I absolutely adore tourtiere and I plan on *finally* publishing my recipe for the real deal this year. I’ve been working on that recipe for 5+ years and it’s so dear to me. I want it to be perfect for everyone so you can enjoy the same warmth and love of each bite that I do, but I think I’ve been kind of stuck trying to make it perfect so it’s time to put it out there! In the meantime, I adapted my recipe for a smaller format, especially since many people’s holidays will be smaller this year. These little bites have all the flavour of the larger pie but come together much more quickly, and don’t require pie dough!
My favourite part of these tourtiere bites is taking the method from baklava where you pour honey syrup while they are still piping hot; pouring the maple syrup over the bites right when they come out of the oven gives a sweet little crust making them extra addictive.
I hope you enjoy these little bites this holiday season!
Tourtiere Bites
This yields 16 bites, you could easily double if you have a larger crowd.
1-1.5 hour (30 min prep, 30-40 min cooking)
Tools needed: mini-muffin tray
Ingredients:
1 tsp olive oil
1 small white onion, finely diced (~½ cup)
1 clove of garlic, minced
½ lb ground pork
⅛ tsp ground nutmeg
⅛ tsp ground cinnamon
1/16 tsp ground clove (I just eyeballed a half of a ⅛ measuring spoon)
Salt and pepper
1 small potato grated (~ 1 cup)
1 sheet puff pastry, thawed (½ a package)
2 tbsp maple syrup
Method:
Preheat oven to 375F.
Heat a pan to medium-high heat, add the oil and the diced onion and minced garlic. Sautee until softened, about 5-7 minutes.
Add in the ground pork and spices, allowing the pork to brown and cook through (you don’t need to disturb it too much). About 5 minutes.
Once the pork is cooked, add in the grated potato. There should be enough pork fat in the pan but if needed you can add more olive oil. If it dries out add a tbsp of water. Continue to cook until the potato is tender, about 10 minutes. Season well with salt and pepper (it should taste good when you taste!).
Roll out 1 sheet of puff pastry and cut into 16 squares. Place the squares into mini muffin tin and press into the tin leaving the corners hanging. Scoop the filling into the pastry (about 1 tbsp per) until evenly divided. Fold the corners on top of the filling to almost close each mini-pie bite.
Bake for 30-40 minutes until the puff pastry is golden brown. Immediately after removing from the oven pour a little maple syrup over each bite - it will sizzle in the pan and soak into the filling/pastry without getting too sticky.
Serve warm!