Best French Canadian Recipes

TOURTIERE (FRENCH CANADIAN MEAT PIE)

Steps:

• Place flour, salt, and frozen butter slices into the bowl of a food processor. Pulse on and off until butter is about the size of peas, about 30 seconds. Stir vinegar into cold water; drizzle water/vinegar into the flour mixture. Pulse on and off until mixture is crumbly and holds together when you pinch a piece off, about 10 seconds. If dough isn't pressing together, drizzle in another teaspoon of water.
• Transfer mixture to a work surface. Press it together until it becomes a lump of dough. Wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until chilled, at least 1 hour.
• Mix salt, pepper, thyme, sage, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, mustard, clove, and cayenne together in a small bowl.
• Place potato quarters in a saucepan; cover with cold water. Add 1 teaspoon kosher salt. Bring to a boil over high heat; reduce heat. Simmer until cooked through, 10 to 15 minutes. Scoop out potatoes and transfer to a bowl; save cooking liquid. Mash potatoes with a potato masher.
• Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add chopped onion and a pinch of salt. Cook and stir until onions turn golden, 10 to 15 minutes.
• Stir garlic, celery, and spice blend into the skillet with onions. Stir until onion mixture is evenly coated with the spices, about 30 seconds. Add ground beef and ground pork. Ladle about 3/4 cup of the potato cooking liquid into the skillet.
• Cook and stir until meat is browned and has a very fine, almost pastelike texture. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until meat is tender and most of the liquid has evaporated, about 45 minutes. Stir in mashed potatoes. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Divide chilled dough into 2 pieces, one just slightly larger than the other. Roll the larger piece out into a 12-inch circle on a lightly floured work surface. Place in a 9-inch deep dish pie plate. Roll top crust out into a circle about 11 inches in diameter. Cut small slits in the top crust to allow steam to escape.
• Fill bottom crust with the meat mixture; smooth out the surface. Whisk egg and water together to make egg wash. Brush edges of the bottom crust with egg wash. Place top crust on the pie and press lightly around the edges to seal. Trim excess dough from the crust. Crimp the edges of the crust. Brush entire surface of the pie with egg wash.
• Place in preheated oven. Bake until well browned, about 1 hour. Let cool to almost room temperature before serving.

FAVORITE FRENCH CANADIAN MEAT PIE

Steps:

• In a large skillet over medium heat, cook the pork, beef, veal, potatoes and onion until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in the garlic, seasonings and 1/4 cup water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring frequently., Remove from the heat; cool to room temperature. Stir in bread crumbs. Combine egg and remaining water; stir into meat mixture. , Preheat oven to 400°. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to a 1/8-in.-thick circle; transfer to a 9-in. pie plate. Trim crust to 1/2 in. beyond rim of plate; flute edge. Fill with meat mixture. Roll remaining dough to a 1/8-in.-thick circle. Place over filling. Trim, seal and flute edge. Cut slits in top. Cover edges loosely with foil., Bake 15 minutes. Remove foil. Reduce heat to 375°; bake 30-35 minutes or until crust is golden brown.

TOURTIERE DU QUEBEC (FRENCH-CANADIAN MEAT PIE)

Steps:

• Place all the ingredients (except for pie shell) in a sauce pan and bring to boil and cook uncovered for 20 minutes over medium heat.
• Cool the meat mixture and pour in pastry lined pan. Note: I like to cool mine in refrigerator over night if time permits.
• Cover with the top crust, cut steam vents and bake in a 400F oven until golden, about 45 minutes.
• Freeze well.
• Note: If ground pork and ground veal cannot be found, you can use meatloaf mix which is all 3 meat but I'm not sure of the ratio.

GORTON (FRENCH-CANADIAN PORK SPREAD)

Steps:

• Stir the pork fat, ground pork, onions, water, cloves, and nutmeg together in a large pot. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until the pork is tender, at least 1 1/2 hours. Use a potato masher to mash the pork mixture every 15 minutes as it cooks.
• The longer you simmer the gorton, the better the flavor will be. Add water as needed to keep the mixture from boiling dry. When you're ready to stop cooking, let the liquid reduce as much as possible without letting it burn. Refrigerate the gorton overnight. Remove and discard the fat layer, or stir it into the meat for a creamier spread.

TARTE AU SUCRE FRANCAISE (FRENCH CANADIAN SUGAR PIE)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• In bowl, mix brown sugar and flour.
• In seperate bowl, whisk together milk, eggs and vanilla.
• Gradually add to flour mixture mixing well.
• Place cookie sheet under pie crust.
• Fill pie crust with mixture.
• Drop cold butter cubes throughout mixture.
• Cook for 45 to 50 minutes, until outside edges are firm and center is slightly jelly like.
• Refrigerate completly.
• Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

FRENCH-CANADIAN PEA SOUP (SOUPE AUX POIS)

Steps:

• Wash and sort peas; place in a large pot, bring to a boil.
• Remove from heat and let sit for 1 hour.
• Add salt pork, onion, celery, carrots, savory and 1 tsp salt.
• Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until peas are very tender, about 2 hours, adding more water if needed.
• Remove salt pork; chop and return to soup.
• Season to taste with salt and pepper.

