Christmas Mincemeat- pies and tarts

[Lallans]

Eggnogg is being discussed on another thread and fruitcake came up on the suprisingly popular oatmeal thread; it must mean that Christmas is near! So now I'm wondering if there are any XMTS fans of one of the most traditional Christmas foods of all, mincemeat. I refer to fruitcake's fatty cousin, generally used as a filling in pies and tarts. Mincemeat was once so much a part of Christmas that the use of it in December was banned by the Puritans in the UK and the American colonies, but it was always a favorite in my house. My silver haired mother still makes it in almost the old fashioned way, starting out with ground beef but omitting the equal amount of beef suet in the old recipies, lots of sugar, dried fruit, and spices. One slice of a mince meat pie will set you up for a day of chopping firewood etc, which, tastiness aside, I'm sure is one reason why it was so popular- and it would have used up otherwise uneatable amounts of suet too. Anyone a fan?

[gary meakin]

Big fan...but I'm pretty sure my mother poured it out of a can and on to the pie crust. Still loved it. Then and now.

[BoldHighlander]

Big fan...but I'm pretty sure my mother poured it out of a can and on to the pie crust. Still loved it. Then and now.

My only real experience with mincemeat pies were store bought

...however I'd give a homemade one a try.

[piperdbh]

Never tried it.

[ThistleDown]

Eggnogg is being discussed on another thread and fruitcake came up on the suprisingly popular oatmeal thread; it must mean that Christmas is near! So now I'm wondering if there are any XMTS fans of one of the most traditional Christmas foods of all, mincemeat. I refer to fruitcake's fatty cousin, generally used as a filling in pies and tarts. Mincemeat was once so much a part of Christmas that the use of it in December was banned by the Puritans in the UK and the American colonies, but it was always a favorite in my house. My silver haired mother still makes it in almost the old fashioned way, starting out with ground beef but omitting the equal amount of beef suet in the old recipies, lots of sugar, dried fruit, and spices. One slice of a mince meat pie will set you up for a day of chopping firewood etc, which, tastiness aside, I'm sure is one reason why it was so popular- and it would have used up otherwise uneatable amounts of suet too. Anyone a fan?

It's a labour of love in our kitchen, though it is made at the same time as we put down the plum puds, in November. Jars of mince meat are all lined up in the pantry and ready for rolling out the pastry next week.

[Mark Stephenson]

...just goes to show how clueless I am. I thought this thread was about piesmade by rowdy ladies. <grin>

[Ozark Ridge Rider]

I make it with lean venison. Had to suss out the recipe my mother used, and not sure I was totally successful, but it tastes like hers, and is good. I too, eschewed the added fat. We don't need that now.

Even so, it is anything but low calorie.

I've already had requests for pies at two parties we're going to this year.

[BoldHighlander]

Anybody have a good recipe they care to share?

[ThistleDown]

Anybody have a good recipe they care to share?

As requested, Terry.

5 or 6 medium green apples peeled, cored and coarsely grated
12oz raisins
8oz sultanas
8oz currants
8oz mixed candied peel chopped finely
12oz soft demerarra sugar
zest and juice of 2 oranges
zest and juice of 2 lemons
2oz skinned almonds chopped fine
4 teaspoons mixed spice
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ nutmeg grated
6 tablespoons brandy (oops, slipped again this year)
8oz shredded suet.

Mix all the ingredients together except the brandy. Grate the apples directly into the orange juice, so that they don’t discolour.

Cover the bowl with foil and leave everything to soak together for at least 12 hours. Then put the bowl in a low oven (225F) for 3 hours to gradually melt the suet and coat all the ingredients. This will prevent fermentation if you are going to be storing the mincemeat for a long time. Allow it to cool, then mix in the brandy and pack into clean dry jars almost to the brim. Seal well and store in a dark, cool place.

It needs at least a week for the flavours to meld and develop, so make it well in advance. We plan for a damp day in November and a kitchenful of folk pitching in. We used to sort and clean all the raisins and currants for bits of stem, but that’s done by some machine at a packing plant now. We do like the tradition, though and there’s always some warmed brandy for the adults and mulled apple juice for others.

If you follow this recipe you will have enough mincemeat for about six dozen tarts, enough to keep you going over the Christmas season.

Oh yes, we do make two or three Christmas puddings at the same time, but that’s another recipe.

[Ozark Ridge Rider]

Anybody have a good recipe they care to share?

And another: This one would be quite a bit different.

4 lbs lean venison (lean beef is OK)
4 lbs chopped apples (tart ones are best)
4 lbs raisins, sultanas, or dried cranberries
1 lb brown sugar
1 T Cinnamon
1 T ground Ginger
1 T ground Cloves
1 T grated Nutmeg
1 t Allspice
2 quarts apple cider - if you have to use apple juice be careful of the preservatives in it. Not sure how that would work.

Grind meat and apples through food mill. Add all ingredients to a BIG pot and simmer for 3 - 4 hours. It will boil down and must be stirred often to keep from sticking. After cooling, it can be frozen in pie-sized amounts and will keep at least a year.

This is a fair sized recipe and can be cut down. I try to keep the fat out of it, so no suet.