Tourtiere Quebecoise

Directions

At night prepare the meat by cutting the pork, veal, beef, chicken and pork fat into small cubes. Season with salt, pepper and onion cut in rings. Cover and put in a cool, fresh place.

The next morning, cut the potatoes in small cubes. Roll suet pastry into a 28x4x½ inch strip. Cut lengthwise into halves. Line a 10-inch three-quart casserole (or two smaller casseroles) with one strip, bringing pastry over top edge. Fill pastry with alternate layers of meat and potatoes until all ingredients are used. Cover all with boiling water and seal pie with top layer of pie shell. Cut hole in centre of pie shell to let steam escape. Cover casserole with foil.

Bake in moderate oven (350 F) for four hours. Remove the foil for the last 30 minutes of baking time to brown the crust.

Note: The original recipe of the Naskapis (native Indians of Quebec) called for one rabbit, a partridge, one pound of moose meat and one pound of lean pork instead of the more mundane meats used today.

Variation: Minced meats may be used in lieu of cubes.

Suet pastry: Mix suet with flour, baking powder and salt. Stir in enough water to moisten the flour. Gather dough together and shape into a ball.