- Ground pork (the classic), seasoned with cloves, cinnamon and allspice
- Flaky pie pastry, top and bottom
- Eaten with fruit ketchup or chutney
Tourtière
A whole tourtière, the French-Canadian meat pie. Photo via Wikimedia Commons.
Tourtière is the French-Canadian meat pie, and it belongs to Christmas. Traditionally served at the réveillon, the feast after midnight mass on Christmas Eve, it is a deep pie of seasoned ground pork (sometimes mixed meats) in a flaky crust.
The Lac-Saint-Jean version is a different beast: cubed meats and potatoes layered in a huge pie, baked for hours. Every family has its own recipe and defends it.
Key ingredients
Where to try it
- Quebec City and Montreal bistros in December, when it is everywhere.
- Sugar shacks (cabanes à sucre) during sugaring season.
- Bakeries across Quebec year-round.