Homemade Mincemeat Recipe, Whats Cooking America (2024)

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Grandma Miller’s Homemade Mincemeatrecipe was shared with me by Joy Chowning of Oregon. Joy says, “This is my great grandma Miller’s recipeforhomemade mincemeat. This recipe is highly sought out by my friends and family and has been a family tradition for over a hundred years that I know of.”

Mincemeat is, very simply, a mixture of fruits and spices that are cooked with or without minced meat and generally doused with brandy, rum, or whiskey. It improves and becomes more moist as the weeks pass, so allow it to mature for at least four weeks before using.

Learn more about mincemeat and check out another Mincemeat Pie Recipe.

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Grandma Miller's Homemade Mincemeat Recipe:

Course:Main Course

Cuisine:English

Keyword:Grandma Miller's Homemade Mincemeat Recipe

Author: What's Cooking America

Ingredients

Grandma Miller's Homemade Mincemeat:

  • 2poundsvenison, elk, or beef chunks
  • Water
  • 1/2cupapple cider vinegar
  • 6wholecloves
  • 6wholeallspice
  • 1largebay leaf
  • 1/2poundbeef suet,finely chopped*
  • 3quartsapple cider
  • 2cupsbeef broth
  • 3poundsapples,chopped
  • 3poundsraisins(dark and golden)
  • 2poundscurrants
  • 1/2poundcitron
  • 1tablespoon groundcloves
  • 1tablespoon groundcinnamon
  • 1tablespoon groundnutmeg
  • 1tablespoon groundallspice
  • 1firmly-packed cupbrown sugar
  • 2cupsrumor Applejack brandy

Grandma Miller's Mincemeat Pie:

  • Pastry for 9-inch two crust pie
  • 2large tartapples,sliced
  • All-purposeflour
  • Groundcinnamon
  • Butter
  • 1quart preparedGrandma Miller's Mincemeat

Instructions

Grandma Miller's Mincemeat Instructions:

  1. Trim fat from meat of your choice.

  2. In a large heavy pan over medium heat, place meat; cover with water. Add cider vinegar, whole cloves, allspice, and bay leaf. Simmer approximately 2 hours or until the meat is tender and falls apart. Remove from heat and refrigerate meat in cooking liquid overnight.

  3. Remove from refrigerator and remove meat from liquid. Remove all fat from top of liquid; discarding the liquid. Separate meat from bones, discard bones. Chop cooked meat into small cubes.

  4. In a large pot, combine meat cubes, suet, apple cider, beef broth, apples, raisins, currants, citron, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and brown sugar. Over medium heat, let mixture come just to a low boil; reduce heat to low and let simmer until the apples are cooked. Remove from heat and add rum or Applejack brandy and mix together.

  5. Variation: For a wonderful flavor boost, zest and juice 2 to 3 lemons and 2 orange. Add to mince before bringing to a boil.

  6. It’s best to let mincemeat stand at least a couple of weeks before using. I store mine in the refrigerator. Freeze in air-tight containers for longer storage.

Grandma Miller's Mincemeat Pie Instructions:

  1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Prepare pie pastry.

  2. In a large bowl, lightly toss the sliced apples with a little flour and cinnamon. Spread the apple mixture over the bottom of the pastry-lined plate. Dot with butter. Spoon prepared mincemeat over the top. Add additional rum or brandy to your taste. Cover with remaining pastry and flute. Cut slits in pastry so steam can escape. Cover edge with aluminum foil to prevent excessive browning.

  3. NOTE: I think my great grandma added the apples to stretch the mincemeat supply. Non-mince lovers absolutely love this pie. The only downfall of making this pie so delectable that the pie doesn't last as long!

  4. Bake pie approximately 40 to 50 minutes or until crust is lightly browned. Remove aluminum foil during last 15 minutes of baking. Remove from oven and cool on awire rack before cutting and serving.

  5. Serve warm or at room temperature.

  6. Makes 8 servings.

Recipe Notes

* Suet is a solid while animal fat. The best Suet comes from the fat that grows around the kidneys in cows and sheep. You can purchase packages of suet from your local butcher or from the meat department of your local grocery store. It then needs to be coarsely grated to make it ready to use. It also must be kept refrigerated prior to use and used within a few days of purchase, just like meat. You can also substite lard, shortening, butter, or bacon fat.

Related Recipes

Categories:

Apples Beef Heirloom Recipes Mincemeat Recipes Wild Game

Comments and Reviews

5 Responses to “Grandma Miller’s Homemade Mincemeat Recipe”

  1. Mamie

    I am anxious to try this recipe.

    Reply

  2. Elli Gull

    I’m making this recipe right now, and I’m at the point where I’m boiling all the ingredients together. I only use two quarts of apple cider instead of 3, and it still seems very thin, not thick like a pie filling. Are all the proportions correct? Do I boil it down until it thickens? Thank you for your help on this.

    Reply

    • Linda Stradley

      Since I can not ask Grandma Miller, I would boil it down.

      Reply

  3. SeesFar

    My grandmother, Nana Goodwin, taught me her aged recipe. ..yes, simmer it down. It ain’t Christmas without Mincemeat pie! In my opinion. Happy Christmas!

    Reply

  4. Jane

    This recipe looks fabulous and I will try. I make my own mincemeat but without the meat and also put chopped oranges from my own tree and dried cranberries along with the other fruit and spices. I like to use Granny Smith apples. Can it and also give as presents. My Gran used to make it the old fashion way with meat and she’s part Mennonite. Always came out great she also used lard in her pie crust and I can never make mine as flakey as hers.

