopped are a necessity. But cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and allspice would be an abomination.

    The stuff has to cook for like at least 12 hours on low heat, and up to 24 hours, in order to make sure the flavors are mixing up well, and the meat super smooth.

    As oppose to what other people have said, my mom made hers in a large Creuset dutch oven, with both bottom and top pies. And this is the only way it should be done.

    Ketchup on the side, or a (rarely seen these days) green relish made of green tomatoes. A green salad is also very welcome since the whole thing is not exactly on the light side of the food spectrum.

    Thank you very much for letting me having the possibility to express my opinion, on a blog with a large array of readers, to express my personal opinion of the only dish worth talking of from my own birthplace (with the exception of soupe aux gourganes). :)

    Sincerely,

    David

      • David Lapointe

      As a side note, I think you should have a look at ‘La Nouvelle Encyclopédie de la Cuisine’ de Jehane Benoît. Madame Benoît was the Julia Child of Québec. This book was the cooking Bible of women here, since the 60’s.

        • Mimi

        Hi – I saw the leather-bound new edition at The Gardener in Berkeley and made a bee-line for the story about eggplant — the newlyweds — and the ali baba jars of olive oil. Such a great story! When i saw it gone I immediately dismissed the new one. So thanks for diving in and giving your great review of it. Appreciate it. Miss seeing you from the mid-century modern days 30 years ago on Market Street. All good.

      • Marie

      French-Canadian from Quebec City here, with a boyfriend from Lac St-Jean.

      David, is absolutely right. Tourtiere is a deep dish pie that has cubes of beef, pork, veal and potatoes, broth and salt and pepper. No other spices. Some people still make it with game meat: Venison, rabbit, poultry, etc… It’s put in the oven for 12 hours and is absolutely delicious. People from the Lac usually serve it with a green salad with cream.

      Meat pie is the word for the type of pie in this recipe, however French-Canadians tend to not like clove as much as they used to. Very few meat pies contain clove, cinnamon or all spice. Nutmeg is more common, but still not overly used. Meat pie is an integral part of Christmas even reveillon in Quebec.

        • Claudia Levesque

        The dish you describe sounds like Cipate

      • richard

      Sorry to disagree. My Grand-Mere, from farm country outside Montreal, Tourtiere was ground beef. My cousin’s, half Arcadian, was chunks and my recollection leaning on Turkey – or that was what was on hand. “On hand” I think is important here this dish reaks of impromptu / necessity cooking

    • Barbara Liese

    So many versions of tourtiere pie (our family inherited a mutated version of its name: Tourque). Same basic recipe, but my memere would not use potatoes, which she said would turn rancid back in the day (over 100 years ago) so she took a rolling pin to crush saltine crackers and incorporated them into finely minced beef and pork, cooked with onion and sage/ground cloves/nutmeg. Always served around Christmas and New Year’s. I added some veal to my recipe but love the treatment on the top of the pie in your photos!

    • Paula Montenegro

    The first book I ever bought was the joy of Cooking in 1982. I was 14.
    I still bake from it.
    Their gingersnaps are still the best I ever made.
    I have to get the new one! Love the tourtiere.

    • Sylvie

    Delicious. I have a similar recipe from”les fiches géantes de la bonne cuisine” which is called Tourte Paysanne. It has some greens instead of pot oats and is delicious at Christmastime!

    • David Loesch

    Would it be sacrilegious to add diced carrots and frozed peas or mushrooms to the mix?

      • kpgallant

      I have only heard it called “Tourtiere” or “Meat Pie” from the French Canadians in my life. Most of the French Canadians I know serve it on Christmas Eve for Reveillon after Midnight Mass. My grandmother and great grandmother came to the US from Bretagne via New Brunswick but they stayed long enough to learn the recipe. My great grandmother made small individual ones though that were so nice to take home on a cold winter night, cradling them in your hands or inside your coat pockets. They also freeze really well, so if you are inspired make several and put them in the freezer. The “Spice” that you are looking for that most Canucks use is “Bell’s Seasoning”…New Englanders use it in their Turkey Stuffing also… ;)
      https://bellsfoods.com/products/bells-seasoning/

      • Marie

      Yes! ;) Only meat and sometimes potatoes (very rarely I have to say). Usually meat pie is made with beef, pork and veal.