FRENCH CANADIAN (NOT BOSTON) BAKED BEANS

Steps:

• Pour the beans onto a plate, and pick-over looking for bad beans, or stones. Place beans in bowl, cover with water by at least 2 inches, and soak overnight.
• Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.
• Drain beans and place in 4-quart bean pot. Add onion, dry mustard, pepper, salt, and maple syrup. Add water to cover. Cut salt pork into 1-inch pieces and place on top of beans. Bake covered, approximately 8 hours. Check each hour to see if water needs to be added. You can add more maple syrup in place of water for flavor, if desired.
• Serve the beans with brown bread, franks, or ham. For breakfast, serve with eggs, bacon, and home-fries.

TRADITIONAL FRENCH CANADIAN TOURTIERE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• In a large pot, mix the pork, beef, onion, and water. Season with salt, pepper, allspice, cloves, cinnamon, and chicken seasoning. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer 30 minutes.
• Drain liquid from pot into a bowl. Transfer remaining meat mixture to a separate bowl and chill until ready to use. Place bowl with liquid in the refrigerator and chill 1 hour, or until fat has congealed on the surface.
• Scrape and discard fat from the chilled liquid. Spoon the meat mixture into pie crusts. Add 1 tablespoon of reserved liquid to each pie. (This prevents them from becoming to dry.) Place top crust on top of each pie and pinch edges to seal. Cut slits in top crust so steam can escape.
• Bake in preheated oven until golden brown, about 50 minutes. Serve immediately or freeze until ready to use.

OLD FASHIONED FRENCH CANADIAN BAKED BEANS

Steps:

• Cover beans with water and soak overnight.
• Rinse beans then bring to a boil in approximately 1 quart of water, bay leaf and garlic - simmer for 30 minutes.
• Turn off heat and let beans stand for approximately 1 1/2 hours until soft. Drain and reserve the bean liquid. Discard bay leaf and garlic.
• Mix together remaining ingredients (excluding beans and bacon).
• Add beans to bean pot (or any covered dish).
• Stir in molasses mixture to beans. Top off with some of the reserved bean liquid.
• Arrange bacon on top.
• Cover and bake at 300 degrees for 7 hours. For the final hour of cooking, remove cover to let bean brown up nicely.
• Note: check occasionally and keep beans covered with reserved bean liquid during cooking.

TOURTIERE (FRENCH CANADIAN MEAT PIE)

Steps:

• In large skillet, brown meat with onion and garlic. Drain fat.
• Stir in water, celery, carrot, boullion and bay leaf.
• Bring to a boil.
• Reduce heat and simmer 7-8 minutes.
• Remove from heat and add potatoes and spices.
• Spoon into pie shells. Cover with pastry topping.
• Combine egg yolk, water and brush lightly on crust.
• Bake 375°F 30-40 minutes.
• Serve with brown gravy and salad.

FRENCH CANADIAN MEATBALL STEW

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Spread flour out in a thin, even layer on a baking sheet.
• Roast the flour in the preheated oven until medium brown in color, 10 to 15 minutes; stir often and watch carefully to avoid burning. Remove the flour from the baking sheet immediately once the desired color has been reached; set aside in a shallow bowl to cool.
• Melt butter in a large, heavy pot over medium heat, and cook and stir the onion until translucent, about 5 minutes. Transfer the onion to a large mixing bowl. In a small bowl, mix the cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves; stir the spice mix into the onion. Place ground pork, parsley, egg, and bread crumbs into the bowl, and mix to combine thoroughly. Form the meat mixture into 1-inch meatballs; roll each meatball in the roasted flour. Reserve unused flour.
• Pour the chicken broth into the pot, bring to a boil over medium heat, and carefully drop in the meatballs, a few at a time, stirring to keep them from sticking on the bottom. Drop in the bay leaf. Simmer the meatballs for 20 minutes; mix in the potatoes, and simmer until potatoes are tender and the broth has reduced, an additional 20 minutes. Transfer the meatballs into a bowl with a slotted spoon.
• Remove and discard bay leaf. Mix remaining roasted flour with cold water in a cup, and gradually whisk the flour mixture into the simmering broth to thicken. Bring the gravy to a full boil, and cook, stirring constantly, until the gravy thickens, about 5 minutes. Return the meatballs to the stew, and serve.

MOM'S FRENCH CANADIAN CRETONS

Steps:

• On medium high heat brown pork and turkey in the oil and olive oil mix. Using this mix the meat cooks at a higher temperature without burning the oil. While browning add onions and minced garlic; once browned add garlic powder, cloves, cinnamon, and sage, cover the top of meat mixture with salt (I prefer seasalt or kosher) and same, twice around the pot with pepper (preferrably fresh ground). Mix the meat and seasonings and add in boiling water to meat mixture, enough to cover the top. Bring to boil, lower to simmer about 3hrs. or until water is reduced to almost nothing. approximately half way through cooking process adjust your mixture with alspice, no more than a teaspoon should be required. I go by taste. Now to properly adjust the mixture for spreading purposes add in enough bread crumbs to absorb the remaining liquid in the pot. Using a hand blender puree meat mixture. Divide into containers and let cool before freezing or putting in fridge. yeilds 3-4lbs. Enjoy!

