Mincemeat ??

[HappyCamperTent]

Hey, does anyone make their own mince meat for mince pies?

Please do you have a good boooooozy!! Recipe?!

Also, how far in advance do/should you make it?

thanks!

Delia's mincemeat is so easy and delicious.
www.google.com/amp/s/www.deliaonline.com/recipes/books/delias-happy-christmas/home-made-christmas-mincemeat%3famp

Make anytime between now and Christmas.

Yes I do.

I’ve started soaking my fruit in booze this weekend. (I make mincemeat, Christmas puddings and Christmas cake).

I generally follow Delia’s recipe but will sometimes change things slightly depending on what I have available. (Sometimes use figs, sometimes dates, cherries etc.).

I’ll start making it anytime between now and stir up Sunday depending on time available.

https://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/books/delias-happy-christmas/home-made-christmas-mincemeat?amp

That recipe sounds great. I'll give it a go

Yes Delia’s. but I double the booze 😀

Yes, this. Delia's is tasty and very easy.

Brilliant! Thank you!… I’ll double the booze too 🤣

Probably a really stupid question!… So you use a similar recipe for the pudding/cake/mincemeat?

Sorry, another stupid q about the Delia recipe… She says no brandy before cooking. But do you just put it in at this point? Or follow the recipe to the letter?

Hi, it’s not a stupid question. We all have our own way of doing things.

I soak large jars of mixed fruit/peel in brandy (or whiskey or gin) for a few weeks and those form the basis for most things.

When I make up the puddings I measure out the fruit and the add the suet, sugar, breadcrumbs etc. and then steam.

Same for my cakes but I will continue to feed the cake booze every week in the run up to decorating. (More booze the better).

For the mincemeat I again use the soaked booze as a base, add suet, apple etc and the do the cooking. Once all the ingredients are “cooked”, I’ll stir in a bit more brandy before putting into the warm jars.

I use Nigel Slaters recipe for Christmas Pudding.

I tend to change my cake recipe. I’ve used Delia’s, a Nigella Recipe one year a Hairy Biker - just depends on my mood/Google success.

I don’t follow anything to the letter 🥴

We do all do things differently! I do follow Delia's mincemeat and pudding recipes to the letter. Both pretty straightforward and have always yielded delicous results. Must be 40 years now since I first used the pudding recipe and not much less for the mincemeat.

Thank you!!

Delia's mincemeat recipe is great. Buy real whole peel though not the ready chopped stuff which is horrible.

On that I disagree. I did that once and didn't feel the extra effort was worth it. Having said I follow the recipe to the letter, I now remember I don't do that bit, I just use ready chopped mixed peel, and I also use ground almonds, not laboriously blanched and chopped/sliced almonds!

I made my Delia's mincemeat today (well it's mingling overnight) - raisins and currants are not appreciated in the Candles household so are replaced with dried cranberries and cherries. I added hazelnuts as well as almonds as the packet had been sitting on the golden syrup tin and had got sticky. I don't think you can spoil mincemeat.

not a recipe for making mincemeat but for using it...

Mary Berry's mincemeat loaf cake makes a gorgeous alternative to fruit cake

https://www.maryberry.co.uk/recipes/baking/mincemeat-loaf-cakes

I use the Mary Berry special mincemeat. I hate mixed peel so replace that with more dried fruit. I’ve just got all the stuff to make it this week.

I always make a big batch of Delia’s (you can Google it) - easy and delish.
I shall be making it soon, if I’ve got enough jars.

I make my own using nigellas recipe that requires apples, my brother has an apple tree so it’s a great way to use those up and I usually make it mid to late October.

Always make a batch of mincemeat. I love it for mince pies but also add to apples in crumble or stuff apples with it. And mary berry’s mince meat loaf is so delicious and easy. I make a different one every year. Nigel slaters was lovely, no suet or butter so you can eat it raw and it’s delicious on a cheese board like a chutney.

I also make the delia recipe. However after storage I find it is dry so each time I use some to make a batch of mince pies I decant the mince meat into a bowl and loosen it with more brandy......

Oh yes. I find I have enough mincemeat from last year for this year's pies and they will be getting a top up. Brandy for mincemeat, rum for the pudding. Those are my rules.

When I’ve used up old mincemeat that’s a bit dry, about half a teaspoon of fresh orange juice just before adding the pastry lid works v well. (I have occasionally used 2 year old ‘shop’ mincemeat - still otherwise fine.)

Talking of pastry lids, when making a lot for the Gdcs’ school Christmas fair a couple of years ago, I found that a pastry star on top, instead of a full ‘lid’ is a lot less of a faff and ends up looking more professional than my lidded efforts usually did. Also uses less pastry!

I use an old GH recipe for the puds. So much nicer than any shop ones, to us anyway - not so dark, dense and heavy. People who don’t usually like Christmas pudding often really like this one. Smells gorgeous while mixing it up, too! So Christmassy.