Mince Pies

Ingredients

• Take 3 lbs. lean beef from the round
• boil it in enough water to cover it
• weigh out 5 lbs. Greening apples
• 1 lb. kidney suet
• 2 lbs. seeded raisins
• 2 lbs. clean currants
• 0.5 lb. citrons
• 4 oz. candied orange peel
• 4 oz. candied lemon peel
• the pulp of 2 oranges
• the pulp of 2 lemons
• enough sugar to sweeten to taste
• 2 even tablespoonfuls cinnamon
• 1 tablespoonful mace
• 1 tablespoonful alspice
• 1 tablespoonful cloves
• a grated nutmeg
• a good teaspoonful salt
• enough sweet cider to secure the right consistency— 3 pints

Method

1. 1

   Prepare the beef, chop and mix with apples, suet, raisins, currants, citrons, candied peels, and fruits.

2. 2

   Add spices and sugar, mix well, and warm slowly until boiling.

3. 3

   Cool and use for pies.

As published

This recipe was extracted from The white ribbon cook book (1894) by Kathryn Armstrong, page 88. The excerpt below is the record exactly as published.

Mince Pies — The sooner the Christmas mince meat is prepared and set away to ripen so much better will the pies made of it be. Take 3 lbs. lean beef from the round and boil it in enough water to cover it. When very tender, set it away till cold, and then chop very fine, carefully re- moving any piece of gristle or fat. Next weigh out 5 lbs. Greening apples; after peeling and coring them, chop fine and add to the meat. Chop fine ] lb. kidney suet and 2 lbs. seeded raisins and add to the above with 2 lbs. clean currants, % lb. citrons, finely shredded, and 4 oz. each of candied orange and lemon peel (or the grated rind of 2 oranges and 2 lemons), and the pulp of 2 oranges and 2 lemons chopped and freed from seeds and tough bits. To these in- gredients add enough sugar to sweeten to taste, also 2 even tablespoonfuls cinnamon, 1 table- spoonful mace, 1 tablespoonful alspice and 1 tablespoonful cloves, together with a grated nut- Pastry. 183 meg and a good teaspoonful salt. Now add enough sweet cider to secure the right consist- ency— 3 pints or two quarts. Any fruit juice is an improvement, especially the juice from spiced pears or peaches. Some liberally disposed house- wives contribute a jar of preserved strawberries, or raspberries, or cherries, to their pot of mince, which is a rare improvement. When all has been thoroughly mixed, place the stone pot contain- ing the mince meat on the back of the range to warm slowly through, gradually moving it for- ward till it boils; then push it back to simmer for a few moments, after which it should be set away to cool. Keep in a cool place till wanted, and in making the pies sprinkle in about a dozen seeded raisins to each one. Plum Pudding- — Two lbs. beef suet, 1% lbs. bread crumbs, 1% lbs. flour, 2 lbs. raisins, 2^^ lbs. currants, % lb. mixed peel, 1% lbs. foots sugar, 14 eggs, a little nutmeg, ginger, allspice (pow- dered), a large pinch of salt, % P^^* milk. Chop the suet as finely as possible, and any stale piece of bread can be used for grating, allowing the above quantity; mix with the suet and flour. Stone the raisins, and have the cur- rants perfectly washed and dried, the peel cut into thin slices and added to the suet, bread and flour, mixing well for some minutes; then add the sugar and continue working with the hands for 5 minutes. Put the eggs into a bowl (break- ing each into a cup first to ascertain that it is fresh and to remove the speck), add to them grated nutmeg

Cook this with the app: pantry check, scaling, and the assistant.