REAL Mincemeat
Real Mincemeat. Manly Mincemeat.
Like the Vikings used to make.
Or the Tudors anyway. Like this Tudor guy - William How.
From his 1574 opus A Proper New Booke of Cookery as transcribed by Daniel Myers from the edition in the British Library:
Mmmm. Pyes!
I quite fancy James Martin's version of a traditional mincemeat recipe below, now I just need to find a good pastry recipe and try making some pyes.
There's a nice looking shortcrust recipe here and James Martin also has a pretty similar one I might use.
Like the Vikings used to make.
Or the Tudors anyway. Like this Tudor guy - William How.
From his 1574 opus A Proper New Booke of Cookery as transcribed by Daniel Myers from the edition in the British Library:
To make Pyes.
Pyes of mutton or beif must be fyne mynced
and ceasoned wyth pepper and salte,
and a lyttle saffron to coloure it,
suet or marrow a good quantite,
a lyttle vyneger, prumes, greate raysins and dates,
take the fattest of the broathe of powdred beyfe,
and yf you wyll have paest royall,
take butter and yolkes of egges and so
tempre the flowre to make the paeste.
Pyes of mutton or beif must be fyne mynced
and ceasoned wyth pepper and salte,
and a lyttle saffron to coloure it,
suet or marrow a good quantite,
a lyttle vyneger, prumes, greate raysins and dates,
take the fattest of the broathe of powdred beyfe,
and yf you wyll have paest royall,
take butter and yolkes of egges and so
tempre the flowre to make the paeste.
Mmmm. Pyes!
I quite fancy James Martin's version of a traditional mincemeat recipe below, now I just need to find a good pastry recipe and try making some pyes.
There's a nice looking shortcrust recipe here and James Martin also has a pretty similar one I might use.
Traditional Mincemeat
ingredient dessert meat
Makes about 3½lb/1 litre
Ingredients
- 225g (8oz) seedless raisins
- 350g (12oz) currants
- 175g (6oz) good lean rump steak, minced or venison or, I suppose, mutton
- 350g (12oz) beef suet, chopped
- 225g (8oz) dark brown sugar
- 15g (½oz) candied citron peel, chopped
- 15g (½oz) candied lemon peel, chopped
- 15g (½oz) candied orange peel, chopped
- ¼ small nutmeg, grated
- finely grated zest and juice of ½ lemon
- 350g (12oz) apples, weighed after peeling and coring, finely chopped
- 75ml (2½fl oz) brandy or 3
You might as well go the whole hog and make your own Candied Peel to start with.
Mix all the ingredients together in the order given, pouring in the brandy when everything else is well mixed together.
Press closely into sterilized jars to exclude the air.
Cover and leave for at least a fortnight.
Now make ye pyes.
Mix all the ingredients together in the order given, pouring in the brandy when everything else is well mixed together.
Press closely into sterilized jars to exclude the air.
Cover and leave for at least a fortnight.
Now make ye pyes.
The quantity above makes tons (enough for about 100 mince pies) so I better dig out quite a few mincemeat recipes between now and Christmas!
I stuffed mine into a tupperware container, added an extra fl oz of cognac (I see no reason to skimp), pressed it in with a sheet of cling film and I've left it to mature in the fridge (though I suspect the intention of the recipe is to leave it at room temperature).
I'll let you know how it turns out...
After 3 weeks the mincemeat is good and rich, and to be honest you can barely tell there's any meat in there. Even on my first attempt it was better than any commercial mincemeat.
I was slightly worried that my home-made peel might be a bit hard but it seems to have dissolved nicely.
Definitely recommended, but I'd make a half-quantity next time!