Fresh Picks

Old-Fashioned Mincemeat Family Recipe

Makes 2 pies or several mini pies

Ingredients

- 8 oz. brown sugar
- 2 cups white sugar
- 1 cup vinegar
- 1½ Tbsp. cinnamon
- 1 tsp. cloves
- 1 tsp. ginger
- 2 oranges
- 8 cups apples
- 2½ cups cooked leftover roast meat (optional)
- 1 tsp. salt
- 2 cups raisins

Directions

1. Combine the brown sugar, white sugar, vinegar, cinnamon, cloves, and ginger in a large pot on the stovetop. Heat and stir until the sugars are completely dissolved.

2. Grind the oranges, apples, raisins, and cooked roast meat, if using. Grinding is optional—you can leave the ingredients chopped if you prefer to see and taste the individual pieces.

3. Add the ground or chopped ingredients and salt to the sugar-and-spice mixture. Continue cooking until everything is well incorporated and the apples are beginning to soften.

4. Spoon the warm mincemeat filling into prepared pie crusts.

5. Bake at 350°F for approximately 30 minutes, or until the crust is baked and golden.

Family Recipe Note

Traditional mincemeat was a way to use leftover cooked roast meat, so the meat should already be fully cooked before adding it to the recipe.

For a fruit mince pie, simply leave out the meat.

Other Uses

If you grind the ingredients, the finished mincemeat filling can also be used to make mincemeat cookies or mincemeat cake.

Preserving

The cooked filling can also be packed into jars for preserving. If the recipe contains meat, use an appropriate tested pressure-canning recipe/process rather than water-bath canning.