Moose Tourtière Pie

by Rene Dechaine
(Bowie, Md, USA)

I was given some moose meat by some friends for my 50th birthday (great friends!). Since my birthday falls on December 5, I was just about to make tourtière for Christmas Eve. I modified my usual recipe to use the moose, and it came out wonderfully!

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Moose Tourtière Pie

Prep Time: 4.5 hours

Yields: 3 pies/18 servings

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lb. lean ground pork
1 1/2 lb ground moose meat
1 large onion, diced
1 stalk celery, chopped
6-8 cloves+
2 tsp allspice+
1 tsp sage+
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon+
1 tsp salt
1 bay leaf
3 cups water
3 lbs baking potatoes, peeled and cubed
3 pie crusts, 9 inch, top and bottom
1 egg for egg wash

Directions:

1- In a large pot, mix together raw ground moose, pork, onions, celery, cloves, allspice, sage, cinnamon, salt, bay leaf and water. Simmer over low heat for 3 hours, but check occasionally to ensure pork is breaking up and water does not boil completely away. The pork should end up moist, not soupy or dry, and fully cooked Remove from heat and discard bay leaf.

2- While pork is simmering, place potatoes in water and boil until tender (about ten minutes). Drain and mash/rice the potatoes. Set aside.

3- When pork is finished cooking, mix in mashed/riced potatoes.

4- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

5- Line 9 inch pie plates with bottom crust, and spoon equal amounts of pork filling into each crust. Cover with top crust and flute edges to seal.

6- Coat each pie with egg wash and bake for 45 minutes or until crust is golden brown.

+Variation: Substitute cloves, allspice, sage and ground cinnamon with Middle East Seven Spices blend. The version I use has allspice, red chilli powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves and mahlab.

My recipe is posted on my website:

http://www.renedechaine.com/food-for-thought/

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