My Mother's Mincemeat

This is the ultimate rich, chewy, warming traditional Christmas mincemeat for your pies.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Ingredients Equipment Method

Ingredients

8 oz currants
8 oz raisins
8 oz sultanas
8 oz cooking apples . Use firm, sour apples
2 oz candied lemon peel
2 oz candied orange peel
8 oz suet , beef or vegan
4 oz walnuts
1 lb soft dark brown sugar . Use the darkest sugar you can get
2 tsp mixed spice - see the recipe intro
1 lemon , grated rind and juice
dark rum , a few tablespoons.

Equipment

1 very large bowl (I use my jam kettle)
1 sharp knife
1 chopping board (not one used for onions or garlic please!)
1 scales
1 vegetable peeler
1 food processor (or a traditional mincer)
4 large sterilised jam jars or other jars of equivalent capacity

Method

Add the suet, sugar, currants and spice to your bowl
8 oz suet, 1 lb soft dark brown sugar, 2 tsp mixed spice, 8 oz currants
Put the raisins and sultanas into the food processor and pulse until they are lightly chopped. Don't let them turn into mush! Then add them to the bowl.
8 oz raisins, 8 oz sultanas
Lightly chop the walnuts by hand. Walnuts are soft and this is easy. Aim for a variety of sizes of piece, with the largest being about the size of a pea. Add the nut pieces of all sizes to your bowl.
4 oz walnuts
Slice the lemon and orange candied peels by hand. Cut each piece into thin strips about 1/4" or 60mm wide. Then cut each strip into squares. There's no need to be too precise about the size as some variation helps the texture. Add the pieces to your bowl.
2 oz candied lemon peel, 2 oz candied orange peel
Peel the apples and cut them by hand into cubes that are about the same size as the peel or a little larger. Add these to the bowl.
8 oz cooking apples
Grate the lemon rind into the bowl and add the squeezed lemon juice. With clean hands and jewellery removed, put your hands into the bowl and give everything a good mix.
1 lemon
Add three tablespoons of the rum and mix with your hands again. If the mixture feels a bit dry, add another tablespoon.
dark rum
Cover the bowl with a plate or a clean teacloth and leave it to stand for 24-48 hours.
After the resting period, uncover the bowl and with clean hands give the mixture another mix. If it is thoroughly moist right through it is ready to pack into sterilised jars. If not, add a drop more rum and mix again before putting into jars. Don't add too much rum. You don't want liquid lying at the bottom of the bowl. You can always add a drop more alcohol later if the mincemeat seems a bit dry.
Store your mincemeat in a cool dark place until you want to use it. The longer you can leave it, the better it will taste. When you are ready to use it, turn the whole jar out into a clean bowl and give it a good stir. Add a little brandy if it is at all dry. Return it to the jar before taking out what you need for your recipe.

Notes

Don't be tempted to chop the nuts, peel and apples in the food processor. The result will be a very mushy mincemeat. Put the radio or an audiobook on, and take the time to enjoy a bit of therapeutic knife-work!