Farm Kitchen Mincemeat

Some Christmas traditions have been with and on the Farm for some time–the Advent calendars, the Caroling. Others are new. Now, I know there is nothing more Christmas-ee than Mincemeat, but until just yesterday, this fare had never graced the Farm kitchen. Maybe it’s the high potential for raisins. Actually, if I’m to be totally honest, the idea of meat in a pie not totally savory sounds a bit nasty. Something in the way of Rachel’s Thanksgiving Trifle on Friends. “First, I put in the apples and the sugar, then fold in the ground lamb and onions…”

YUCK.

So, I did what I do. I changed it. In the Farm Kitchen version you will find no meat in the mincemeat. Oh, there’s a nod to be sure in the way of lard, but it ends there. And, let’s be honest, doesn’t pig fat make everything better, anyhow?

So, here it is, the new and improved Mincemeat:

Take a cup and a half lard, the same of brown sugar and put them in a stockpot. Chop one cup each of dried cherries, prunes, and apricots. Those go in the pot, too. Peal and chop six medium, fresh apples. These should be roughly the size of the dried fruit. I used Gala. Put those in as well, and turn up the heat to medium. Cook and stir until it bubbles and spirts–about ten minutes. Once it does, add a tablespoon apple cider vinegar, one tablespoon chopped skinless almonds, the zest of one orange, a teaspoon ground cinnamon, and a half teaspoon each of nutmeg, cloves, and ginger. Let this boil for fifteen minutes, stirring all the while. Turn off the stove and let it sit until cool. Once it is, add one and a half cups of good brandy, stirring it in nicely. Your kitchen should smell like Christmas itself right about now.

The mixture gets put into sterilized mason jars–it ended up filling five half-pints for me–and set in the fridge for a minimum of two weeks. Four would be better. So, if you’re going to have Mincemeat for Christmas, you best get started now.

You might be asking yourself what you can make with Mincemeat beside the obvious pie, and for some that might be enough. Here at the Farm, I plan to serve it on Christmas Eve as part of a cheese platter, sitting atop a round of warmed brie, next to wedges of baked, cinnamon-ed pie crust. But, to each his own.