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Minced Meat for Pies
Chopped beef (the neck
does very well if boiled very tender—any part
should be thus boiled), 5 cups; suet (uncooked),
chopped, after freeing it from the membrane and
stringy portions, 2 cups; stoned raisins, unchopped,
3 cups; English or dried currants, and cherries, if
you have them, each, 1 cup; brown sugar, 5 cups;
nice cider, 6 cups; or, if no cider is to be had,
water, 31/2 cups, and good vinegar, 21/2 cups; but
these are not equal to the cider; citron, chopped, 2
cups; cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, mace, allspice
(all in powder), and salt, each, 1 table-spoonful
(more of all, or any one of these spices, or salt, if
desired, on tasting); the grated yellow and juice of
2 lemons; nice, tart, chopped apples.
Directions—As this amount will make more than
many families will wish to bake into pies at one
time, for
each 2 cups of this mixture that you wish to bake
take 3 cups of apple, as above, and mix nicely,
and if not as juicy as desired (and mince pie to be
good needs to be quite juicy), put in cider to suit,
or its substitute as above, and bake with light,
porous crusts, the "filling" meat being not less than
a plump half to three-fourths of an inch in
thickness, so it may be said of the cook, as it often
is when she cuts her bread pretty thick, " You
would make a good step-mother, " which will be
as great praise as can be bestowed upon her, and
if she does it all nicely, she will deserve it.
Remarks. —Some people will have brandy or wine
in their mince pies, let such put in 1 cup of brandy,
or 2 cups of wine, into the above amount. It is each
one's privilege to suit themselves, or the demand
of the majority, or the head of the house, as the
case may be. What is not baked up when made,
pack nicely in jars and cover well with cloths and a
plate with a light weight upon it, or other cover,
not adding the apples only as used, as the were
keep better without.
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