For $14.95, plus shipping and handling to the tune of almost 6 bucks, you could mail-order a half-dozen spicy, rich mincemeat tarts in a crumbly shortbread pastry. Considering this, that and the other, as it applies to you, personally, it might actually be worth it.
Might not, though — because you can, of course, hop out to the kitchen, make your very own mincemeat and have plenty to build not only some tarts, but a pie or two, and cookies to boot. Clearly a bargain, considering the cost of a measly six tarts.
Let’s go for it, right here, right now, thanks to this great time-honored recipe shared by Everett cook Bob Ferrell.
“I did some research on mincemeat pie some years back for my Christmas cooking,’’ he writes, “trying out five old recipes running back to 1694, and chose this one as the best for taste.
“It can be frozen for years and still be tasty. The sugar and brandy in it never really let it freeze. I don’t know about just letting it set around without spoiling, but I’ve read some place that’s what the original mincemeat mixture was for, to preserve the meat.’’
Continuing, Bob says of this mincemeat recipe, “It makes a very good pie filling. It was taken from an article in the Seattle Herald, in December of 1986, about an old 1850 Texas mincemeat recipe. It is much milder, less tangy, and has much better flavor than the all-fruit fillings sold in glass jars nowadays.
“It can be frozen for several years, but never really becomes a solid. There is too much sugar and cognac in it. The amount of suet used was reduced from one pound to a half-pound back in 1997 to suit our taste better.
“This recipe makes about six 9-inch pies with 30 to 32 ounces (or 4 cups) of filling each (an 8-inch pie takes 22 ounces of filling), but half the recipe (as follows) works very well. You can make a single 9-inch pie and a batch of mincemeat cookies (it makes great cookies) for Christmas, and then freeze the other quarter of the recipe for next year!’’
Following his step-by-step directions, Bob has also included his suggestions and directions for making a mincemeat pie.
Bob’s 1850 mincemeat
2pounds very lean ground beef or venison (or, if you have a food processor, you can cut it into 1/4-by-3/4-by-3/4-inch pieces for the cooking and then process it through the food processor with the ground suet)
Water
1/2pound ground beef kidney suet (do not use ordinary beef fat or tallow — it’s too bitter)
3pounds green Pippin or Granny Smith apples, peeled and cored
2pounds dried currants
1pound dark raisins
1pound golden raisins
4cups apple cider
2pounds light brown sugar
1tablespoon salt
1tablespoon freshly ground nutmeg
1tablespoon ground allspice
1tablespoon ground cloves
2tablespoons good fresh ground cinnamon (the stuff with the brittle sticks), or use 4 tablespoons of the cheaper, milder, common stuff with the hard-to-break sticks — read the label)
16 ounces (2 cups) brandy or cognac (rum has too strong a flavor, in my opinion)
Simmer the meat in just enough water to cover for 90 minutes, then drain. Optional, but best, is to put the cooked meat through a food processor until “fluffy,’’ and put it in a big 10-quart pot to start the batch.
Put the ground suet through the food processor until “fluffy,’’ and add it to the meat. (Optional, but best.)
Cut the peeled and cored apples into 1/8-inch by 1/4-inch by 1/4-inch pieces and add to the meat.
Bring the cider to a boil with the light brown sugar, add it to the meat, and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove pan from heat.
Add and mix in the currants, dark and golden raisins, salt, nutmeg, allspice, cloves and cinnamon. Cool to the touch, add the brandy or cognac, then cool to room temperature and use immediately, refrigerate temporarily, or freeze for longer storage.
Bob’s mincemeat pie
Turn the mincemeat into a double-crust pie, preferably using the “never fail’’ French pie or pastry crust that uses an egg and vinegar.
This crust is tastier if you use butter instead of lard or shortening, and is much more tolerant of handling without getting tough, especially for people with warm hands. The shortening-based modern crusts don’t like to be handled much more than once.
“Never-fail recipes have been found in old cookbooks running back to 1800, and even a Dutch-oven cookbook from Australia.
Bake the pie at 425 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes, until the crust starts to brown, and then lower the oven temperature to 325 degrees for 30 to 40 more minutes, until the filling gets bubbly up through the vents in the top crust. The pie is best served slightly warm, with brandy sauce, but it’s a very fine dessert just served at room temperature.
The next Forum will appear in Friday’s comics pages.
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