French Meat Stuffing

I’ve always had more of a meat tooth than a sweet tooth. The year I turned 19, when my mother asked what kind of birthday cake I wanted, I asked for a tourtière. What’s tourtière? It’s a Quebecois meat pie made with a delectable filling that often combines ground pork with veal or beef, warm spices and cubes of potato. It’s like a savory suppertime pie, and this French meat stuffing recipe is basically the inside of the pie.

Serve a bowl of meat stuffing as part of your holiday spread, or pop it into a flaky double pie crust to try this north-of-the-border classic. If you’re anything like me, it might just become an annual tradition.

What is French meat stuffing?

Although its true origins are hazy, tourtière was a product of the French occupation of the land now known as Quebec, and its first known mention in print was in a Canadian cookbook published in 1840. In addition to packing it into pies, some French-Canadian families use the meat and potato mixture as a stuffing for Thanksgiving turkeys or as a dressing to offer on the side. Others serve it after church on Christmas Eve.

As with all classics, each family has their own variations on the French meat stuffing recipe. But various combinations of minced or ground meats, potatoes and warm spices—such as nutmeg, pepper and cinnamon—are typically included.

Ingredients for French Meat Stuffing

• Potatoes: I love the flavor of waxy golden potatoes, so that’s what I use in this dish. However, you also can’t go wrong with a nice, starchy russet potato.
• Butter: There’s just a smidgen of butter in this French meat stuffing recipe, so use whatever you have in the house. Eithern salted or unsalted is fine.
• Ground meats: The combination of different meats is part of what makes this filling so delicious. This recipe calls for easy-to-find ground pork and beef.
• Alliums: Otherwise known as the “onion family,” alliums are super flavorful and healthy aromatics we can’t cook without. Our French Canadian meat stuffing contains three of these culinary cousins: onion, garlic and chives.
• Broth: Store-bought broth or homemade beef stock can be used in this recipe, but there’s no harm in using chicken broth if it’s easier to find.
• Brown sugar: A hint of sweetness complements the warm spices in the meat mixture, but if you wish, you can skip the sugar.
• Poultry seasoning: Relying heavily on sage, rosemary and thyme, this popular spice blend is a quick way to add flavor to all kinds of meat dishes. You can buy a jar, or make poultry seasoning from scratch.
• Other seasonings: Warm spices are a crucial part of tourtière pie filling. We use salt, black pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves for a festive flavor.

Directions

Step 1: Cook the potatoes

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Bring a large pot of water to a boil. And the potatoes and cook until they’re slightly softened, five to six minutes. Drain them and set them aside.

Step 2: Make the stuffing

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Heat the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook it for four to five minutes until it’s soft and translucent, stirring occasionally.

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Add the beef and pork, and cook until they’re browned, seven to eight minutes, breaking the chunks into bite-sized pieces as you stir. Add the garlic and cook for an additional minute.

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Stir in the potatoes, broth, brown sugar, poultry seasoning, salt, pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves, and bring the mixture to a boil.

Step 3: Let the flavors meld

Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the liquid has evaporated, about 20 to 25 minutes. Sprinkle the French meat stuffing with chives before serving it.

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French Meat Stuffing Variations

• Mix up your meats: Our recipe calls for pork and beef, but it’s common to use veal in place of the beef. You could even make a version that uses ground turkey or chicken as part of the mix. Venison would work too.
• Make it a pie: Buy or make yourself a crust, and fill it with this stuffing to create a delicious savory pie.
• Freshen up the herbs: Instead of poultry seasoning, buy bunches of fresh rosemary, sage and thyme to use in the meat mix. Sometimes you can even find these herbs already packaged together in the produce section of the grocery store.

How to Store French Meat Stuffing

Just scoop leftover French meat stuffing into a storage container with a tight-fitting lid and store it in the refrigerator. I recommend using glass containers.

How long does French meat stuffing last?

You can store French meat stiffing for up to four days in the fridge. If you wish to keep it for longer, put it into a freezer bag, squeeze out the air, and keep it in the freezer for up to three months.

Can you make French meat stuffing ahead of time?

It’s fine to make this French meat stuffing recipe a couple of days ahead of time, but ground meat dishes are best on the day that they’re made (or a day or two afterwards).

How do you reheat French meat stuffing?

I like to pop leftover French meat stuffing into a baking dish, splash in a little broth, cover it with foil, and reheat it in a 350°F oven. However, you could also warm it up in a microwave, or in a pan on the stovetop, stirring regularly. If you do the latter, make sure to add some flavorful liquid, such as broth, so that the filling doesn’t stick to the pan.

French Meat Stuffing Tips

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What can you serve with French meat stuffing?

Add this dish to your collection of Thanksgiving recipes or make it part of your Christmas dinner. If you’re serving it for a regular meal, it’s wonderful when accompanied by some slow-cooker split pea soup, roasted Brussels sprouts or an apple salad with spicy maple cider vinaigrette. And to keep with the northern theme, serve it with other Canadian comfort foods.

What’s the most traditional crust for a French meat stuffing pie?

You can use any crust you can find or know how to make, but tourtière is classically made with a lard pie crust.

Should French meat stuffing be served with condiments?

In Quebec, making homemade ketchup is a point of pride, so try the stuffing with a side of chunky ketchup, spicy ketchup or even cranberry ketchup. Chutneys, like this cranberry apple chutney or something with heat like peach chili sauce, would be perfect too.