FRENCH CANADIAN TOURTIERES

Steps:

• Coarsely chop celery, carrots and onions; place in a food processor with garlic. Cover and process until finely chopped; set aside., In a stockpot or two Dutch ovens, cook vegetables, pork, veal and sausage until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in broth, parsley and seasonings. Cover and cook over low heat 20 minutes. Stir in bread crumbs., Preheat oven to 400°. On a lightly floured surface, roll?half of dough into four 1/8-in.-thick?circles;?transfer to four 9-in. pie plates.?Trim?even with rims.??Add?about 4 cups filling to each crust.??Roll remaining dough into four 1/8-in.-thick circles. Place over filling. Trim, seal and flute edges. Cut slits in tops.?, Cover edges of pies loosely with foil. Bake 25 minutes. Reduce oven setting to 350°. Remove foil and bake pies until crusts are golden brown, 15-20 minutes longer. Freeze option: Cover and freeze unbaked pies. To use, remove from freezer 30 minutes before baking (do not thaw). Preheat oven to 400°. Place pie on a baking sheet; cover edge loosely with foil. Bake 25 minutes. Reduce heat to 350°. Remove foil. Bake until crust is golden brown and a thermometer inserted in center reads 165°, 50-60 minutes longer.

ALICE'S FRENCH CANADIAN MEAT PIE - TOURTIERE

Steps:

• Cook meat in a skillet on medium heat until brown, then drain and place meat in a large bowl.
• Add potatoes a little at a time to meat.
• Add seasonings and mix.
• Add more seasonings to taste.
• Place pie dough on 2 pie plates.
• Add half of mixture to each pie.
• Cover each pie with remaining dough.
• Seal the edges of pies and cut 5 to 6 vent holes on the tops of pies.
• Brush top of pies with melted butter.
• Bake 20 - 30 minutes at 350°F or until crusts are golden brown.

TOURTIERE A L'ORIGNAL (FRENCH CANADIAN MOOSE MEAT PIE)

Steps:

• Combine Pork, moose, onion, garlic, spices, water and sauces in a skillet and bring to a boil.
• Reduce heat and cook uncovered for 20 minutes, or long enough to remove pink from meat. Mixture should be moist, not watery.
• Add enough potatoes to absorb the liquid. Cool.
• Fill crust, cover with top crust and seal edges. Cut vent holes.
• Combine egg and water and brush over pastry crust.
• Bake at 425 for 10 minutes, reduce heat to 350 and bake 30 minutes or until lightly browned.

FRENCH CANADIAN HEAD CHEESE

Steps:

• Boil meat until very tender, adding water when necessary, save stock, remove meat. Allow meat to cool a bit and grind medium weight, then return to stock.
• Add onion and garlic powder to taste. Boil until thick.
• Add salt and pepper and allspice to taste.
• Pour into molds, cool and refrigerate until set, 3 to 4 hours.

FRENCH-CANADIAN GORTON PORK SPREAD

Steps:

• Place the pork, onion, cinnamon, and clove into a saucepan. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Pour in water to just cover the meat. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and cook until the water has nearly evaporated, about 1 hour. Stir occasionally to ensure the pork cooks evenly.
• Use a potato masher or wire whisk to break the pork into thin strands. Pour off any remaining liquid, then spoon the gorton into a serving bowl. Refrigerate until cold before serving.

THE BEST TOURTIÈRE ( FRENCH-CANADIAN MEAT PIE)

Steps:

• In a saucepan, combine the ground pork, water, ground clove, allspice, salt, pepper and onion. Cook over moderate heat for 30 minutes, stirring often to prevent sticking. Remove from heat; add the mashed potatoes and mix well. Cool. Meanwhile, line two 9-inch pie plates with pastry. When meat mixture is lukewarm, divide it between two pie shells and spread it out evenly. Brush around outer edge of pastry with the beaten egg. Place top crust on the tart and press gently around the edge to seal. Trim pastry, crimp edges and cut steam vents in top crust. Decorate as desired. Bake in a hot oven, 425 degrees F, for 40 minutes. Serve hot.

FRENCH CANADIAN MEAT PIE

Steps:

• In a large skillet, cook the beef, pork, onion and celery over medium heat until meat is no longer pink. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Drain. Remove from the heat. Stir in the potatoes, broth and seasonings., Line two 9-in. pie plates with pastry. Divide meat mixture between crusts. Top with remaining pastry; trim, seal and flute edges. , Cut slits in top. Brush with milk if desired. Bake at 375° for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown.

FRENCH CANADIAN CRETON

Steps:

• 1. Combine pork, onion, and garlic in pan and simmer over medium heat 1 hour.
• 2. Add cinnamon and cloves and cook 30 minutes more.
• 3. Add bread crumbs and cook 15 more minutes.
• 4. Drain in colander.
• 5. Pack tightly in small containers and refrigerate. Serve cold as a spread for crackers.