Mince Meat

Seens as December is upon us, I thought I'd make the mince meat for my Christmas Eve batch of mince pies. It's good to make your mince meat early to allow it to rest for a few weeks, but, if you run out of time in the lead up to Christmas - don't panic - leave it to sit for a couple of hours and it'll still taste delicious. Making it early did give me an excuse to indulge in that festive buzz without feeling too guilty about it so go on whip out your wooden spoon! 

I love my mince meat to be nutty, full of fruit and to have a real boozy kick so I have carefully chosen the following set of ingredients... 

250g Flaked Almonds

300g Raisins

400g Sultanas 

250g Currants

2 large cooking apples (grated)

Zest of one orange 

Zest of half a lemon 

Juice of half an orange 

1 250g box of shredded beef suet 

200g Dark Muscovado Sugar 

150g Demerara sugar 

1 tsp mixed spice 

1 tsp cinnamon 

200ml Brandy  

100ml Cointreau 

You can substitute and other flavoured liquore for Cointreau - disaronno works well, or, you can simply add a further 100ml of brandy. 

To make the mince meat, simply empty all of your ingredients into a large bowl and mix. Leave the bowl sitting for approx six hours - giving it a little stir each time you pass by. After the six hours have passed, fill your sterilised or dishwashed jars with the mix. 

The meat will last for upto six months at it's best.