Mincemeat Pies

Mincemeat pies from back when there was still meat in the filling

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City/Region: England

Time Period: 1845

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Medieval mincemeat pies were about 90% meat and only about 10% fruit. These original mincemeat pies were a way to preserve meat for the winter, but as time went on, the amount of meat went down and the amount of fruit went up until we get a full-fledged dessert with no meat like you usually find today.

This Victorian recipe strikes a nice balance by having some meat, but certainly not the 90% of ye olden days. These pies are so much better than the ones you get at the store. The spices are warm and remind me of Christmas and the lemon brightens it up. Everything is soft, but the pieces stay individual, not all one gloopy mass. At the very end, you get a bit of meatiness, but it’s still sweet and very much a dessert.

“Mincemeat.
(Author’s Receipt)
To one pound of an unsalted ox-tongue, or inside of roasted sirloin,...add two pounds of fine stoned raisins, two of beef kidney-suet, two pounds and a half of currants,...two of good apples, two and a half of fine Lisbon sugar, from half to a whole pound of candied peel,…the grated rinds of two large lemons, and two more boiled quite tender, and chopped up entirely, with the exception of the pips, two small nutmegs, half an ounce of salt, a large teaspoonful of pounded mace, rather more of ginger in powder, half a pint of brandy, and as much good sherry or Madeira. Mince these ingredients separately, and mix the others all well before the brandy and the wine are added…”

— Modern Cookery for Private Families by Eliza Acton, 1845

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Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup (45 g) diced cooked ox tongue or roast sirloin
• Heaping 1/2 cup (90 g) raisins, cut in half if you’re feeling extra
• 3/4 cup (90 g) beef suet*
• 1 cup (120 g) dried currants
• 3/4 cup (90 g) diced apple
• 3 tablespoons (50 g) candied peel*
• 1/2 boiled lemon, diced*
• Heaping 1 cup (115 g) sugar
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon mace*
• 3/4 teaspoon ginger
• 2 tablespoons brandy
• 2 tablespoons dark sherry
• Shortcrust or rough puff pastry

*See notes below.

Instructions:

1. In a large bowl, mix all of the fruit and the meat together. Mix in the suet.
2. In a separate bowl, combine the sugar, lemon zest, spices, and salt and mix well. Add it to the meat and fruit mixture and stir until combined. Mix in the brandy and sherry. Cover the bowl and put it in the refrigerator at least overnight, but preferably up to a week.
3. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
4. Line a pie or tart tin with the pastry dough of your choosing. I did mine in a muffin tin to make mini tarts. Fill the tart or mini tarts until almost full.
5. Bake for 15 minutes, or until the crust starts to brown.
6. Let the pies cool. Bedight them with powdered sugar if you wish, then serve them forth.

Notes

• Suet is the hard fat from around an animal’s kidneys and is used in a lot of baking. It’s really great, but can be hard to find in the US. You could use butter in this recipe, but it’s not quite the same.
• Link to beef suet: https://amzn.to/3rSHoGI
• Link to vegetarian suet: https://amzn.to/3oCvi2y
• Link to candied peel: https://amzn.to/3dCL7jn
• Boil a whole lemon for about 20 minutes. Let it cool before dicing.
• Mace comes from the outside of a nutmeg seed and tastes similar to nutmeg with notes of cinnamon and black pepper. It's used in a lot of historical recipes and is definitely worth getting.
• Link to mace: https://amzn.to/3SMkVJ5

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