I used 1 lb. of ground pork and used Idaho instant mashed instead. Turned out great!

My husband is French-Canadian and LOVES French Meat Pie. I lost my recipe when we were building our home and I couldn't quite remember all the little detail. This recipe is as close to perfect as you can get if you want authentic flavor! I tend not to measure a lot, but I added a little of this and a little of that from teh listed ingredients (also reading the many great reviews and getting some additional ideas) and made two pies. Well, there may be enough for three....I haven't finished assembling...but the meat filling is wonderful. I mashed half of the potatoes and cubed the other half, hubby's preference!

Aside from baking the potato in the microwave I did everything the same. Turned out great. Goes well with homemade chili sauce.

This is my all-time favorite! Awesome!

This is the second time I have tried to make this dish. I think it really must be a regional taste as it just doesn't go over well at our house. If I were to try it a third time I would leave out the cloves as that is the flavor that just turns us off of this dish. It was also a little dry so I would try to make a light gravy for the meat (without going overboard on it).

Made this for my French Canadian BF and we loved it! Will be making for a Christmas brunch party. Used half beef and half pork and whole wheat crust.

The flavor on this pie is to die for. It is the exact flavor that pork pie should have! I only simmered the ingredients for about 30 minutes then made it in mini sizes in large muffin pans! Great idea for company!

I make this every Christmas and we have it after Church on Christmas eve with Green tomato chow chow French Canadian pea soup and Yule log for desert. My husband's Family is French Canadian so we have a fete to teach our kids about old family traditions.

I added a tin of chopped tomatoes to this. It was lovely. I would definitely make this again.

I am french canadian and meat pie has been a family tradition for years, made by my Memere's, but is a long lost art as we have americanized our traditions. I made it this thanksgiving with the help of my Aunt and she says leave out the cinnamon but use more allspice in it's place, do not add water, and add the potato after you cook the meat, little by little until you feel it is perfect for you. I did 2 pies, one this one way and one her way, and she was right. But both were very tasty and did not last the night. Will definetly be making again for Christmas Eve. Thanks! UPDATE: TO THE REVIEW WHO'S PIE HAD CHUNKS OF POTATO, SAVE ONE POTATO FOR DICIING BUT USE THE REMAINING POTATOES FOR MASHING INTO THE MEAT. THE POTATOS IS THE TRICK FOR KEEPING THE MEAT FROM BEING CRUMBLY..

Fantastic! Tasted like someting right out of the 18th century Scottish Highlands! I made this last night, taking into consideration some of the suggestions from other reviewers. I made a few modifications. I used 1 pound of ground pork and 1 pound of very lean ground beef and did not drain it. I used instant spuds (Idahoan) instead of a baking potato but making them a coarser consistancy like the inside of a baked potato and I used some of the meat "juices" in place of the margarine in the spud recipe. I used a medium onion and one whole shallot minced. I used half the amount of cinnamon but doubled the allspice. I reduced the 1/2 cup of water to a 1/4 cup water and added 1/4 cup red wine to it. Finally I used refridgerated pie crusts. I made the instant spuds and added them to the simmering meat mixture during the last 10 minutes of simmering. This thickened it up nicely. While it was baking I had 5 hungry guys from 48 to 16 years old asking when it would be ready. They polished off the entire thing but not before I got my piece out of it. This pie made the most delicious crust I've ever had. Next time I'm making two pies. The flavor was just amazing and one son thought it tasted like something we would have for Christmas, so I'll keep that in mind. This recipe is a keeper!!!!

Loved this recipe and the spices in it. I didn't have allspice so I used cinnamon only. It was very tasty. Next time I will the allspice too!!!

I too have been searching for a recipe like my Memere use to make. The issue that I'm having is keep the meat pie together without mashing the potatoes. My Memere always cubed her potatoes and did not use any type of cracker/instant potato flakes to keep it together. This recipe has all the ingredients minus the cinnamon,paprika and onion which my Memere did not use. I did double up on the spices as suggested by another review--other than that it was good--I'm going to continue to try and get my pie to stay together just like my Memere's Tourtiere. thanks Maggie!

I made this wonderful tourtiere twice over the Christmas season. I used frozen pie crust because pastry scares the bejesus out of me. The pie is absolutely perfect, however I do recommend going with the 1lb of pork to 1/2lb of beef ratio that others have reccomended. I tried it both with this mix and with all pork, and we preferred the flavour with the beef mixed in. Everything else should be left exactly as is. A bit time consuming, but totally worth it for the holidays. By the way, it makes more like 6 servings, not 8, unless you are making it as part of a buffet. Thanks for the new Christmas tradition!

Very good! It just is not Christmas without this wonderful meat pie. I lost my own recipe and was very upset, then I tried allrecipes, yeah!!!! We will now have a great Christmas Supper. Instead of baking a potato, I grate a raw one right in with the meat mixture, 1/2 pork and 1/2 ground turkey and added more of the spices. Just great!

I love making this! My Aunt makes it every year for our traditional Christmas meal. I can't imagine Christmas any other way. I'll also make the meat filling as another form of stuffing for Thanksgiving. We usually make the recipe with half pork and half beef. And I know this sounds crazy, but if you don't want to make the potatos, to save time, I use instant to get the consistancy that I need for the filling. No one ever knows the difference.

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