    • kpgallant

    The “French American Victory Club” in Waltham, MA [the French say Wall-Tam… ;) ] has a recipe on its website for the Tourtiere and they call it “Meat Pie (Pâté à la viande)” Interesting. They also serve Ketchup with it at the Club…a tradition. LOL…
    http://www.favclub.org/acadian-recipes.html

    • BelleD

    What a lively discussion on tourtière and Joy of Cooking. My copy was a gift from a former manager who loves food as much as I do. He gave it to me with the caveat that some of the language and etiquette dictated in the book was old-fashion and rather sexist. My edition was from the 80’s so…yeah, funny language and really fascinating look at social norms from the past. Good to know that the new edition still has so of the old gems with new modern additions. I’m looking forward to reading it :)

    • Lenny

    Isn’t this a little like Moroccan Bourekas?

    • Marie

    Hello David,

    Looks great! But it’s not tourtiere. I’m French-Canadian and this is meat pie, although we add veal to it and very few add all those spices. Especially clove, for some reason we’ve developed a really strong aversion to clove. I think it comes from our grand-mothers using 100 cloves on one ham. I can’t even stand the smell of clove.

    French-Canadians are a bit like people from France regarding food, we’re pretty bad when things aren’t called the right name ;). Although, I guess you’re pretty used to that.

    Like I mentioned above a Tourtiere is from the Lac St-Jean area and is a very deep dish pie made of cubes of beef, veal, pork, potatoes, broth and salt and pepper. It’s usually cooked for 12 hours and many people cook them in “Le Creuset” pots. That’s how deep they are. That being said a lot of people from Quebec do call meat pie “tourtiere”, but when you know people from Lac St-Jean you learn not to say that really fast haha. Some people still make it with hare and game meat, but not that many do anymore.

    Charlevoix and the other side of the St-Lawrence river has something similar as well which is called Cipaille. The difference between real Lac St-Jean tourtiere and Cipaille is that there are layers of pastry crust inside the Cipaille.

      • David
      David Lebovitz

      Because of all the inquiries on the subject, I checked around and there are various tourtières that closely resemble this one, that hail from Toronto and the region, such as this one and this one, from Madame Benoît. The only difference that I can see if that they use oats and breadcrumbs, respectively, along with ground meat. This one is Montréal-style, and includes more spies than the others. Living in France, I see how foods get adapted from various regions, and are called different things (such as the pain au chocolat vs. the chocolatine) – I don’t spend much time or energy quibbling about the difference, but I know people like to.

    • David Lapointe

    Dear David,

    Please, allow me to add a last note about the whole thing. It’s my first and only chance to make the ‘tourtière’ a famous dish around the whole world…

    Most people in Québec (and some people from New-Brunswick too I guess) would call that dish a tourtière. But the people from the region of Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean would call it a ‘meat pie’, because for them, a tourtière is a different thing, like I and Marie described earlier. And we insist on the difference, because the original tourtière is indeed a much superior dish… :)

    Here is a link of what it looks like (it’s not a thing of beauty by any means, but when well done, it’s really delicious): https://www.canalvie.com/recettes/tourtiere-du-lac-aux-six-viandes-1.1070982

    Thank you! And it’s always a joy to read you!

    • Deborah Racine

    Our family tortierre recipe comes from the Lac St Jean, Quebec region.
    3 lbs ground pork
    Onions
    Allspice
    The ground pork is simmered in water for about three hours until the liquid almost disappears. While simmering, skim the fat and reserve it for the pastry. Add the chopped onion half way through the simmering process. Add the allspice once the meat is cooked completely.
    For the pastry, use the pork fat and lard (if necessary). Use milk instead of water. Roll the pastry very thin. Use a glass pyrex pie dish. Voila!

