I recently took an online class taught by The Regency Cook in association with the Regency Town House in Brighton and Hove, England. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. If you have the opportunity, you may want to check out his other class offerings for yourself.
I mentioned mincemeat in two of my novels (The Silent Governess and An Ivy Hill Christmas) so I thought it was time I actually tried to make mincemeat for myself.
If you are repelled by the thought of meat pie, don’t go to England. (Mostly kidding, but meat pies of various sorts are still popular there—pasties, anyone? And if you see a sign in a British bakery or café advertising “pie,” don’t start dreaming of cherry or apple. It will most likely be some sort a savory pie with meat and potatoes or turnips.)
Our instructor shared some interesting history of the mince pie before showing us how to make our own. In Medieval through Elizabethan times, mincemeat was made of shredded meat with dried fruits and spices like mace and cloves. Thankfully for modern palates including my own, mincemeat no longer includes meat. No one knows exactly when the transition took place but Mr. Couchman told us “…in the Georgian period, mince pies became ever sweeter as sugar became cheaper, and lost much of their meat. The process continued throughout the 1700s and 1800s.” He also pointed out that the mincemeat recipe in Eliza Acton’s Modern Cookery for Private Families (1845) includes ox tongue, while Mrs Beeton’s Household Management (1861) originally gave two recipes for mincemeat, one with and one without meat (although later editions included only the latter).
Nowadays, the only trace of meat in mince pie is the suet (or lard) and even this can be replaced with vegetable shortening. The recipe our instructor chose for the class was a relatively simple one based on a handwritten recipe from the 1830s: Lemon Mince Pies (without meat). These were seen as a “lighter version suitable for refined tastes.” Even though this particular recipe doesn’t have the spices you might expect, it is still very flavorful.
Two of the main ingredients of mincemeat are difficult to find in the U.S.: suet and currants. Authentic currants are rare here so I ordered “Zante currants” (a type of mini raisin) online. I didn’t want to spend the time and money to import suet, and had read that lard or shortening were good substitutes. I chose lard, in a nod to the former meat in mincemeat. The recipe Mr. Couchman gave us was by weight but I attempted to figure equivalents in “cups” using an online calculator. I’ll include both in case you’d like to try the recipe. (He shares a larger yield version of this Lemon Mince Pie recipe on his website so I believe it’s all right to share with you here, full credit to Paul Couchman, with U.S. equivalents by me.)
- 1 lemon
- 167 grams of currants (or 1 1/4 cups Zante currants)
- 167 grams suet (or scant 3/4 cup lard or shortening)
- 140 grams sugar (about 5/8 cup)
- 1 tablespoon candied orange peel, chopped (I like it so increased it to about 1/4 cup)
- A few chopped almonds (I used a few tablespoons)
Squeeze the lemons, reserve the juice. Put the lemon halves in a saucepan filled with water. Bring to boil. Drain. Fill with water again and boil the lemon skins until butter soft. (May take an hour or so.) Drain again. Finely chop lemons. Put the lemon in a saucepan together with the sugar, currants, suet (lard or shortening), candied orange, reserved juice, and almonds. Heat gently until the suet is completely melted. Bring to a boil and stir frequently. Use immediately for mince pie filling or put without cooling into sterilized jars for later use.
For the crust, our instructor made pastry using 125 grams (1/2 cup) butter, 250 grams (1 3/4 cup) flour, a pinch of salt, and a few tables of water. I struggled to get the consistency right, even after allowing it to chill. Let’s just say I won’t be winning the Great British Bake Off any time soon.
I didn’t have his special patty tins, so I used muffin tins and baked at 350° F (180° C) for 25-30 minutes. Thick pastry notwithstanding, the mince tarts were very tasty. My husband even liked them and he detests raisins. (I referred to them only as currants. Please don’t rat me out. :))
This time, he witnessed a scene very different than the grumbling of the night before. There sat Jamie, cutting out stars of dough to top the small mince tarts the cook was making. Mrs. Nettleton stood at his shoulder, clucking her approval. “I use plenty of cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg in my mince pies,” she said. “They represent the gifts the magi gave to the Christ child.””
