Having been born in New York and raised in Vermont, in 1987 I was lucky enough to spend the first of many Thanksgivings in Maine with friends whose knowledge of local customs was born of years spent in the kitchens of French-Canadian mothers and grandmothers. Arriving at the home of a new friend, I was greeted with warm hugs and foreign looking and smelling things on the table.

What’s this? Pie for dinner? I never . . .

“It’s tourtiere” said my friend with her thick Quebecois accent and a surprised look on her face.

Tourti-what? I was clueless, but even before I had swallowed my first bite of this extraordinary, traditional, local, holiday, meat-and-potatoes must-have, I was in love.

Since that year, I’ve served a tourtiere, also known as meat pie, nearly every year. Sometimes I make it myself; sometimes I buy it. Mine is pretty good, but it lacks a “traditional” quality, and that certain “je ne c’est quoi” that the fresh bakery pies possess. So this year I thought that it was high time to answer the burning question: “Who makes the best meat pie in the Lewiston Auburn area?”

On a cool November evening, with pies obtained from well-known local makers — Grant’s Bakery, Rails restaurant, Mailhot Sausage Co. and the Italian Bakery, all of Lewiston — I assembled a group of friends, identified herein only by their first initials, who would help me answer this question . . . sort of.

Rather than trying to figure out which is best, the group opted to evaluate each pie based on criteria that included appearance, flavor profile, texture, smell, crust, what does it remind you of and even how does it make you feel.

(Apologies to the local meat pie makers whose pies were not part of our test. Email us at [email protected] and let us know what we’re missing, and we’ll share your tourtiere information and passion with readers in an upcoming Eats.)

For our informal taste test, three of the five blind taste-testers were unfamiliar with traditional tourtiere, and so judged each based on its own merits, rather than preconceived notions.

Holiday drum roll please. And the results were:

Pie 1: Grant’s Bakery

According to I., “The flavors are subtle and the texture is smooth and even.” And, “I like that the crust is supporting the filling . . . that you can pick it up to eat it.”

“The crust is light and buttery, and the flavors are great . . . not too salty, with a very comforting smell,” said J. “That’s really good,” she added.

Both J. and T. agreed that pie No. 1 “smelled like shepherd’s pie,” and reminded them of shepherd’s pie without the corn.

T. particularly enjoyed the “flaky and very tasty crust.”

S. agreed: “This is the best crust” (although it was still just the first pie in the evening’s lineup).

Though the team recommended a little more salt, M. summed it up best: “Simple appearance, evenly spiced flavor, smooth potato texture, and the crust is soft, light, thin and flaky. . . . It’s simple yet dependable,” and very traditional.

I personally appreciated the convenient baking instructions on the box.

Pie 2: Rails restaurant

This was the only pie sampled that was made by a local restaurant, rather than a bakery.

Before we even cut into this one, S. noted the “interesting design in the crust.”

J., a self-proclaimed “tourtiere virgin,” added that “the crust looks amazing, and golden,” though she wished it was thicker, “like a nice apple pie crust.”

Cutting into the pie, the group noted that it was full of meat, a little messy to serve, and the spices were wonderfully aromatic. “It’s very different,” said M. “I like the nutmeg.”

“It’s very earthy,” said S., adding, “This is a Christmas pie, and so far the best pie I’ve ever had.” Clearly, S. was enjoying this game.

M. agreed, “Though it’s far from traditional, it’s a hearty winter pie.”

Rail’s tourtiere was served with a sweet and savory mushroom demi-glaze that tasted of wine, making it even less of a traditional tourtiere. I. noted, “This pie was designed for the sauce. . . . It’s very complimentary.” The sauce, all agreed, changed everything and was, according to M., “a delightful addition.”

The group recommended a little more crust and a little less meat in this pie.

Overall, the “flavor is amazing,” said S., and the “meaty demi-glaze is delicious.

Although it may be less traditional, said I., “it’s exciting, and it’s starting its own tradition.”

According to Claire Dick of Rails, who provided us with both her own and Rails’ tourtiere recipe, “We also make a pie with a gluten-free crust.”

Pie 3: Mailhot Sausage Co.

The consensus on Mailhot’s pie was that the crust was pretty close to perfect. It was flaky and thick.

Said M., “It’s got a delicious, welcoming smell, and it’s saltier than the others.” This was a good thing with this group. The spices, they agreed, were also very nicely balanced.

The group recommended pairing this pie with a beer and possibly increasing the amount of meat in ratio to the potato and crust, but overall found this to be a wonderful, traditional pie.

“We’re trying to keep the French tradition going,” Mark Mailhot said to me when I picked up the pie. Mailhot’s tourtiere can be found at many local grocers.

Pie 4: Italian Bakery

According to I. and M., “This pie feels like a holiday.” The group used adjectives including fluffy, flaky, crackling, fulfilling and crumbly to describe the crust. “You can hear it crumbling as you cut it,” said M.

All agreed that this pie was the most traditional of the four. They also agreed it would have been great with a little of the sauce that was served with the pie from Rails.

The filling was nicely spiced; “perhaps a nutmeg flavor,” J. questioned? J. added that it made “a great presentation with a smooth texture and not too heavy on the potato,” as well as an excellent aroma that reminded us of the holidays.

The tourtiere takeaway

Overall, pies 1, 3 and 4 reminded tasters of a traditional holiday pie. Added S.: “If I want to make a new tradition, I would choose number 2. Tell me where I can buy it.”

M. concurred. “I would bring 1, 3 or 4 to a traditional dinner with family, but if I was attending a potluck and looking to ‘wow,’ I would bring number 2.”

As the evening closed, and the minimal amount of leftovers were packaged to travel (or saved for my own lunch the following day!), I sent my friends home, one by one, with full tummies and a small snack for later. And plans for their own holiday meals dancing in their heads.

Claire Dick’s meat pie

1.5 pounds ground pork (can mix ground pork with ground veal)

1 medium onion, minced

Cook these on the stove top for 15 minutes over medium heat.

Add 1/4 teaspoon salt

Add allspice to taste (or cloves and pepper to taste)

Add 1 cup bread crumbs. Cook 5 minutes.

Drain any excess juice.

Boil separately 2 large peeled potatoes, mash and add to meat mixture, stirring well.

Place a pie crust in a 10-inch pie pan and add meat and potato mixture. Top with another crust, seal edges and vent crust.

Bake 20 minutes at 350 degrees or until golden brown

Rails’ restaurant meat pie

1.25 pounds ground pork

1.25 pounds ground beef

2 large potatoes

Half an onion

1 tablespoon butter

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon cloves

1 teaspoon allspice

1/4 tablespoon mustard powder

Directions:

Cook onion in butter until clear. Add meats and cook until browned. Cover slightly with water and cook over low heat until water is absorbed, about 1.5 to 2 hours. Drain all remaining fat. Add spices and mix thoroughly.

While meat is cooking, peel and cook potatoes. Mash potatoes. Add mashed potatoes to cooked meat mixture and mix thoroughly.

Place in pie tins lined with pie crust. Cover with additional pie crust and bake 15 minutes at 350 degrees.