Sea Pie
I saw an article about Quebe’c Secret Meat Pie. Cipaille is a recipe which hails from my mother’s side of the family. After a bit of research and I was able to adjust my mother’s recipe to be more historically accurate. Now this recipe features six layers and uses quatre épices which is popular in French Canadian cooking.
This recipe is said to have origins from within the British Navy. It features a deep-dish pie which features three meats and potatoes. The cloves give it a distinctive flavour which really makes this unique among my recipes.
Ingredients
Crust
- 2½ cups (590 ml) of sifted flour
- 2 teaspoons (10 ml) of baking powder
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) of salt
- 1 cup (235 ml) of milk
Cipaille
- ½ pound (225 g) of porc
- ½ pound (225 g) of beef
- ½ pound (225 g) of chicken
- 4 ounces (115 g) of onions
- 3 cloves (9-15 g) of garlic
- ¼ teaspoon (1.25 ml) of ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon (1.25 ml) of nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon (1.25 ml) of ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) of ground pepper
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) of salt
- 1½ pounds (700 g) of potatoes
- 30 fluid ounces (900 ml) of chicken broth
Preparation
- Cut pork, beef and chicken into small ½ inch (125 mm) cubes.
- Mince onions and garlic.
- In a small bowl add pork, beef, chicken, onions are garlic. Add cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, pepper and salt then knead until you have a consistent finish.
- Cover bowl then place in the fridge overnight.
- Preheat oven at 300°F (150°C).
- Cut potatoes into cubes then set aside.
- Except for ½ cup (120 ml) of flour, place ingredients for the crust into a medium-sized bowl. Knead and add remaining flour until your dough is no longer sticky.
- In a 4 quart (3.7 l) pot, layer half of the meat mix, layer half of the potatoes and cover with half the dough.
- Repeat with the remaining half of meat, potatoes and dough. Make a hole in the middle of the dough down to the bottom of the pot. This will allow you to monitor fluid levels.
- Pour chicken broth into the hole until level with upper crust.
- Place in oven for 5 to 6 hours. Check levels from time to time, adding remaining broth until ready.
- Remove from oven and meal is ready-to-serve.