Tortiere Done Right Chef Steve Brochu from Chartier Restaurant

I’d never cried during a cooking demonstration until I watched the one hosted by Darren Cheverie and Chef Steve Brochu from Chartier Restaurant in Beaumont Alberta. I’d met them during the Christmas in November weekend as they were my neighbours at the Jasper Fairmont; when my luggage didn’t get to me in time the first night, they loaned me an ugly Christmas sweater. In this demo, right in the middle of mixing up meat and rolling out dough, a women raised her hand and mentioned that she knew Chef Brochu’s father; she mentioned she’d worked with him and that his father always told her how proud he was of his son. Brochu and Chevrie became rather teary-eyed and I had to hold back tears and eventually let a few go, being sure not to cry into my already perfectly salted Tortiere. Such is the emotional nature of this weekend-long celebration; friends and emotional connections are made and kept, over food, wine, dancing, decorating and just pure Christmas spirit. Now this Tortiere is the best I’ve had, and if you’re smart you’ll get your hands on some local meats and be sure to source your bison from Turtle Valley Bison, the wonderful ranch I visited this summer (and they deliver around BC) and dish this out soon! Here’s Chartier Restaurant’s recipe that’s worth crying over.

Tourtière Mix

1 tbsp unsalted butter
2 lb ground pork
1 lb ground bison
2 onions
6 garlic cloves
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp allspice
1 tsp thyme
2 tsp rosemary
12 button mushrooms, sliced
2 tsp maple syrup
1 cup grated potato
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 cups veal stock
12oz duck confit, pulled

– Heat butter and sauté ground pork and bison, cook it half way and remove from pan
– Add spices, onion and garlic. Your kitchen should smell like Christmas
– Continue to cook over medium heat until onions turn golden brown, then add mush-rooms.
– Sweat mushrooms until they have lost most of their liquid, then add grated potato and maple syrup
– Deglaze with white wine, add veal stock and bring to a simmer
– Add partially cooked bison, pork and confirm duck and continue to cook for 5-6 minutes
– Season to taste
– Remove from heat and let cool

Pie crust

2 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 tsp of salt
1 tbsp sugar
2/3 cup butter, cold and cubed
1 egg
1 tbsp water

– Combine in food processor and blitz until crumbly
– Pour onto film wrap and force the dough together with hands
– Wrap tightly and let rest for 2 hour at least in fridge

Tourtière Assembly
– Roll out pie dough 1/6″
– Place dough over a greased pie shell
– Fill the pie shell with tourtière mix (Note: a 6″ shell requires approximately 8oz mix)
– Seal with top layer of dough
– Crumple edges and give 3 or 5 air vents into the top
– Brush with an egg wash and bake at 350 until golden brown (approximately 25-30 minutes from fresh, 60-75 minutes from frozen)

Rhubarb Relish

8 cups rhubarb
8 cups onion
2 cups vinegar
1tbsp salt
3 cups brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
1 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp black pepper
3 cups raisins

– Combine all ingredients
– Slow simmer on low-medium heat until the mix breaks down, approximately 45 minutes
– Let cool for 10 minutes then roughly blitz in a food processor or blender
– Label and store in fridge or preserve in sterilized mason jars

Pets de Soeur

1 cup butter
1/2 cup maple syrup
4 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp cinnamon
Pie dough scraps

– Cream butter, maple syrup, brown sugar and cinnamon together in a mixer
– Roll out pie dough 1/4” inch thick and cover with butter & sugar mixture
– Roll into a long rope and cut into 2″ pieces
– Place pieces faced up in a 9×9” pan lined with parchment paper with a 1/2″ space be-tween each one
– Sprinkle a bit more sugar mixture on the top
– Bake at 325F for 12 minutes or until golden