A Taste of Haldimand – January 11, 2024

Just before Christmas I took a chance and stopped in, unannounced, to see my friends Janice and Wesley Poirier, who live just outside of Hagersville. As the door opened, I heard, “Perfect timing – the pies just came out of the oven!” I laughed at the excitement and then remembered a previous conversation about their tradition of making meat pies for Christmas. Wesley is originally from Saint Edward on the west end of Prince Edward Island – a proud French Acadian. He has memories of his father, Beloni Poirier, making this meat pie on Christmas Eve. He would use a very large rectangular pan, line it with pastry, and fill it with a savoury meat filling. The family would share this when they arrived home after midnight mass. This tradition is alive and well! Janice shared Facebook photos of friends and family in PEI standing proudly beside their kitchen tables, which were laden with meat pies of every size and shape. 

Janice said the recipe has been modified and tweaked over time and each family member who makes the pies has their own twist on things. She has used a combination of different meats over the years and Wesley commented that they primarily used beef or whatever they had available at the time. She has used a simple combination of pork, beef, and chicken and, other times, included rabbit or venison. Exactly how much meat you need will depend on the size and number of pies you want to make.