Luxury Mincemeat

This entry is filed under Christmas Recipes.

Scrummylicious mince pie filling

Scrummylicious! Tastes like Christmas in a jar…

Homemade mincemeat bares little resemblance to the shop bought stuff. Follow this simple recipe and transform dull mince pies into delicious sweet treats. Need I say more?

Makes: 2 x 500ml pots – enough for 50 miniature mince pies
Preparation Time: 20 minutes + overnight soaking
Cooking Time: 2 hours
Shelf Life: Up to 1 year
Effort Level: dead easy

Ingredients:
2 Bramley apples
175g raisins
100g sultanas
100g currants
100g dried apricots (no soak)
50g dried cranberries
1 orange
1 lemon
50g flaked almonds
125g soft brown sugar
75g beef suet
1 tbsp mixed spice
1 (heaped) tsp allspice
1 tsp cinnamon
6 tbsp cointreau or grand marniere

Equipment:
Large oven proof bowl
Tin foil, cling film and greaseproof
Grater
2 x 500ml jars

HERE’S WHAT YOU DO:
Step One: Soaking The Fruit
Finely chop the apricots and tip into the bowl with the dried fruit.
Add the finely grated orange and lemon zest plus their juice.
Peel and grate the apples into the mix.
Add the liqueur and stir well.
Cover with cling film and leave overnight.

Step Two: Baking The Mincemeat
Day 2: Preheat the oven to 120C/225F/ ¼Gas
Add the remaining dry ingredients to the bowl and stir well.
Cover loosely with tin foil  and place on the bottom oven shelf for 2 hours.
Take out the oven and stir the mixture to distrubute the melted suet

Step Three: – Sterilising The Jars & Bottling
Wash and dry the jars and place in the oven for 30 minutes.
Let the mincemeat cool, then stir in 3 more tablespoons of liqueur.
Pack into the sterilised jars. Cover with a greaseproof disc or cling film.
Store in a dark cupboard until needed.

5 Responses to “Luxury Mincemeat”

  1. Frances Catania says:

    Hi there it’s me again! I followed your recipe for mince meat using lard instead of suet last year. It wouldn’t melt properly to begin with but the mince pies were delicious any way. I think the Cointreau is a brilliant idea. I’m left with the same problem this year as well, can’t get suet in Italy. What do use suggest? Could I just leave it out? Best wishes, Frances.

  2. Janice says:

    I’m just off to soak my fruit!

  3. Uma says:

    It’s really easy Kit and soo much nicer than shop bought. You must have a go at the mini mince pies, they are the jewel in my christmas crown! I shall be making 250 of them this year! I got so fed up with hit and miss pastry, I spent an entire day experimenting to get the perfect shortcrust. Talk about being a food anorak!

  4. Kit Berry says:

    Wow – I’ve never made my own mincemeat before but this looks simple enough and scrummily delicious. So I’ll give it a try for the first time ever! Thanks Uma xxx

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