MRS BEETONS ORDINARY MINCE PIES

Mrs Beetons ordinary mince pies
The classic recipe from Mrs Beetons original Household Management
Equipment
- bowl
- wooden spoon
- muffin tin
- rolling pin
- knife
- table spoon
- chopping board
Ingredients
- 2 lbs raisins
- 3 lbs currants
- 1 ½ lbs lean beef
- 2 oz citron
- 2 oz candied lemon peel
- 2 oz candied orange peel
- rind of 2 lemons
- juice of 1 lemon
- ½ pint brandy
- 1 nutmeg
- Puff pastry (shop bought or home made), or filo pastry or sweet crust pastry.
- Butter
- icing sugar to decorate
Instructions
- Stone and cut the raisins once or twice across, but do not chop them; wash, dry, and pick the currants free from stalks and grit. Set aside
- mince the beef and suet, taking care that the latter is chopped very fine. Set aside.
- slice the citron and candied peel
- grate the nutmeg
- pare, core, and mince the apples
- mince the lemon-peel, strain the juice
- when all the ingredients are thus prepared, mix them well together, adding the brandy when the other things are well blended
- press the whole into a jar, carefully exclude the air, and the mincemeat will be ready for use in a fortnight. (I'd recommend that you store it in a refrigerator for no more than 5 days as it has meat in it, or you properly seal it in a sterilised preserve jar).
- Roll out the pastry to desired thickeness, allowign for it to expand during cooking.
- Cut cirles from the pastry.
- Grease the muffin trays, then insert the circles, being sure to make sure the sides come to the top of the muffin holes.
- Find willing street urchin to fill the muffin holes with your mince meat. Have them stoke the coals of the oven.
- Put a layer of pastry on top of the mince pies.
- Place in the oven and have the urchin watch them to ensure they are not over cooked.
- After 30 mins remove from the oven and show them to the urchin. Give the urchin a ½ penny and a cup of watered down gruel for their trouble. Then reflect on your lack of Christian charity, given them a crown and two mince pies.
- Cool and serve with sprinkled icing sugar.