My grandma's mincemeat recipe: Perfect for your Christmas mince pies
Noooo, it doesn't have meat in it... that's just what it's called
For those of you who love a mince pie or three, you'll know all about the Christmas joy that is mincemeat.
Despite the name, it doesn't have meat in it (a lot of people surprisingly don't realise this, so it's worth mentioning, and there was that awful viral post from last year where someone in the US made a mince pie with mince beef and it was HORRIFYING).
So what is it? Well, it's full of fruit, sugar and spices, so it's a very aromatic, sweet and fruity experience. This is also veggie/vegan-friendly, so if you prefer a plant-based diet or you have vegetarian and/or vegan guests coming round for Christmas dinner, they'll be able to have it as well. The thing that makes mincemeat not veggie, is the use of suet.
If you're not a fan of dried fruit though, you'll probably want to give this one a miss...
A great filling to use in mince pies
Ingredients
- 1 lb cooking apples (grated)
- 8 oz. suet (can be regular or vegetarian suet)
- 12 oz. raisins
- 8 oz. sultanas
- 8 oz. currants
- 12 oz. soft dark brown sugar
- 4 teaspoons ground mixed spice
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 6 tablespoons apple or grape juice
Instructions
- Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl and leave overnight.
- Place in a large oven-proof dish (I use a lasagna dish, but anything else along the same lines will work just fine).
- Bake for 3 hours at 100 degrees C/212 degrees F (fan) or 120 degrees C/248 degrees F (not fan)
- Decant into sterilized jars and allow to cool
Recipe Notes
This recipe can be varied quite a lot. Adding the peel of citrus fruits such as oranges or lemons gives it more of that citrus flavour (my grandma leaves it out because she can't handle citrus fruits). You can also substitute some of the apple/grape juice for brandy if you want it a bit boozy, and you can also mix dried cranberries into the dried fruit.
Recipe by
My grandma, but it's a traditional recipe that a lot of people have used for generations
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Comments (2)
What is the difference between raisens and sultanas?
They're made from different varieties of grape. Sultanas are normally bigger, paler and jucier than raisins.