Tourtière du Shack (Pork Pie!)

Meat and I have been on tender terms. Being "vay-gun," as would say my dad, lasted through many of my youthful years until 2007, when the first thing I ate fresh into France was a foot-long spicy lamb sausage with a side of mayo fries; I returned for a second helping the very next day. And oh my god, the rillettes. France stole my Earth Balance'd heart and gave 'er back to me all buttery and larded, but it still wasn't until just last week that I handled and cooked a cut of meat for the first time. Even on the farm in Maine, I professed my love of steak but surreptitiously left the meat-touching to my less squeamish compatriots. My poor dad had to deal with our roasted duck at Christmas too, even though I swore I could handle it; no one told me there would be guts to remove! But my plan this year is to generally be less of a wiener, so it was with only the slightest of squirms that I manhandled this pork in the name of this most delicious and worthwhile pie. 

The recipe hails from Montreal's Martin Picard, who was profiled along with his maple syrup-hungry family last year in this entertaining bit from Bon Appétit. The mag doesn't have much to say on the genesis of tourtière, but it seems to be a French-Canadian specialty that has trickled down into parts of New England. Some of my farmer buddies in Maine, for instance, swore they make the best beef and venison tourtière ever, but they never got around to proving it so we can just leave the accolades for Picard. Squeamish about meat or not, you've gotta give this pie a shot; with some red wine and a round of Carcassonne, it was the most satisfying meal we'd enjoyed in ages.
 

Visible toothpick aid!

Tourtière du Shack
Adapted from Martin Picard for Bon Appétit

This pie is named after Picard's Montréal sweet spot, Cabane à Sucre Au Pied de Cochon (Sugar Shack at Pied de Cochon). He is famed for his creations with maple syrup--these doughnuts!--although there is none in this beast of a dish. His pie crust recipe uses an entire pound of butter, which I just couldn't justify, so I went with my favorite, less butter-filled pie crust instead. Feel free to swap in his original if you're lookin' to perfect your buttery sheen. 

For pastry
Adapted from Apt. 2B Baking Co.

12 ounces pastry flour
1/2 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
8 ounces (two sticks) very cold butter
4 to 6 ounces ice water
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

1.  On a clean counter, dump your flour and salt; mix it around with a bench scraper. Chop one stick of butter into quarters, and cut it into the four with your bench scraper. When butter is about the size of Lima beans, cut in the second stick, pulling, folding, and tossing with the bench scraper as you go, until the butter is about the size of quarters. Add the vinegar to the ice water.

2. Using your fingers, flick the water onto the butter-flour mixture, gently folding with the bench scraper all the while. You have added enough water once the mixture holds together when squeezed; it should be very shaggy.

3. Next, push the butter into the flour. Using the heel of your palm, push a small section of the dough down and away from you; this creates long layers of butter in your dough, which translates to long flaky layers in your crust. Use your bench scraper to scrape up the smear, and put it a bowl. Repeat until all the dough has been smeared and you have a bowlful of long, buttery layers. Push these into one mass, divide in half, wrap each in plastic, flatten into disks, and chill overnight.

For filling
Adapted from Martin Picard for Bon Appétit

1 1/2 cups low-salt chicken broth
1 1/2 medium onions, chopped, divided
4 garlic cloves, chopped, divided
5 whole black peppercorns plus freshly ground black pepper
5 sprigs thyme
2 bay leaves
1 1/2 pounds boneless pork shoulder (Boston butt), pref. local + organic, cut into 2" pieces
Fine-grain sea salt
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
8 medium button mushrooms, stemmed and finely chopped
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 1/4 pounds ground pork, pref. local + organic
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon (I added a smidgen more at the end)
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
3/4 cup grated, peeled russet potato, from about one medium potato
1 large egg yolk, beaten to blend, for brushing on crust

1.  Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Combine broth, 1/2 chopped onion, 1 chopped garlic clove, whole peppercorns, thyme, and bay leaves in a medium pot. Add pork shoulder; season with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cover pot. Transfer to oven; braise until pork shoulder is tender and shreds easily, about two hours. Remove from oven; let cool.

2.  Transfer pork shoulder to a work surface. Shred meat with your fingers and transfer to a medium bowl. Strain pan juices through a fine-mesh sieve; add 1/2 cup juices to pork; discard solids in strainer.

3.  Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add remaining one chopped onion and three chopped garlic cloves; cook, stirring often, until soft, five to seven minutes. Add mushrooms; cook, stirring often, until almost all liquid is evaporated, five to seven minutes. Add wine; stir, scraping up browned bits. Bring to a boil; cook, stirring often, until liquid is almost evaporated, about five minutes.

4.  Add ground pork, cinnamon, and cloves. Cook, stirring to break up into small pieces, until pork is cooked through, about five minutes. Add potato. Cook until potato is soft, about ten minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in shredded pork with juices. Season to taste with salt and pepper; let cool slightly. Chill until cold, about one hour. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and keep chilled.

5.  Roll out one dough disk on a lightly floured surface into a 12" round. Transfer to a nine-inch, deep-dish pie plate, leaving overhang. Fill with cooled meat mixture. Roll out remaining dough disk into a 10" round. Place dough over meat filling. Fold overhang over top crust and crimp edges. Brush crust with egg yolk. Cut three two-inch slits in top crust. Chill for one hour.

6.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Bake tourtière for 30 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees F; bake until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbling, 40 to 50 minutes. Let cool for 20 minutes before serving. Leftovers will keep covered in the fridge for about three days; they are best rewarmed in the oven.

Suggestion: Make pastry and filling on day one; bake the whole she-bang on day two. From rolling out pastry to eating takes about 3.5 hours, so be sure to factor that in on the day you serve this.