Wonderfully easy to make in your Thermomix, magnificent mincemeat is perfect for mince pies, tarts, cakes, desserts and ice creams. In spite of the name, it doesn’t actually contain any minced meat, though older recipes from a century or more ago did. Now it’s a mixture of delicious fresh and dried fruits, suet or butter, and a little brandy. I include cinnamon and mixed spice to add warm, Christmas-spicy flavours for a magnificent result.
Mix up a batch in 5 minutes! I often use it straight away, however it definitely tastes better if you wait at least 2 days for the flavours to mature. I like it best made with fresh suet from my local organic butcher, or with butter from grass-fed cows, as these are both natural, nourishing fats. I also give a vegan option using solid coconut oil, another nourishing fat. I tend to avoid commercially produced beef suet and vegetarian ‘suet’ because they often have other ingredients.
My friend Adela Forestier-Walker, author of a 2002 recipe book for Thermomix TM21, loves to make her mincemeat with a crunch, so she adds almonds – see 6th tip.
This mincemeat keeps up to 1 year. The recipe is easily doubled or tripled, which I often do because I love to give it away in the autumn as a delicious early Christmas present! And by the way, click the link to watch me online saving an hour at Christmas, using mincemeat to make one of my favourite Christmas recipes, Mincemeat Crumble Cake. By the way, to help with your make-ahead planning, a single batch of this mincemeat recipe fills approximately 24 bite-size mince pies, or 12 mince pies 5-7 cm diameter.
This recipe is suitable for Thermomix TM6, TM5 and TM31. Easily doubled or tripled.
Method
- Thinly peel yellow zest (without pith) from half of the lemon, then grind sugar, lemon peelings, ground cinnamon and ground mixed spice 20 sec/speed 10.
- Add suet (or chilled butter or solid coconut oil), chop 5 sec/speed 6 and repeat if required until evenly chopped.
- Squeeze juice from lemon, then add lemon juice, apples and brandy. Chop 10 sec/speed 3½ and repeat if required until evenly chopped – see 2nd tip if doubling or tripling recipe.
- Add dried fruit and mix 20 sec/reverse/speed 3 (see 3rd tip if tripling), scrape down sides of TM bowl with spatula, then spoon into sterilised jars and cover with sterilised lids. Use in recipes or store up to 1 year in a cold place. Stir well before using. Once opened, keep in fridge and use within 3 weeks.