For the Love of Tourtiere

Anyone who knows Ron well, know that Christmas is a four letter word to him, even after being out of retail for 8 years. There is, however, one tradition that he looks forward to as the day slowly marches forward. Presents? No. Decorations? Hell, no. The anticipated item is French Canadian tourtiere. It's one of those nifty recipes that is ever changing and no one family makes the same. 

We follow the basics of his Mom's recipe (three of four lines of instructions, including the ingredients) and we tart it up a little, just for fun. We don't go the ground meat route, no we use cubed meat, usually beef and pork. (Venison is great if you can get your hands on it, but alas, that is not to be.) The down side is that, in Ecuador, it is hard to get good beef, unless you have a Uruguayan or Argentinian source. The last couple of years, the beef has been chewy. Not acceptable...we've marinated, roasted, precooked, tenderized and still no love.

Secret spices...you can probably guess two!

Well marinated meat (48 hours)

 This year we sprung for the good stuff...lomo fino, the beef tenderloin, in hopes that we can finally overcome this final challenge.

Pretty classic mirepoix

Plus potatoes

So, this year, with any luck, we'll have all the little components down. We've finally managed to create a decent pastry, we've gotten the perfectly cubed potatoes, carrots and spice mix down. 

Add a little homemade chicken broth and simmer

Fill the pies and top with more crust

 The deed has been done and the pies are awaiting the oven. Murphy is a dish rag (language modified as we're coming up to Christmas) as my reliable pastry failed miserably. It looks a bit like Frankenstein pastry, but Ron thinks it will turn out alright, in the end. Only my taste buds can confirm it. On the up side, the beef seems to have come out much more tender. It's always something. I'm a bit afraid that the Christmas we get it just right, we'll both drop dead from the shock of it.

Final product...minus the Frankencrust
(full disclosure this was last year's pie)

To you and yours from us and ours: Happy Christmas, Merry Holidays (see what I did there?) and all the very best in 2019. May joy find you in unexpected moments, may your shoes fit just right and your heart grow three sizes.