Just the mere mention of the word "mincemeat" tends to send shivers down people's spines.
Like fruitcake, mincemeat pies have a bit of a bad reputation, although I think it's unwarranted. Last year's Christmas dinner culminated in a dense slice of mincemeat pie drizzled with hard sauce and this year at Thanksgiving, my aunt brought her version of my grandmother's mincemeat pie recipe.
Opinion differs on how and why exactly mincemeat was originally created. Some people claim that in the Middle ages, mincemeat was a way of preserving meat without the use of salt, using instead alcohol, fruit and spices. Others insist that it was more out of frugality that the fruits were added, in order to stretch a small amount of meat further. Either way, over the centuries, the meat became a less crucial element in favor of more fruits and the dish went from being a savory main course to a sweet dessert.
Today mincemeat is typically made from a combination of apples, nuts, dried fruits like cherries, currants, sultanas and raisins, citrus peel, and a blend of spices like cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice. Some recipes include brandy and/or rum. Classically, mincemeat also includes beef suet. Suet, for those who don't know, is raw beef fat that is found around the loin area or the kidneys. Most jarred mincemeat that is available in grocery stores, however, does not use suet. Instead, they often use vegetable fat.
You can make mincemeat at home, although it's widely available at supermarkets around the holidays. In addition to the obvious pie, mincemeat can be used in cakes, little individual tartlets, muffins, and sticky buns. There are recipes out there for mincemeat soufflés and even mincemeat ice cream.
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I love mincemeat so much it makes me want to cry just thinking about it. This year I made the pies myself for the first time. I followed the recipie out of Gourmet Cookbook, and it was good, but it wasn't the spectatular pie my grandmother always made. For Chirstmas I will fiddle around to get it like hers. More alcohol is the key I think.
Of course, as much as my husband and I loved them, it didn't matter. His family refuses to even try a piece, and my family just like pumpkin more. I pity them.
I love mincemeat. I usually make a variety of little desserts for our annual Christmas get together and one that gets snapped up first are my little mincemeat tarts. Friends always say... "this is mincemeat!" Good stuff.
For a lighter filling for a pie,or pies, try adding a small tin of apricots, in unsweetened juice, to the mincemeat.
Ahhhh, mincemeat pie!! I love it. Sadly, I brought one in the other day for a tree trimming party at work, only for a number of people to scoff at it and other's to simply say they did not know what it was!! The good thing is there more for me...she says whilst savouring another bite.