Bonnie Cash, a customer at Mrs. Rowe’s, says, “When my husband used to travel on business and was in Staunton, he always ate lunch or dinner at Rowe’s. He ate there so often that on one occasion Mildred told him she wanted to cook dinner for him and invited him home to eat. He would never eat mincemeat pie. Well, she served mincemeat pie and he ate it so as not to disappoint her. It turns out that it is also now a favorite during the holidays. I must admit he never had eaten ‘real’ mincemeat before.” This mincemeat is about as “real” as it gets. According to Grace Firth in her book Stillroom Cookery: The Art of Preserving Foods Naturally, “Mincemeat is a salute to the triumph of nature and humanity’s ingenuity in bringing it all together in pie.” Because making mincemeat is an undertaking, make a huge batch of it, keep it in the refrigerator, and make fresh pies all season long.
Recipe information
Yield
makes one 9-inch deep-dish pie
Ingredients
Mincemeat (makes about 12 cups)
Preparation
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate with 1 rolled-out crust.
Step 2
Spread the mincemeat evenly in the crust, then cover with the second rolled-out crust. Seal the edges, and cut several steam vents in the top.
Step 3
Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the crust is golden brown. Remove from the oven, brush with the melted butter, and cool on a wire rack for about 2 hours before slicing. Serve at room temperature.
Mincemeat
Step 4
Season the beef with the salt and pepper, then put it in a large pot over medium-low heat, cover with water, and simmer for about 45 minutes, until tender.
Step 5
Once the beef has cooled, coarsely grind it, along with the suet, apples, and citron. Transfer to a large bowl and stir in the raisins, currants, brown sugar, cider, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, allspice, and lemon juice. Tightly pack the mincemeat into sterilized jars and refrigerate for at least 4 weeks before using. It will keep up to 6 weeks in the refrigerator.
