Seal flipper pie

Ingredients

Flippers

• 4seal flippers
• cold water, for soaking
• 2 tbspbaking soda
• 1 tbspsalt

Braise

• 150 gsalt pork or fat back, diced
• 3onions, chopped
• 3 tbspplain flour
• 2 tbspWorcestershire sauce
• 500 mlbeef stock
• 2carrots, in chunks
• 3potatoes, in chunks
• 1turnip, in chunks
• 1 tspdried savory
• salt and black pepper

Pastry

• 300 gplain flour
• 150 gcold lard or butter, diced
• 1/2 tspsalt
• 100 mliced water
• 1egg, beaten, to glaze

To serve

• with vegetables, at a community supper

Directions

1. Seal flipper pie is braised seal flippers under a pastry crust. Seal meat is not available or legal to import in many countries. That connective tissue is why they need long slow braising. Seal meat carries a strong flavour from its fat and blood. That is what puts people off if it is not handled properly. Trim off every scrap of visible fat with a sharp knife.
2. Seal fat is strongly flavoured and turns rancid quickly. Be thorough about this, since it is the single biggest factor. Remove any dark membrane as well. Put the trimmed flippers in a large bowl. Cover them completely with cold water.
3. Add the baking soda and the salt. Change the water two or three times if you can. Rinse them thoroughly the next day. Put the soaked flippers in a pot of fresh cold water. Bring it to the boil and boil for ten minutes. Drain that water off completely and rinse both the meat and the pot.
4. Put the diced salt pork in a cold heavy pot. Set the pot over a medium heat. Cook it for eight minutes until golden and the fat has rendered. Lift the crisp pieces out and keep them. Pat the soaked flippers thoroughly dry. Brown them in the rendered fat over a high heat. Give them four or five minutes a side. Lift them out and set them aside. Building the base is done in the same fat.
5. Add the chopped onions and cook them for ten minutes. Stir in the flour and cook the roux for three minutes. Add the Worcestershire sauce and the stock gradually. Whisk it smooth as you go along. Return the flippers to the pot. Add the savory and season with salt and pepper.
6. Bring it to a simmer and cover the pot. Braise it gently for about two hours. Add the carrot, potato and turnip after ninety minutes. Simmer for another thirty minutes until tender. Take the pot off the heat and let it cool. Boning the meat is done once cool enough to handle. Lift the cooked flippers out of the pot. Pull the meat off the bones in large pieces.
7. Discard the bones and any remaining sinew. Return the meat to the gravy with the crisp salt pork. Rub the cold fat into the flour and salt with your fingertips. Stop while pieces of fat are still visible. Add the iced water and bring it together quickly. Do not overwork the pastry dough. Wrap it and chill it for thirty minutes. Assembling the pie is done with a cool filling.
8. Tip the cooled filling into a deep pie dish. A hot filling melts the pastry before it bakes. Roll the pastry out and lay it over the top. Trim and crimp the pastry edges. Cut a vent in the centre for steam. Baking it is done in a hot oven. Brush the pastry with beaten egg.
9. Bake it at 200C for thirty-five to forty minutes. The pastry should be deep golden and the filling bubbling. Let it stand for ten minutes before cutting. Serve it with more vegetables alongside.

Technique

• Trim off every scrap of fat, since seal fat is what gives the strong flavour people object to.
• Soak overnight in salted water with baking soda to draw out the blood, then blanch and discard that water.
• Seal products are banned from import in many countries; this is a local food eaten where it is hunted.

Substitutions

• Beef shin or oxtail, prepared the same way, for anyone who cannot obtain seal.
• Butter in place of lard in the pastry.

Variations

• Made without a pastry lid, as a stew.
• With pastry top and bottom.
• With more root vegetables and less meat.

History

Tied to the spring seal hunt off Newfoundland and Labrador, it is eaten around Easter and served at community suppers on the northeast coast.

Frequently asked questions

What is Seal flipper pie?

Seal flipper pie is a main from Canada: newfoundland pie of braised seal flippers under pastry, dark and very rich. Tied to the spring seal hunt off Newfoundland and Labrador, it is eaten around Easter and served at community suppers on the northeast coast.

How long does Seal flipper pie take to make?

Seal flipper pie takes 1 hour plus overnight soaking of preparation and 3 hours of cooking. The recipe makes 1 large pie, serving 6. It is rated hard to make.

What can I substitute in Seal flipper pie?

Yes, within limits. Beef shin or oxtail, prepared the same way, for anyone who cannot obtain seal. Butter in place of lard in the pastry.

What is the most important thing to get right in Seal flipper pie?

Discard the bones and any remaining sinew. Return the meat to the gravy with the crisp salt pork. Rub the cold fat into the flour and salt with your fingertips. Stop while pieces of fat are still visible. Add the iced water and bring it together quickly. Do not overwork the pastry dough. Wrap it and chill it for thirty minutes. Assembling the pie is done with a cool filling.