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1
The day before: combine the cubed pork, veal, and duck or rabbit in a deep bowl. Add the diced onion, garlic, thyme, bay leaf, salt, and pepper. Pour over the Saint-Pourçain blanc until the meat is submerged. Cover and refrigerate overnight. The meat is ready when it has absorbed the aromatics and the wine has coloured slightly.
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2
Drain the meat thoroughly, reserving the marinade. Pat the meat dry with a cloth. Pour the marinade into a saucepan and reduce by half over a moderate heat until concentrated. Set aside. The liquid is ready when it coats the back of a spoon and the raw wine smell has cooked off.
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3
Heat the lard in a heavy pan over high heat. Brown the drained meat in batches — do not crowd the pan. Each batch is done when all faces are deep mahogany and the fond has built without burning. Remove each batch and set aside.
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4
In the same pan, sauté the sliced onions over moderate heat until soft and translucent, then add the sliced mushrooms and cook until their liquid has evaporated entirely. The pan is ready when it is nearly dry and the mushrooms have taken on colour.
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5
Combine the browned meat, sautéed onions and mushrooms, chopped parsley, and crème fraîche in a large bowl. If using, fold in the diced foie gras. Season to taste with salt and pepper. The filling should be cohesive but not wet — it must hold its form when mounded.
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6
Prepare the pâte brisée: rub the cold butter into the flour and salt until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Add cold water gradually, working briefly until the dough just coheres. Divide into two-thirds and one-third. Wrap and rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. The dough is ready when it is firm, smooth, and holds together without cracking when bent.
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7
Roll the larger portion of dough to 5 mm thickness and line a deep 25 cm pie dish (minimum 8 cm deep), leaving a 2 cm overhang at the rim. Fill with the meat mixture to within 1 cm of the top — no more. Pour over a cupful (approximately 150–200 ml) of the reduced marinade. Roll the second portion of dough to 5 mm and lay it over the filling as a lid. Crimp the edges firmly to seal. Cut a central hole (2 cm diameter) and insert a rolled aluminium-foil chimney extending 2 cm above the crust. Brush the entire surface with egg wash. This is where the tourte lives or dies: a shallow dish, an absent chimney, or pastry thinner than 5 mm will produce a collapsed, steam-sodden pie with no structural integrity — the deep dish, the sealed crimp, and the open chimney are not optional.
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8
Bake in an oven preheated to 180 °C for 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours. If the crust colours too quickly, cover loosely with aluminium foil. Twenty minutes before the end, mix 2 tablespoons of crème fraîche with 1 egg yolk and pour the mixture through the chimney funnel to enrich the filling's sauce. The tourte is done when the crust is a deep, even gold and a skewer inserted through the chimney and into the centre comes out piping hot.
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9
Allow the tourte to rest for 15 minutes before cutting. Serve warm in thick wedges alongside a green salad dressed in walnut oil. The filling should be succulent, barely bound — neither dry nor running with liquid.