Wonder Pie’s Ray Capaldi shares the secrets to the perfect meat pie
HE’S the high end chef who’s turned his cooking skills onto making the perfect pie. Ray Capaldi shares the lessons in a meat pie masterclass.
Best of Melbourne
Don't miss out on the headlines from Best of Melbourne. Followed categories will be added to My News.
RAY Capaldi has a simple rule when it comes to baking the best pie.
“It has to have that dark French mahogany finish, it should be just a little bit burnt, which gives it the mix of bitter, sweet and a hit of umami,” he says.
It’s a rule that seems to work.
His Wonder Pies are now found in warmers at Etihad Stadium and the MCG, while the RACV club goes through hundreds of his lamb and rosemary pies each week. High-sided like a pork pie, Ray says the while the appeal of a pie is timeless, quality pies have never been more in demand.
“There’s a massive market for pies, at the moment,” he says. “People are now looking for a great product.” He says his pie appeal stems from three key factors: “Pure meat, pure ingredients, a beautiful shine. It’s that simple.”
What started as a semi-retirement hobby has turned into a thriving business for the Scottish born chef who’s been part of Melbourne’s dining landscape for more than two decades.
After the Rialto building renovations meant the end of his acclaimed Hare & Grace restaurant in the CBD, he turned his hand to pizza, joining forces with Remo Nicolini at his Chapel St pizzeria A25 for a bit, but then his love of a good pie took over.
He’s just picked up the keys to a dedicated factory in Bulleen that he hopes to have in full operation by the end of the month. Along with a factory shop, he’s also planning a ringside chef’s table for events and private dinners.
The next stage is a full retail offering – Wonder Pies and Fries – where those pies will be joined on the menu by loaded fries and Soft Serve mash. Yes, that’s mashed spuds served out of a soft serve machine.
But in the meantime, there’s a month of finals footy ahead. Here are Ray’s top eight steps for premiership-winning pies – or at least those sure to be best on ground.
KEY RATIOS
“For me, a pie should be 75 per cent meat, 10 per cent vegetables, with the remainder made up of sauce. That will be just enough to bind the meat and vegetables together, but means when you take a bite out of it, it won’t fall apart,” he says.
Meat maker
Brisket is a good cut for pies, and ensure you have a good ratio of meat to fat in your mix.
“A lot of Aussies like mince in their pies. I don’t understand that,” he says.
This is next level pie-making, but if you are friendly with your local butcher, ask for all the meat to come from the same muscle. “This means it all will cook at the same rate,” Ray says.
Big is better
Don’t be afraid of chopping big chunks of meat and vegetables, Ray says, as they will shrink during cooking.
“I like to add half the vegetables in at the start, half at the end. This gives texture to your sauce.”
TRUE COLOURS
“The single most important thing when making a pie is to deeply colour the meat,” he says.
The best way to do this is to brown your meat in oil in a pan.
“People get scared when they see oil smoking, but that’s how hot the oil should be to get proper caramelisation on your meat.”
Brown the meat in two batches, to ensure the oil and pan stays hot.
While many pie recipes call for the meat to be floured before browning, Ray omits it as he reckons “it dumbs the flavour down”.
VEG MIGHT
“I put a lot of veg in my mix, the leeks and mushrooms give it the umami element. Cut it out if you don’t like it, no worries,” he says. Soften the veg slightly, for about 10 minutes. Then add red wine or a dark ale beer so it covers the mix and reduce it by half.
Rushed behind
“To get the meat and sauce to the dark, syrupy consistency that makes a great filling, patience is a key ingredient,” he says.
Cook the sauce slowly on the stovetop for about 90 mins on low heat.
PERFECT PASTRY
When making the shortcrust pastry, ensure all the ingredients are very cold. This will help the butter to melt evenly. Like all pastry, don’t over handle for best results.
Frozen puff pastry is fine to use – Careme is the brand favoured by many chefs including Ray, but use whatever you are comfortable with.
If you are keen to give making your own puff pastry a go, Ray suggests adding a touch of apple cider vinegar to the dough, as it will help it stay supple and gives the buttery flaky pastry a hint of bite.
Rest the pastry in the fridge before use, a minimum of an hour – overnight for the organised.
