Cipaille, also cipâte or six-pâtes, is a deep, slow-baked casserole of alternating layers of pastry dough and diced meats with potatoes and onions, a holiday centerpiece of rural Quebec. Dating to the 18th century with roots in French and Irish-Canadian cuisine, possibly derived from an English sea pie, it is claimed by both the Gaspésie and Lac-St-Jean regions. Traditionally it uses wild game (moose, hare, partridge), though modern versions use pork, beef, veal and chicken. The six-pâtes name refers to six layers of dough.
A deep, crusty, golden top giving way to layers of tender meat, soft potato and rich broth-soaked pastry, every layer melded into a savoury whole. Eaten in deep spoonfuls, it is hearty, deeply savory and the centrepiece of a winter feast.
The casserole is built in a deep pot with alternating layers of diced meats (browned first for flavour), sliced potatoes and onions, and pastry dough, beginning and ending with dough. Stock is poured in, and the whole is baked covered for several hours, then uncovered at the end to crisp the top. The long, slow bake lets the flavours meld and the pastry layers melt into the broth, thickening it. The multiple dough layers are what distinguish cipaille from a single-crust tourtière.
Variations
A game version uses moose and hare. A coastal version adds salt fish.
On the Palate
Where Cipaille sits in the Canadian flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 10How it's made
6 steps · 1 hour 30 min
- 115 min
Prepare pastry dough (500g flour, 250g lard, water, salt); rest 1 hour.
- 215 min
Brown 300g each of cubed beef, pork and chicken in batches; set aside.
Watch outBrown the meats well before layering — the seared crust is where the deep flavor comes from, and it flavors the whole broth over the long bake.
- 36 min
Slice 4 potatoes and 2 onions.
- 412 min
Line a deep pot with dough; add a layer of meat, salt, pepper, a layer of potato and onion; repeat, ending with a dough layer on top; slash vents.
- 560 min
Pour 500ml beef stock in through a vent; cover and bake at 160C for 4 hours, then uncover 30 minutes to crisp the top.
Watch outKeep it covered for the long bake, then uncover only at the end to crisp the top — uncover too early and the pastry dries before the broth has melded and thickened.
- 68 min
Rest 15 minutes and serve in deep spoonfuls.
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