Meat Pie (Québec Tourtière du Lac Saint-Jean Venison)

Tourtière might be the most classic of Canadian dishes. Every Franco-Canadian family has its own recipe, whether it lives in Québec, Acadia, Ontario, or even New England. Tourtière is almost always part of the Christmas or New Year's dinner. The word "tourtière" is a generic term for pâté en croute. The classic meat pie usually includes ground pork, veal or beef, and potatoes. That said, there is a wide variety of tourtière. Some include wild game, or even fish. Here is Québec's Tourtière du Lac Saint-Jean.

Filling:
1 lb Québec pork stewing cubes, ½ cm (¼") thick (500 g)
1 lb deer, caribou or beef cubes, ½ cm (¼") thick (500 g)
3 oz sliced bacon, chopped (90 g)
2 onions, chopped
kosher or sea salt
black pepper, freshly ground
4 potatoes, cut into small cubes

Pastry:
2 recipes Shortcrust Pastry
1 egg yolk, beaten with 1 tsp. water, for glaze

Make the Pastry:
Make the dough according to the recipe. Divide the dough into two balls, then roll one ball out on a floured board to fit a thick-bottomed casserole dish or oven-safe baking dish. Wrap the remaining dough in cling wrap and place it and the lined pie plate in the fridge until the filling is ready (at least 30 minutes) to allow the pastry to rest. This causes the gluten to relax, which helps to stop shrinkage when cooking. Make-Ahead: The pastry can now be kept in the fridge for up to a week.

Make the Filling:
Combine meat cubes, bacon and onions in a bowl. Cover and marinate in the fridge for 12 hours.

Place oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 400°F (200°C/180°C fan, Gas Mark 6).

Assemble the Pie:
Add potato cubes, salt and pepper to meat mixture and stir to combine. Add meat and potato mixture to pastry lined baking dish. Rollout the second crust and top the filling. Cut small slits in the top of the dough to allow steam to escape. Brush with egg yolk.

Bake for 30 minutes, then lower temperature to 250°F (120°C/100°C fan, Gas Mark 0.5) and continue baking for 1 hour 30 minutes.

Remove from the oven and let sit for 15-20 minutes before serving.