Mince Pies

Description

This section is from the book "The Boston Cooking-School Cook Book", by Fannie Merritt Farmer. Also available from Amazon: Original 1896 Boston Cooking-School Cook Book.

Mince Pies

Mince pics should be always baked with two crusts. For Thanksgiving and Christmas pies, Puff Paste is often used for rims and upper crusts, but is never satisfactory when used for under crusts.

Mince Pie Meat I

4 lbs. lean beef

2 lbs. beef suet Baldwin apples

3 quinces

3 lbs. sugar

2 cups molasses 2 quarts cider

4 lbs. raisins, seeded and cut in pieces

3 lbs. currants

1/2 lb. finely cut citron

1 quart cooking brandy

1 tablespoon cinnamon and mace

1 tablespoon powdered clove

2 grated nutmegs 1 teaspoon pepper Salt to taste

Cover meat and suet with boiling water and cook until tender, cool in water in which they are cooked; the suet will rise to top, forming a cake of fat, which may be easily removed. Finely chop meat, and add it to twice the amount of finely chopped apples. The apples should be quartered, cored, and pared, previous to chopping, or skins may be left on, which is not an objection if apples are finely chopped. Add quinces finely chopped, sugar, molasses, cider, raisins, currants, and citron; also suet, and stock in which meat and suet were cooked, reduced to one and one-half cups. Heat gradually, stir occasionally, and cook slowly two hours; then add brandy and spices.

Mince Pie Meat II

5 cups chopped cooked beef

2 1/2 cups chopped suet

7 1/2 cups chopped apples

3 cups cider

1/2 cup vinegar

1 cup molasses

5 cups sugar

3/4 lb. citron, finely chopped

2 1/2 cups whole raisins

1 1/2 cups raisins, finely chopped

Salt

Juice 2 lemons Juice 2 oranges 1 tablespoon mace

Mix ingredients in the order given, except brandy, and let simmer one and one-half hours; then add brandy and shavings from the rind of the lemons and oranges.

Cinnamon

Clove

Allspice

2 tablespoons each

2 nutmegs grated

2 tablespoons lemon extract 1 teaspoon almond extract 1 1/2 cups brandy

3 cups liquor in which beef was cooked

English Mince Meat

5 lbs. raisins, seeded

5 lbs. suet 5 lbs. apples 4 lbs. citron 1 1/2 lbs. blanched almonds finely chopped

5 lbs. currants

5 lbs. light brown sugar 1/2 teaspoon mace 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 2 1/2 cups brandy

Cook raisins, suet, apples, citron, currants, and sugar slowly for one and one-half hours; then add almonds, spices, and brandy.

Mince Meat (Without Alcoholic Liquor)

Mix together one cup chopped apple, one-half cup raisins seeded and chopped, one-half cup currants, one-fourth cup butter, one tablespoon molasses, one tablespoon boiled cider, one cup sugar, one teaspoon cinnamon, one-half teaspoon cloves, one-half nutmeg grated, one salt-spoon of mace, and one teaspoon salt. Add enough stock in which meat was cooked to moisten; heat gradually to boiling-point, and simmer one hour; then add one cup chopped meat and two tablespoons Barberry Jelly. Cook fifteen minutes.