HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1984-12-05, Page 58Christmas Gift Guide -23 .
t pie dessert
aditional favorite
In Victorian times, the mincemeat filling
itself was usually made weeks or even mon-
ths in advance and, lacking refrigeration,
was preserved by being packaged in small
jars which were tightly covered by a paper
soaked in brandy or other spirit.
Today, unfortunately, there has been a
further change in the preparation of
mincemeat, and the ingredient often lacking
is the one for which it was named — the
meat, itself.
If you'd like to try mincemeat the way it
was made in Queen Victoria's day, the
following recipe, adapted from Eliza Ac-
ton's original by 'Lorna Sass for her unique
volume, Christmas Feasts from History
(Irene Chalmers Cookbooks, Inc.) is a good
place to start.
Included from Sass' volume is the recipe
for Superlative Mincerneatand the one for
Mince Pies Royal.
SUPERLATIVE MINCEMEAT
Makes 11/2 quarts or 23/4 pounds
2 large lemons
2 small tart apples, pared, cored and grated
2 cups raisins
2 cups dried currants
Generous 1/4 cup coarsely chopped citron
Generous 14 cup coarsely chopped candied
orange peel
2 cups (1/z pound) loosely packed grated beef
kidney suet
1 tablespoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon mace
3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup brandy
1/4 pound lean round beef, ground (optional;
See note)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. -
In a small saucepan, cover the lemons
with water. Bring to a boil and simmer for
20 minutes. Remove the lemons, cut them in
hall and remove the pits. Chop the lemons
finely.
In a bowl, combine the remaining ingre-
dients together and mix them very well.
Press the mincemeat into large sterile
jars with tight -fitting lids and store them in
a cool place until needed. Should the
mincemeat at any time seem dry and
crumbly, perk it up by stirring in more
brandy.
NOTE: This recipe makes enough for 2 fl-
inch covered pies or about 3 dozen Mince
Pies Royal (see following recipe). If you
plan to bake the mincemeat in pies or tarts,
you will find that adding the meat at the last
minute enriches the flavour. If you do this,
do not plan on storing the mincemeat for
more than a few days in the refrigerator.
MINCE PIES ROYAL
Makes 12 31/2 -inch tartlets
1 pound Superlative
preceding recipe)
10 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice
Grated rind of 2 lemons
1/4 cup clarified butter
8 egg yolks
3 egg whites
FOR THE SHORT CRUST:
2 tablespoons sugar
Scant 2 cups flour
11 sticks (6 ounces) chilled butter, cut into
bits
2 tablespoons ice water
In a bowl, combine Superlative
Mincemeat with 6 tablespoons of sugar, the
lemon juice, lemon rind, clarified butter and
egg yolks. Blend well and set aside.
To prepare the crust, combine the flour
with the sugar in a bowl or in a food pro-
cessor. Cut the butter into the flour until the
mixture resembles oatmeal. Rapidly blend
the ice water into the flour and knead brief-
ly.
Lightly grease 12 tartlet shells. On a light-
ly floured board, roll out the dough until it is
about 2/3 inch thick. (You may fold the dough
a few times, envelope fashion, as for puff
pastry, but this instruction in the original
recipe does not seem worth the effort). Cut
out circles and press them into the tartlet
shells, making sure to patch up any holes.
Spoon some mincemeat into each shell
and bake for 20 minutes. When the filling is
set, beat the egg whites with the remaining 4
tablespons of sugar until stiff. Spread this
meringu Ver each tartlet and bake for 25
minutes lonitr, Remove the tartlets from
the oven and cobl them on a rack for about
10 minutes. To remove them,from the tins,
run a knife along the edges and gently pry
them out.
Mincemeat ( see
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