    • Angela Fleagle

    Hi David!
    I am so happy to find your blog. I loved his last post. I am a big fan of the Joy of Cooking. I knew about the new addition, and after reading what you had to say about it, it is on my want list! Also, just wanted to let you know that I have made your chocolate macaroons several times now, and they are fantastic!! Tomorrow I am going to try your sables Bretons, because 1) I love sables Bretons, and 2) I need to use up all those extra egg yolks after making macaroons! You are an inspiration, and I love your writing. Thank you for sharing your recipes!

    • Jill

    Made enough for 4, eaten by 2, wow! Best pastry I’ve tasted in a long time. Thank you David. It’s another winner.

    • Suzanne

    I grew up eating the meat pie my grandmother would make (which she learned from her French Canadian MIL). I thought this was excellent, but a little under-spiced for me. Next time I will increase the spices by 50%, except the cloves. I didn’t use the cayenne pepper.

    • Angela

    Ok, second comment here. Although I had no intention of making a tourtière, I have been obsessing over it since I saw this post. So I made it tonight! I did little hand pies, and they were SO good! I doubled the spices (but not the cayenne), as Suzanne suggested, and I also added some chopped golden raisins for an added sweet/savory component. So so good, like having dessert for dinner! Although my kids didn’t necessarily agree. No problem though… more for me and the husband. I’d love to send you a picture!

    • Karen Sagun

    This looks fabulous, I love a good meat pie and this is going to the top of my list for cold-weather meal!

    I have already ordered a copy of Stand Facing the Stove, it looks fascinating. I have my grandmother’s copy of Joy of Cooking, a 1967 printing. She was not revered as a great cook but I treasure it, especially since she left a couple of hand-written recipes in the endpapers.

    • Zeak Rice

    My family -mother’s side- came from Quebec. GrMa always made a Tourtier for Holidays. However, ours had the dominate herb flavor of ‘pine needles’ in the recipe. ‘Rosemary’ My favorite herb!! Makin two of them today. Gotta have one at least once a year!!!

    • Scott M.

    I made this during Christmas week and was so impressed that the top crust turned out almost as beautifully as David’s photos. I substituted ground duck leg and thigh meat for the beef and rutabaga for the potato. I loved the taste of both, but the rutabaga probably did not absorb as much broth as the russet potato would have. My bottom crust was soggy. I recommend uncovering the pan and reducing the cooking liquid after the meat is tender if substituting rutabaga (probably the same if you substitute waxy potato or celery root).

      • SM

      Upon checking out the new Joy, I see the original recipe directs to uncover and continue simmering until all the liquid has evaporated. This step was omitted here.

        • David
        David Lebovitz

        As you can see from the photos, mine didn’t require that and the filling was not liquidy at all. Check photos #1, 5 and #9 for the interior of the tourtière and there weren’t excess juices. When I feature a recipe on my blog from a book, I write up the recipe as I made it, and include photos, but encourage people to get the book and see what the author says, too, which I’m glad you did as it’s a great re-edition!

    • Janine

    Tried it today for Pi day and it was delicious! My family, including my 2 and 4 year old, loved it! My husband’s family is partially French Canadian so I was inspired to make this today. I cut the potatoes into tiny cubes so I simmered it for much less time (we were hungry!).

    • Kelley

    As a Canadian who grew up eating tourtierre, I was surprised to see the addition of cayenne! My family has always used white or black pepper in our recipe for a little heat. I was also surprised not to see an herb like marjoram, thyme, savory or sage included. All the recipes I’ve seen from Quebec had one of them. I’m glad they got the potato right, though. It’s an important part of the dish and helps to add some moisture since the meat filling is precooked before going into the pastry.

      • David
      David Lebovitz

      In charcuterie, sometimes a small amount of red pepper powder which isn’t at all prominent in the flavor but to enhance the other spices, but you can leave it out. 1/4 teaspoon of a seasoning won’t make a major difference.

A

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