For savoury pies, use a shortcrust base and puff pastry top.
When pressing the pastry into the pie tin, use a scrunched up paper towel as this will stop the pastry from splitting or cracking under the weight of your fingertips.
GLAZED AYES
“A double glaze is the way to achieve that beautiful deep mahogany finish to the pie,” Ray says.
Whisk two egg yolks with salt and brush the tops of the pies. Rest these in the fridge for 20 minutes, then re-brush with more egg wash before putting back in the fridge for another 20 mins.
The pies can then be baked in the oven at 180C for 25mins or until mahogany and flaky.
RAY CAPALDI’S PERFECT PIE
Makes 6
Pie filling
INGREDIENTS
½ kg beef cheeks
850g diced beef brisket
Salt and pepper
1 large onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 whole onion sliced
200g diced carrot
150g diced potato
100g quartered mushrooms
50g leek
200ml red wine or 200ml dark ale if you prefer
50ml Worstershire sauce
500ml chicken stock
1 star anise
3 bay leaves or thyme
METHOD
Cut any large bits of fat off the beef cheeks and brisket, cut into large dice. Pat dry with a paper towel and season generously with salt and pepper.
Heat a large, heavy based pot over high heat with 1 tbsp of olive oil and sear to a golden brown, then remove and set aside.
In the same pot, turn down the heat to low and add ½ the onion and add garlic. Sautee for 5 minutes, stirring to stop it catching.
Add ½ of the diced carrot, leeks, potato, mushrooms and onion (if you like them). Cook gently for 10 minutes until just softened.
Add a splash of the red wine or beer, whatever you prefer and cook for a couple of minutes. Add the rest of the red wine or beer, add the chicken stock, and bay leaves or thyme, star anise and stir to combine. Add the Worstershire
Add the seared beef back into the sauce. Bring back to a simmer, cover and keep on a low simmer for 2 hours.
Remove the lid and simmer for a further 30 minutes or until the meat is almost falling apart. If you find it needs more liquid add water (using more stock will make the sauce too salty).
Remove the beef from the pot and set aside. Bring the sauce to a rapid simmer. Add the rest of the vegetables for a further 20 minutes to thicken the sauce. Taste, return to the sauce and stir to combine.
At this point, you can either serve the sauce, refrigerate until the next day for even better flavour, or freeze half for future use.
SHORTCRUST PASTRY
INGREDIENTS
230g plain flour
1/2 tsp salt
100g cold unsalted butter, cubed
50g cold duck fat
30ml apple cider vinegar
25g egg, lightly beaten (about 1/2 large egg)
METHOD
In a mixer (fitted with the paddle attachment if you have such a thing) combine the flour, salt, butter, and fat until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
Change to the hook attachment (if you have one) and slowly add 30g cold tap water and the egg, vinegar and duck fat, continue mixing until a smooth dough is formed.
Do not over beat. Making sure all the mix is cold, shape the dough into a thick disc, wrap in cling film and rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
TO ASSEMBLE
Preheat oven to 200C. Place rolled shortcrust pastry into greased pie tin, pressing down with crumpled kitchen towel to stop tears. Cut away excess pastry, ensuring the lip of the pie tin is covered.
Prick pastry base with fork (about 25 times). Rest in fridge for 15 mins before blind baking for 10mins with beans and then 8 mins without. Cool on wire rack for 15 mins. Increase oven to 220C.
When cool, spoon cooled filling into base to the top. Brush pie edge with water, then place puff pastry on top and gently press edges together to seal.
Cut a 4cm cross in the centre (to allow steam to escape). Brush with egg, and bake for 15mins. Reduce oven to 190C and cook for a further 20mins, or until golden.
(If necessary, shield areas of pastry browning faster than others with foil).
How to plan a post-lockdown Great Ocean Road getaway
The regional border has lifted, which means we can plan a trip to the Great Ocean Road. Here’s where to eat, stay and play.
‘I wouldn’t even s*** that’: What you missed on Wentworth
Wentworth does WikiLeaks in the third episode of the new season, as the Foxtel drama welcomes a new face. And there’s drama for Reb and Lou. Warning: Spoilers.