Update, December 10, 2024: The Vermont Agency of Agriculture shut down the Bombardiers’ pie-making operation shortly after this story was published because the couple’s home kitchen was not licensed for commercial use. For more click here.
Carmen Beaudoin Bombardier loved her father, noted fiddler Louis Beaudoin, but she did not love his meat pie. Like many recipes for the French Canadian classic, the Beaudoin family’s thickened the mix of warmly spiced, ground beef and pork with mashed potato, which his daughter found too dry.
It turned out Beaudoin Bombardier preferred the version her mother-in-law made, thickened with crushed saltine crackers. Now, she and her husband, Dave Bombardier, make close to 200 every November and December, which they sell frozen with baking instructions to many devoted repeat customers.
If you’re more of a do-it-yourselfer, here’s their recipe.
Bombardier Family Tourtière Recipe
Yield: 1 nine-inch meat pie
Adapted from Valida Bombardier
Ingredients
- 2 9-inch pie crusts
- 1 pound ground pork
- 1/2 pound ground beef (Beaudoin Bombardier recommends 80 percent lean)
- 1/2 small onion, diced
- 1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
- 1/8 teaspoon pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon ground clove, plus more to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, plus more to taste
- 1/2 sleeve (18) saltine crackers, crushed fine, or more if needed to thicken
- Milk to brush pie crust
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In large skillet or Dutch oven, combine 1/2 cup of water, ground pork, ground beef, onion, salt and pepper. Mash with a potato masher to combine and add more water to barely cover the meat.
- Cook over medium heat to bring the mixture to a bare simmer. Cook, mashing often, until no longer pink, about 10 to 15 minutes.
- Whisk the spices into 1/4 cup water and pour into the meat mixture, stirring to combine. Add the crushed crackers and stir well.
- Remove the pot from the heat and let the mixture stand for about 10 minutes to thicken. It should be the texture and consistency of very meaty Bolognese sauce. Taste and add more seasoning as desired.
- While the filling thickens, line a pie plate with the bottom crust. Pour the filling in and spread evenly. Top with the second crust and crimp the edges shut. Brush the top crust with milk and cut a few slits for steam to escape.
- Bake for 20 minutes and then lower the oven heat to 350 degrees for another 25 to 30 minutes until the crust is deep golden brown. Allow the pie to cool briefly before serving by the slice.
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