Best french meat pie

Ingredients :

• 1 ½ pounds ground beef, (preferably with 20% fat content)
• 2 ⅓ cups yellow onion, finely chopped
• 1 large and 1 medium potato
• ½ cup celery, finely chopped
• 2 cups beef broth
• 1 ½ teaspoons poultry seasoning
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon ground cloves
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 15 ounces flaky shortcrust pastry
• 1 large egg, for glazing

Directions :

1. Preparing the Tourtière Filling (1 hr 15 min + 1 hr cooling)
2. Brown the ground beef in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat.  Break up any clumps with a heavy metal flipper, and continue cooking the meat until almost all of the fat has boiled off.
3. While the meat is cooking, finely chop the onions and celery.
4. Turn the heat to medium and add the onions, celery, beef broth, and spices.  Peel and grate the potatoes and stir them into the mixture right away or they will turn a pinkish gray color.
5. Cover the pot and simmer over low heat for 30 minutes.  Remove the lid and stir, adjusting the seasonings as desired.
6. Simmer for another 30 minutes, uncovered, until almost all of the liquid has evaporated.  The filling should be thick and moist.
7. Spoon the mixture into a large, shallow dish and allow the filling to cool to room temperature on the counter, about 1 to 1 ½ hours.
8. Assembling & Baking Tourtière (10 min + 40 min baking)
9. Preheat the oven to 400 F.  Beat one large egg in a small bowl.
10. Once the pastry has chilled and the filling has cooled, roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface to about ⅛ inch thick.  Use it to line a 9-inch, deep-dish pie plate.  Spoon all the filling inside, and brush the lip with beaten egg.
11. Re-roll the remaining pastry and use it cover the filling, pressing down the edges to seal and trimming off excess pastry with a knife.  Crimp the edges with a fork, then brush the whole pie with beaten egg.  Cut a few vent holes in the lid and decorate with pastry scraps as desired.
12. Bake at 400 F for about 40-50 minutes, until the pastry is evenly browned.  Cover the edge of the crust with aluminum foil if it’s getting too dark.
13. Let it cool on a wire rack about 30 minutes before serving, as the filling needs time to cool and set before slicing.  Serve the tourtière hot with tomato ketchup or HP sauce.

Notes
Use at least two kinds of meat for a variety of flavors in your tourtière.
Make sure the meat isn’t too lean; 80% lean to 20% fat is a good ratio.  A low-fat content will make the pie dry and bland.
Taste and adjust seasonings as the filling cooks for the best results.
Let the meat filling cool for a while at room temperature before putting it in the pastry, or it may melt the butter in the pastry.
Leftovers? Refrigerate for up to 1 week or freeze for up to 3 months.