Excellent meat pies in Bobcaygeon !

[terrym]

Dang .... you guys are making me hungry.

Yeah, this is probably not the bet time of day to reminisce about our mother's and grandmother's cooking.

[Roe+]

I'm sure they're good, but if they're made as you describe, they're not tourtiere's. Traditional tourtiere is made with pork and veal only. No gravy, no peas and no mushrooms. I should know as I was raised on the stuff with both sides of the family French Canadien.

Agreed, my ex-FIL used to make them at Christmas. He would boil down veal bones to get the gelatin to hold the meat together, cook the ground pork and veal, remove the fat, mix in the gelatin put in a pie crust and bake.

His father was a cook in the mining camps and his mother was French Canadian. I used to love them, man they were good.

Roe+

[Bushmoose]

Terry:
Try one of his pies and you'll never eat a vulgar tortiere again!

Blasphemy! Pure and utter Blasphemy!

Re: creton - I once worked in an Abitibi-Price lumber camp north of Cochrane, and those Frenchies used to eat some pretty wild stuff at breakfast. I remember the one pot-gutted locomo operator who'd sit by the toater and pound at least 6 pieces of toast down, all lathered in a good one inch layer of "the pig grease". You could literally hear his arteries hardening as he pigged it down. He'd wash it all down with two cans of warm Carnation milk. Ten minutes later he'd be belching the crap up, and the stink would fill the truck as we all drove to the cut site. If the creton tub got left out too long in the summer, it would heat up and render the top layer of pig fat down into oil. The French loggers also used to eat a type of hot chocolate pudding with their ham and eggs. I've totally forgotten the name of that stuff.

I listened to a generation of bush camp stories about the food the loggers used to eat. A lot of it comes from the fact there just wasn't a wide choice of offerings in the dead of winter, when supplies would be brought in by horse n sleigh. And maybe only in the early winter at that. The cooks did what they could to feed the men in rudimentary conditions. And the men ate it!

B When there was left over pie dough they made sugar pies out of it. Most folks have never tried a true sugar pie either. Their loss.

A lot of these recipes came about as a result of the depression. No one had any money and raising big families, the wife would do what she could to feed the family. I remember sitting on my fathers knee as a youngster watching him sprinkle a teaspoon of sugar on his toast. I love that stuff! Sugar may well have been the only "sweet" item they had to make a pie, and they did. I listened to stories about my dad and uncles arguing who would go the horse barn to scoop a bowl of molasses from the barrel for grandma to use in the kitchen. That would be their chance to gorge themselves when no one was looking.
Stories, lots of stories for sure!

[terrym]

A lot of these recipes came about as a result of the depression. No one had any money and raising big families, the wife would do what she could to feed the family.!

That's exactly it. My mother's side had 14 children and my father had a small family at 5 kids. Apparently my Grandmother started cooking as soon as the younger kids got off to school and the older girls helped. I also remember my mother putting molasses on a slice of bread as a dessert when I was a kid.

[robster]

Terry:
I dare you to go to Bobcaygeon and use the same smug, condescending tone when you correct the Irish butcher, when he calls his lovely meat pies "tortieres". Let me know when you're going, as I'd like to go and watch the entertainment ! Try one of his pies and you'll never eat a vulgar tortiere again!

I'm confused you said he was English, now he's Irish, later he will be Scottish. Lol!

[Fenelon]

Hah-Hah Robster. That one gave me a good roar! I guess I should back-peddle and call it a "British" butcher.. All I know is the man knows how to put meat, peas, mushrooms, and Guinness gravy into a pie shell. Re: "sugar pies"- wonder if they are similar to the "shoo-fly"pies that were made by the cooks in the old camboose logging camps. It was basically a brown sugar pie with a crumble topping. Tastes like a big, lovely butter tart. Even better if they've added maple syrup. I looked up "tourtes"and it looks like it was Passenger Pigeons. The computer says the flocks would so immense that they'd darken the skies for three days before they'd pass. They'd net and shoot them by the millions. Many were gutted, salted, and packed into barrels for winter food.

[Bushmoose]

H Re: "sugar pies"- wonder if they are similar to the "shoo-fly"pies that were made by the cooks in the old camboose logging camps. It was basically a brown sugar pie with a crumble topping. Tastes like a big, lovely butter tart. Even better if they've added maple syrup. .

I'm sure there are many variations. The ones I had from my grandmother were thin double crust. Another tidbit I recall her saying was that she used to make pumpkin pie in the camps, out of "turnip". She said the men never knew the difference? All in the spices I suppose?

[robster]

As of late I hear more people getting into wild game meat again. It's nice that I don't get bashed by others as much. When I visited in Europe (Slovenia & Austria) I found that most taverns served wild game on their menus. Local hunters could sell their catch wich is regulated by clubs.

[Doug]

Re: creton - I once worked in an Abitibi-Price lumber camp north of Cochrane, and those Frenchies used to eat some pretty wild stuff at breakfast. I remember the one pot-gutted locomo operator who'd sit by the toater and pound at least 6 pieces of toast down, all lathered in a good one inch layer of "the pig grease". You could literally hear his arteries hardening as he pigged it down.

I had to try this just once, it was a small French-Canadian diner in Eastern Ontario... that is about what I thought as I ate it... arteries hardening. Having had it, no need to try it again.

As for the pies... I believe people originally made it with what was available. Some would work, some would not, the recipe that worked became the 'family recipe'. I made one out of a 'Homemaker Magazine', it definitely had ingredients that would not have been found in a family pantry 100 years ago; but it turned out great. I used ground venison, ground goose, and a bit of ground pork for the fat, a variety of spices, the potato was grated, some red wine reduction, I know it was a fancy version; but still tasted great and I will make again.

[Back 2 basic]

I agree it comes down to what's available then it gets turned into a family recipe. My French speaking inlaws grew up on a cow and potato farm so theirs is ground beef potatoes and onion Double crust. And that is it. don't try and change it for the love of god. I put sage in it once 3 years ago and still hear about it.
(But what do I know I'm just a red seal chef lol. )
You don't need gravy it's topped with ketchup lol