    Reply

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Homemade Mincemeat Recipe, Whats Cooking America (2)

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Homemade Mincemeat Recipe, Whats Cooking America (2024)

FAQs

What is American mincemeat? ›

Mincemeat is a mixture of chopped dried fruit, distilled spirits and spices, and often beef suet, usually used as a pie or pastry filling. Mincemeat formerly contained meat, notably beef or venison. Many modern recipes replace the suet with vegetable shortening.

What are the ingredients to mincemeat pie? ›

Image of What are the ingredients to mincemeat pie?
Mincemeat is a mixture of chopped dried fruit, distilled spirits and spices, and often beef suet, usually used as a pie or pastry filling. Mincemeat formerly contained meat, notably beef or venison. Many modern recipes replace the suet with vegetable shortening.
Wikipedia

How long does homemade mincemeat last in a jar? ›

The containers you use must be scrupulously clean, so I like to use jars straight out of the dishwasher or I sterilise them in the oven. If you store it in a cool dark place the mincemeat will last for up to 1 year unopened. Once open store in the refrigerator and use within 3=4 months.

What was in original mincemeat? ›

After knights returning from the Crusades came back with spices in-tow, they became common ingredients of the dish along with minced bits of meat (from a range of animals), suet, apples, sugar, raisins, and molasses. "They were about 30 to 50 percent meat in the late Tudor era," says food historian Annie Gray, Ph.

What is mincemeat made of in America? ›

Mincemeat is a combination of chopped dried fruits, spices, sugar, nuts, distilled spirits, a fat of some type and sometimes meat. The name is a carryover from 15th century England when mincemeat did indeed have meat in the mix; in fact, the whole point of mincemeat was to preserve meat with sugar and alcohol.

What can I use instead of mincemeat? ›

Simply add all your favourite dried fruits alongside a balance of your favourite nuts and make it your very own best mincemeat recipe. Subs might include dried figs, dates, prunes, pear and perhaps goji berries. You could even go mango, citrus peel, pineapple, peaches and blackcurrants…

Why is mincemeat so expensive? ›

Mincemeat isn't difficult to make, but it has a lot of ingredients, which can make it expensive to produce in small batches, and it requires at least a day's advance planning to let the ingredients sit.

What is the difference between mincemeat and mince pie? ›

A mince pie, though originally containing meat, is a sweet pie, with pastry top and bottom, filled with a sweet mixture of dried fruit, peel, commonly alcohol like brandy, and small pieces of suet( an animal fat, and reminder of a mince pie's meat origins). This sweet mixture is ( confusingly) called 'mincemeat'.

Why is it called mincemeat? ›

In the past mince pies were very different from what we enjoy today. They were stuffed with meats like mutton, rabbit, and pork which is why the filling is known as "mincemeat."

Does mincemeat from a jar need to be cooked? ›

Versions containing animal fats should be cooked before use but those including butter can be used as they are, perhaps stirred into an ice cream mixture. You could even serve an especially tasty version with whipped or clotted cream as a sumptuous festive topping for warm scones.

What is a substitute for suet in mincemeat? ›

If you can't find suet or you just don't want to use it, try shortening instead. One of the advantages of using vegetable shortening is that it is suitable for vegetarian dishes. Before using it, freeze the shortening until it is very firm.

Can you freeze home made mincemeat? ›

Top the mincemeat with the pastry lids, push around the edges to seal, then poke 1-2 small holes into each to allow steam to escape. Wrap the whole tray well in cling film. Will keep in the freezer for up to 3 months. To cook, heat oven to 200C/180C fan/ gas 6.

What is in Robertson's mincemeat? ›

Ingredients: sugar, apples (26%), vine fruits (26%) (sultanas, raisins, currants), candied mixed peel (4%) (glucose-fructose syrup, orange peel, sugar, lemon peel, citric acid), vegetable suet (palm oil, sunflower oil, rice flour), treacle, acidity regulators (acetic acid, citric acid), mixed spices, citric acid, ...

What is in a jar of ready to use mincemeat? ›

Ingredients: Water, Corn Syrup, Raisins, Dried Apples, Molasses, Corn Starch Modified, Distilled Vinegar, Dried Orange And Lemon Peel, Salt, Spices, Beef, Fruit Pectin, Natural Flavor.

Is mincemeat just ground beef? ›

The terms “ground meat” and “minced meat” are sometimes used interchangeably. But they indicate two techniques for processing raw meat: ground meat is an emulsion of lean meat and fat, whereas minced meat is finely chopped skeletal-muscle meat. Ground meat is consistent and smooth; minced meat is choppy and textured.

What's the difference between ground meat and mincemeat? ›

Mince is ground or finely chopped meat. Mincemeat, if referring to the mincemeat in pies, is a mixture of finely chopped dried fruit, nuts, sugar, spices and alcohol, sometimes containing minced meat, sometimes not.

Is mincemeat the same as Christmas pudding? ›

It is a Christmas Pudding, but instead of adding a lengthy list of spices, fruit, and sugars you are just adding in Mincemeat. Mincemeat, in turn, is actually made up of spices, fruit, and sugars and that is why it is a great 'substitute' in this recipe and a fantastically easy way to make this traditional dessert.

Is ground beef and mince the same thing? ›

Ground meat, called mince or minced meat outside North America, is meat finely chopped by a meat grinder or a chopping knife. A common type of ground meat is ground beef, but many other types of meats are prepared in a similar fashion, including pork, veal, lamb, goat meat, and poultry.

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