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Old Fashioned Mince Meat
By Deborah Johansen
One of my favorite holiday memories is making home made mince meat with Gram, Mom and the rest of the family. As a child, peeling the apples was the very best part. If you were skillful or lucky enough to peel a whole apple in one continuous, unbroken “peel”, you got to throw it over your shoulder. When the peel lands on the floor, it takes the shape of a letter of the alphabet (well, most times anyway). Legend has it that the letter formed on the floor is the first letter of the name of the person the thrower is going to marry! This, of course, would lead to wild speculation and a whole lot of fun! As an adult, the very best part of “making the mince meat” is about being together with family, making the memories and passing on the tradition. The second best part is the mince meat itself. This is an old fashioned family recipe that has been handed down from generation to generation and is the absolute best mince meat ever (in my opinion!).
Old Fashioned Mince Meat Pie
2 lbs of beef 2 quarts of sweet apple cider
¼ bushel of Courtland apples 3 to 4 cups of sugar
3 packages of seedless raisins salt to taste
1 small lemon 1 tsp of allspice
1 can of cranberry sauce 1 tsp of cinnamon
Boil beef (lean stew beef will do) in salted water and save the water. Grind the meat when cold. To every cup of ground meat, add 3 to 4 cups of ground, peeled apples. Add 3 packages of seedless raisins (we parboil the raisins until plump before we add them). Add the juice of one lemon and about 2 quarts of sweet apple cider (more or less). Add one can of cranberry sauce. Stir in 3 to 4 cups of sugar and add salt to taste. Add 1 teaspoon of allspice and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon. Cook slowly in a large pot on the stove top until soft. While cooking, add the reserved beef water as necessary if the mince meat becomes too thick. The apples turn brown when cooking which gives mince meat its brownish color. Taste often!
One the mince meat is cooked, you can make pies, eat it right from the dish, and even freeze the rest in plastic bags for later use. Some like their mince pie hot, some like it cold and some even like it with vanilla ice cream! Enjoy!
Deborah Johansen
Please feel free to contact Deborah Johansen at (877) 850-8240.
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