Plain Mince-meat

Ingredients

• four pounds of a round of beef
• a pint of fine-chopped suet
• three quarts of pared and chopped apples
• a quart of stoned and chopped raisins
• a quart of English currants
• a quart of molasses
• three pints of sugar
• half a cupful of ground cinnamon
• a tablespoonful of cloves
• two of allspice
• two of mace
• six grated nutmegs
• half a cupful of salt
• some citron, if you choose

Method

1. 1

   Cover the beef with boiling water, and let it simmer for five hours; then let it cool in the water.

2. 2

   Free it of fat and chop quite fine.

3. 3

   Mix the chopped meat with the other ingredients thoroughly, and then add three quarts of good cider.

4. 4

   Let the mince-meat stand overnight, and in the morning, heat it slowly to the boiling-point, and simmer for one hour.

5. 5

   Turn it into stone jars and set it in a cool, dry place.

As published

This recipe was extracted from Miss Parloa's kitchen companion (1887) by Maria Parloa, page 314. The excerpt below is the record exactly as published.

table-spoonful of cloves, three grated nutmegs, two lemons, three table-spoonfuls of salt, five cupfuls of cider, one pint of wine, and a pint of brandy. Free the beef of fat and skin, and chop it very fine. Chop the apples rather coarse ; they should be fine- flavored and tart. Put all the ingredients, except the cider, wine, brandy, and lemons, into a large bowl. Grate the yellow rind of the lemons, and squeeze the juice of the fruit upon the mixture. Mix all thoroughly, and then add the cider. Put the mince-meat into a porcelain kettle, and heat very slowly to the boiling-point; then remove from the fire, and add the wine and brandy. Put into stone jars, and keep until needed. It is well to try PIES. 601 the mince-meat by putting a spoonful of it in a small piece of paste and baking it, for the flavor is developed in baking. Tastes differ in regard to seasoning ; and while some persons may not think the quantities in this receipt are sufficient, others may think that the flavor is even too strong. If there be objection to brandy or wine, use, instead, an extra pint and a half of cider. Mince-meat improves with keeping. It should be made at least a fortnight before it is baked in pies, and the pies should be baked for an hour. * Plain Mince-meat. Cover four pounds of a round of beef with boiling water, and let it simmer for five hours ; then let it coo' in the water, and when it is cold, free it of fat and chop quite fine, but not to a powder. There should be a gen- erous quart of the chopped meat. Add to it three quarts of pared and chopped apples, a pint of fine-chopped suet, a quart of stoned and chopped raisins, a quart of English currants, a quart of molasses, three pints of sugar, half a cupful of ground cinnamon, a table-spoonful of cloves, two of allspice, two of mace, six grated nutmegs, half a cupful of salt, and some citron, if you choose

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