Mincemeat
(approx yield 4½ – 5 lb)
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp ground cloves
- 1 Tbsp dried coffee (regular or decaffeinated)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper — added after cooking
- 4 cups sugar
- 6-8 lbs. Baldwin apples
- 1 whole lemon, remove only the seeds
- 3 to 4 lbs. stew beef (neck, plate, etc.)
- 2 cups seedless black raisins
- 1 cup meat stock ( 1 1/2 c if not using brandy)
- 1 1/2 cups sorghum (health food stores often have it, but molasses is easier to find in the supermarkets)
- 1 cup cider vinegar
- 1/2 to 3/4 cups brandy (optional, but don’t risk ruination with cheap brandy)
Method
- Core apples; remove the seeds, but don’t peel. The suet can be removed before cooking and the fat skimmed off that renders from the meat as it cooks if desired.
- Cube meat and cover with salted water (salt optional). Simmer until tender - may take up to an hour.
- Remove meat and cook the stock down to the amount needed, or thicken slightly with cornstarch.
- Put meat through food mill (medium or coarse blade) or equivalent fineness in a food processor. For texture, I definitely prefer the grinder over the processor.
- Cut lemon, remove seeds, and purée in a blender, rind and all, with some of the liquid ingredients, or process as finely as possible in a food processor.
- Grind the apples, (or process using a coarse blade—but not too fine).
- Mix into a large, heavy bottom, stew pot adding alternately apples, meat, raisins.
- Add the sugar, spices, the liquids and the lemon purée to the to the meat and apples using hot meat stock to rinse the last of the sorghum into the mixture. Stir thoroughly.
- Cook slowly uncovered, stirring often to prevent burning until the mixture is pasteurized and enough of the liquids have evaporated to produce the texture and thickness you want in the finished pie.
- Let cool.
- Stir in the ground pepper.
- Refrigerate, allowing the spices to mellow for several weeks ...or until you can’t hold out any longer.