—An Ivy Hill Christmas by Julie Klassen
What about you—have you done any historical cooking? Would you try (or have you tried) mincemeat pie? Either way, I wish you a happy and blessed Christmas!
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You brought back memories for me, Julie! My grandmother used to make her own mincemeat every December for pies. I loved it! I remember that she used suet but no meat. I haven’t had mincemeat that good since then.
Oh, good. Thanks, Lynn. Glad you enjoyed the flashback. 🙂
I cracked up at the “please don’t rat me out,” Julie! I’m so impressed that you took the class and made the tarts and filling. I have a picky-eater husband, but he DOES like raisins, er, um, currants! 😏
I don’t know if this is “historic” but it’s MY history, so I’m going to count it: I make my pie crusts from my grandmother’s recipe. It’s an oil and ice-water recipe and makes a wonderfully flakey crust. If I try to sneak any other type of pie crust under my fillings, my hubby immediately calls me out. And really, Grandmother’s crust is so quick and easy, there’s no reason to use anything else!
Hee hee. Good one, Deb. And I’ve heard of the ice-water recipe. I should try it sometime.
Impressive! And what a cool class to be able to take!
Thanks, D! It was fun and oddly relaxing to watch someone else cook.
No ratting out going on here! Thanks for the laugh and a cool recipe! My mom used to always make mincemeat pies when I was growing up. I guess she stopped because we would never eat them. Well done! Merry Christmas!
Ha ha. Thanks, Angie. That reminded me: my mom used to make spritz cookies which took a lot of time, and none of us liked them. She finally gave it up, too.
Julie I am very impressed. As someone (British) who is gluten free, I make my own mincemeat. I use Delia Smith’s recipe. She uses a mix of currents, raisins and sultanas (I used golden raisins when I lived in the US). I have frozen and hand grated lard, or grated butter would work too, although would make the mincemeat richer.
Well done.
Aww…thanks, Debb! I will have to check out Delia Smith’s recipe in future.
Thank you for this fascinating article about mincemeat pie. While I’ve never made one, I remember tasting one. Since it was not my favorite, I never attempted one myself. However, I do think it’s interesting to know what’s in one. Your photos and descriptions were most helpful. Have a blessed Christmas!
You are so welcome, Suzanne. Glad to know you enjoyed the post.
My mom and grandma used to make mincemeat cookies at Christmas time. I remember liking them 😊
Thanks for commenting, Sandi!
My mother would make pear mincemeat to can, and she would use it in pies. It wasn’t my favorite, but she was always proud of her efforts. I wish I could have some now!
Pear mincemeat sounds interesting. I like pears, so I’d probably like it. And yes, what I’d give to have some of my Mom’s cooking again, too.
I live in south central PA and mincemeat pie is still very popular. I do enjoy it but not my favorite. I just finished reading “An Ivy Hill Christmas”. Really enjoyed it, and the Honeycroft Honey-Spice Biscuits (cookies) are delicious. Thanks for sharing the recipe. Eating the biscuits and drinking tea while reading your book was delightful.
Thank you, Ruth. So glad you enjoyed the book and the biscuits!
Since my hubby is from England I have made mincemeat pie. I’ve also made mincemeat bars. I have cheated and bought the mincemeat in a jar from a store. I’ve even found some boxed mincemeat that you add water to. I think I might even have some in the cupboard so I could make something.
I make mincemeat pie fron a prepared filling by Nonesuch, as did my mom. She and my husband are the only ones who ate it
I like fruitcake, so no doubts I would like mincemeat as well, especially in pastry crust! Yes, I’ve tried some historical baking of the WW2 era. Due to rationing, there are lots of substitutes for white sugar – aka brown sugar, honey, molasses, fruit juice – and shortening instead of butter. The results are tasty, but not nearly as sweet to our modern tongues. Although to be honest, the mashed potato cookies weren’t half bad! Even my reenactor buddies liked them. Good for you in trying to bake like your characters!