Christmas Mincemeat- pies and tarts

[KiltShot]

I thought it was a New England thing. I guess I ought to get over the bridge more often.

[Lallans]

Anybody have a good recipe they care to share?

The only one I've seen was from a medieval castle's cookbook kind of thing, where they said "take 100 pounds of beef and 100 pounds of suet, mix in a cauldron..." I'll see if my Ma will share. As someone already suggested, like true fruitcake this is something that improves over a few months of time but fresh should be good too.

I thought it was a New England thing. I guess I ought to get over the bridge more often.

I've observed that it's a traditional item with the French too.

[BLHS209]

... Anyone a fan?

( -visual- I am doing the "pee-pee" dance -end visual-) ME!! Family tradition way back when hand grinding the ingredients then letting it ferment in the crock under the cupboard and then making the pies.

VERY hard to find "the way mom used to make" - Vermont Country Store used to carry it but no longer. The stuff now is like the grocery store pies

I think my wife is willing to give it a go next year, providing we can find a large enough crock....

Chris Shepherd

[BLHS209]

As I was dishing up dinner, I remembered the name of the mincemeat pies I used to get at VT Country Store - Longfellows, closest to the way Mom used to make. Unfortunately, I have been unable to locate another source or the company.

Chris Shepherd

[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.

[BoldHighlander]

Thanks Rex! :mrgreen:

[cormacmacguardhe]

Interesting, I was just sitting here remembering my grandmothers plum pudding. She made one every christmas, my cousin and I were about the only ones in the family who enjoyed it. I am currently trying to find a good recipe for it to see if I can make one myself.

[Lallans]

As promised, here is Mother Canuck's recipe for mincemeat. For such an old lady, she is pretty good with the email- the tardiness is due to my own work pressures:

Mincemeat
3 cups Ground suet
12 cups chopped apples (peeled)
1 lb. currants
1 lb. small seedless raisins
l lb. large raisins
1lb. Mixed peel (optional)
1lb. candied cherries
3 lbs. brown sugar
2 tbsp. cinnamon
2 teasp. ground cloves
salt to taste. (remember your blood pressure)
[Canuck] this an old recipe from your Grandmother. I Have cut it in half or quarter - whatever you have around. The suet makes it very rich, so have substitued the suet with good ground beef or pork. Freezes well. Make sure you specify that it is a fruit pie filling and not a meat pie.! Good luck. Have fun. Mom.

And there was a PS: [Canuck,] Forgot to mention, this mincemeat needs to cook for quite a long time at a very lowtemp -probably half aday - Burns very quickly. Good Luck. Mom.

IMHO, the candied cherries make the whole thing extra fun, I always feel like Little Jack Horner when I get one!

[Jack Daw]

I'd rather eat black pudding.

[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.