Tourtiere Spring Rolls
If you’ve never had tourtierre you are truly missing out. This French-Canadian specialty is a holiday classic often served across the country on Christmas Eve. It’s a double crust pie filled with meat, warm spices and potatoes, and these Tourtiere Spring Rolls bring the nostalgia in a crispy little hand held package.
You’ll notice that I didn’t specify the meat in my description of these Tourtiere Spring Rolls, and that’s for a good reason. Tourtiere is incredibly versatile, and the filling can depend on the region in Canada you’re from or the ingredients that are accessible to you. It’s believed that the tourtiere was actually named after the carrier pigeon which was called tourte in French which was originally used for the filling.1
While you won’t see any tourtiere made with carrier pigeons today, as the bird has been extinct for over a century, you might find this hearty meat pie filled with lamb, pork, beef, fish or rabbit.
Planning ahead?
Tourtiere Spring Rolls are a perfect appetizer for when you want to plan ahead!
The filling can be made up to three days in advance and stored in the fridge.
The dipping sauce can be made up to five days in advance and stored in the fridge.
Additionally, you could bake, cool and freeze them and reheat in the oven when you are ready to serve!
Frequently Asked Questions?
Do I need to use ground beef?
Absolutely not! This is a ‘we use what we have’ recipe. You could substitute the ground beef for pork, turkey, lamb or a plant based meat alternative.
Can I make these in advance?
Without a doubt! There are even multiple options! You could cook the filling up to three days in advance and fill the Tourtiere Spring Rolls when you are ready to cook them or fully cook, freeze and reheat them to serve.
How can I make assembling the spring rolls faster?
That’s a tricky one! The fastest way to get these assembled is to have a friend help you out. You would not in fact want to lay all of the sheets out, add all of the filling, then wrap them all as the wrappers will dry out. It’s best to take your time here.
Do I have to use cooking spray?
You do not need to use cooking spray, you could lightly brush the surface of the spring rolls with oil. However in my tests I found that the least greasy, most crispy and bubbly exterior came from using cooking spray.
Tourtiere Spring Rolls
Equipment
- Cutting Board
- Chefs Knife
- Rubber Spatula
- Box Grater
- Dutch Oven
- Medium Pot
- Measuring Cups
- Measuring Spoon
- Two Baking Sheets
Ingredients
Tourtiere Spring Rolls
- 1 Small Yellow Onion
- 1 Tbsp Vegetable Oil
- 1 lb Lean Ground Beef
- 2 Sprigs Thyme
- 1 tsp Dried Oregano
- 3/4 tsp Cinnamon
- 3/4 tsp Nutmeg
- 2 Cups Beef Broth
- 1 Medium Yellow Potato
- Salt
- Pepper
- 1 lb Egg Roll Wrappers
- Cooking Spray
- 2 Tbsp Sesame Seeds
- Parsley Optional
Dipping Sauce
- 1 Cup Ketchup
- 2 Tbsp Brown Sugar
- 2 Tbsp Worchestershire Sauce
Instructions
Tourtiere Filling
- Finely dice your onion then pick the leaves from your thyme sprigs and set aside.
- Heat a dutch oven over medium heat, once it's hot add 1 Tbsp of vegetable oil and spread it to coat the bottom of the pot. Add the ground beef and leave it to sit undisturbed for 4-5 minutes. When you start to break it up the bottom of the beef should be a deep brown and easily lift from the surface of the pot.Add the diced onions and continue to stir and break up the meat until it is fully cooked.
- Add the thyme leaves, oregano, cinnamon, nutmeg, a heavy pinch of salt and fresh ground pepper to the pot and cook stirring constantly for one minute until the spices have bloomed and are fragrant.
- Add the beef broth to the dutch oven and allow it to come to a simmer.Meanwhile, shred the potato on a box grater, there is no need to peel the potato, and add to the pot.
- Allow the mixture to gently simmer until the liquid is mostly evaporated and the meat is tender. The simmer should be gentle, if you need to decrease the heat do so, this process will take 30 minutes.
- When the filling is finished allow it to cool. This can be done by spreading it out on a pan, and when it is no longer hot transfering the pan to the fridge.
Dipping Sauce
- While the filling is cooling make the dipping sauce by adding all ingredients in a pan and bringing to a gently simmer over medium heat until the sugar is dissolved and the colour has deepened.
Assembly
- Preheat your oven to 400F, coat the sheet pans in cooking spray and add a few tablespoons of water to a small bowl.
- Working one at a time place one egg roll wrapper in front of you so it is a diamond shape with one corner pointing towards you. Add two tablespoons of filling to the center of the egg roll wrapper then dip a finger in the bowl of water and trace around the edges.Fold the left and right corners of the wrapper toward the center then the bottom corner up and away from you, tuck it tight against the filling and continue to roll away from you. Repeat this for the rest of the spring rolls.
- Spray the surface of the spring rolls with cooking spray and sprinkle with sesame seeds and bake for 20 minutes until golden and crispy.While they bake finely chop the parsley if you are using it and when the spring rolls are done serve with the dipping sauce and parsley.
