THE PIE MAN
Ray Capaldi shares the steps to a perfect pastry parcel with Dan Stock
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. Highsided like a pork pie, Ray says 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 semiretirement 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 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 ensures 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 pierenovations 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”.