Mincemeat pie, also known as mince pie, originated in Britain, and in its early years was known as mutton pie, shrid pie, and Christmas pie. Mincemeat is a mixture of fruit, distilled spirits, spices, suet, and beef. For centuries the sweet and savory pie has been an English tradition at Christmas. English settlers brought the recipe to New England in the 17th century. Since the Puritans didn’t celebrate Christmas the pie’s association with the holiday shifted to the American holiday of Thanksgiving.
Recipe Servings: 8
Prep Time
15 minutes
+ 48 hours resting
+ 48 hours resting
Cook Time
1 hour
Total Time
49 hours 15 minutes
Vegetarian
Vegan
Gluten Free
Dairy Free
Kosher
Halal
Ingredients
Filling:
- 2 cups beef suet, finely chopped
- ¾ cup currants
- ¾ cup (about 3 oz) rump steak, finely chopped
- ½ cup raisins
- ½ cup dark brown sugar, packed
- 2 Tbsp brandy
- 1½ tsp candied citron peel, chopped
- 1½ tsp candied lemon peel, chopped
- 1½ tsp candied orange peel, chopped
- 1 tsp fresh lemon juice
- ¼ tsp grated nutmeg
- 1½ granny smith apples, cored and finely chopped
- ½ lemon, grated zest
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
Crust:
Directions
- Filling:
- Combine the beef suet, currants, rump steak, raisins, dark brown sugar, brandy, citron peel, lemon peel, orange peel, lemon juice, nutmeg, apples, and lemon zest in a large bowl and mix well.
- Transfer mixture to a 1-quart jar with a lid. Refrigerate for at least two days, but not more than two weeks.
- Crust:
- Mix together the flour and salt in a large bowl.
- Add the butter. Rub and pinch the butter into the flour using your fingers to coat the butter pieces and form small pea-sized balls.
- Create a well in the center of the mixture and add the water, mixing it together using your hands.
- Pull away walnut-size pieces of dough and smear them using the heel of your hand. This technique is called fraisage, and it helps produce flaky layers.
- Form the flattened pieces into a ball. Split the ball in half and form it into two disks. Wrap each disk separately in plastic wrap and chill them in the refrigerator for 2 hours.
- Remove the plastic wrap from the dough and place the dough on a floured surface. Roll a floured rolling pin from the center of one of the dough disks to the edge rotating the dough until the circle is an ⅛ inch thick and 12 inches in diameter. Repeat this process with the second disk of dough, but make it only 10 inches in diameter.
- Wrap the larger dough around the rolling pin and lift the pin over the edge of a 9-inch glass pie pan. Gently unroll the dough over the pan. Lightly press the dough into the bottom and sides of the pan.
- Assembly:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Add the filling to the pie crust, spreading it evenly.
- Brush the pie’s rim with water and unroll the second dough sheet over the pie.
- Press down on the rim lightly to adhere the top crust to the bottom crust. Trim off any excess dough using a paring knife. Fold the edges under to form a thick edge.
- Crimp the edge of the crust by placing two fingers on the crust’s outside rim while placing one finger on the inside and pressing outward to form a V.
- Brush the top of the pie lightly with water or egg wash.
- Bake the pie for about 60 minutes or until it’s golden brown. If the crust appears to be browning too quickly, cover it with strips of foil.
- Remove the pie from the oven and let it cool before slicing and serving.
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