Round steak and tart cherries are included in the list of ingredients for mincemeat pie.
| Prep Time: | 45 mins |
| Cook Time: | 2 hrs 55 mins |
| Additional Time: | 7 days |
| Total Time: | 7 days 3 hrs 40 mins |
| Servings: | 8 |
| Yield: | 1 (9-inch) pie |
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ pounds round steak, cut into small pieces
- 1 cup apple cider
- 4 Granny Smith apples – peeled, cored and finely diced
- 2 ½ cups dried currants
- 2 ½ cups raisins
- 1 (16 ounce) jar sour cherry preserves
- 1 ⅓ cups white sugar
- ½ pound chopped candied mixed fruit peel
- ½ cup butter
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 (16 ounce) can pitted sour cherries, drained
- 1 (14.1 ounce) package double-crust pie pastry, thawed
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon white sugar, for sprinkling
Instructions
- Combine steak and cider in a Dutch oven. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Cover and cook until steak is tender, about 20 minutes. Remove steak to a cutting board; coarsely chop, then return to the pot.
- Stir in apples, currants, raisins, cherry preserves, 1 1/3 cups sugar, mixed fruit peel, and butter. Add ginger, cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt. Simmer, uncovered, over low heat until mixture is very thick, about 1 hour 30 minutes. Stir in cherries and remove from heat.
- Transfer filling to a container and allow to cool at room temperature. Cover tightly and refrigerate for at least 1 week before using.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
- Line a 9-inch pie dish with 1 pastry crust. Spoon filling into crust and cover with second pastry crust. Crimp edges and cut several slits into top pastry. Brush with cream and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon sugar.
- Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown, about 45 minutes.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 1106 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 181 g |
| Cholesterol | 80 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 9 g |
| Protein | 21 g |
| Saturated Fat | 16 g |
| Sodium | 521 mg |
| Sugars | 82 g |
| Fat | 38 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
I did make it… Followed the posted recipe as closely as possible. Unable to find currants, I used a mix of dried dates and dried cranberries as a substitute. Not sure why the recipe calls for reserving the liquid from the sour cherries (then never has it used). Turned out pretty good. Wasn’t too difficult. The recipe made enough for two pies. I baked one pie and froze the rest of the mix for another pie.
This is a great pie to make, but it takes planning. A bit of advice for the next baker, for the round steak, ask the butcher to grind it up like hamburger (run through grinder 3 times). This will save you a huge step and eliminate the chopping after cooking the meat. I also recommend making your own candied citrus peel. This is another step in advance that can take 2-3 days for the peel to dry, but well worth it. I used a combination of grapefruit, lemons, limes and oranges. There are many recipes on-line and best way to peel the fruit is to use a kitchen potatoe peeler to take the peel off the fruit, otherwise it is a challenge, now that I did it the other way. Enjoy!
I have never had real mincemeat pie before so I wanted to try this, and am very glad I did. The taste was so much better than the stuff in the jar. I would recommend serving it warm with whipped cream on top.
I have a questions about this pie before making/rating it; hopefully, someone knows the answer. The recipe says to make the mincemeat several weeks in advance and a couple reviewers said they did so a month ahead. My question is this: does the meat get preserved in all the sugar and fruit? I worry about the meat spoiling from being in the frig that long. Thanks for any help you can give.
In the past, I detested mincemeat because I have only had the kind that comes in a jar. This time, I decided to try to make some from scratch, as my son and daughter-in-law asked me to for their Victorian style Christmas dinner (they are experimenting with old-fashioned meals; they no doubt thought that Mom should experiment, too). I chose this recipe because it was rated highly–I found out for good reason! Wow! This recipe has changed my mind about mincemeat! While I didn’t have all the ingredients (I used ground venison instead of beef, used good sipping brandy instead of apple cider–increased the amount of brandy by another half cup, and used chopped up tart dried cherries instead of the cherry preserve), it nevertheless came out tasting great! I am now a fan of mincemeat pie, and will make this great recipe again. Oh, and I gave my son and daughter-in-law a sample and their response was, “Oh wow! These pies are unbelievable! Can’t wait to have more!”
My husband loves mincemeat pies. I cannot even stomach the thought of one, and almost gagged when I opened a store bought jar of the stuff. I found this recipe and decided to try it. I followed some other reviews and made it a month ahead of time and doubled the recipe. I made no other changes. It smelled wonderful when I would stir it weekly. I made traditional mince pies (mini pies) for Thanksgiving and only made a dozen, thinking no one but my husband would eat them. I was so wrong! They were delish! Hearty, spicy and sweet! I made another two dozen and had plenty of mincemeat left over for Christmas. I froze the rest of the mincemeat and made another two dozen for Christmas. This is now a regular recipe for us. Thanks so much for giving us a new and delicious family tradition!
I made this pie for my parents on Thanksgiving. They love mincemeat pie but. I one has made it since my grandma passed away! This did not taste like hers but several times that day my dad commented how good the pie was! It certainly is. Or a cheap pie to make but it. Was worth seeing the smiles my parents had on their faces!
I ended up making the candied orange and lemon peelfrom scratch (other stuff full of chemicals). I saved the orange syrup and added 1/2 cup to the mincemeat mixture then reduced the white sugar to 1 scant cup. OMG so deeeelish. This pie has a wonderful full, rich flavor. I can’t stop tasting it.
I don’t know much about mincemeat pie, but I do have to say this recipe was scrumptious!
This is an excellent recipe, although it seems to make more than one pie, and it certainly takes longer than 40 minutes as stated on the side. The preparation times within the recipe are accurate, though. The cherries really make it! I have gradually substituted blue berries and cranberries for the candied fruit, raisins, etc. as long as you have the cherries it works. My family and colleagues at work all love it!
My son now refuses to come home from college for these holidays unless he gets this pie. For both Thanksgiving and Christmas. And I send him back with mini-pies (using giant muffin foil tins and lots of plastic wrap, it gets through TSA). He loves this pie. He wants to marry this pie. Demand is growing and my friends, family, coworkers are expecting this too. I’m going to have to mix it in the bathtub this year. Don’t worry about the meat, it adds flavor and texture, but this is dessert, not at all like chomping on a steak. Though a slice will do me quite nicely for lunch :). If you have trouble finding the ingredients, I get my peel, cherries, and currants from nutsonline. I also make it a month ahead and stir it every few days, adding a dash of brandy every few days (to the pie mix, not me, well, usually not me). I’ve successfully frozen it too for longer keeping. 2 weeks to pie-day!
I have been using this recipe for about 7 years now. Each time I use this recipe, it gets better each year. I don’t think I have ever had a complaint. My success in this recipe is, instead of letting the mincemeat ferment for a week, I usually let it set from 2 weeks to a month instead. At the very end of the cooking part, I do pour some Brandy in (for flavor).
I am not one to eat mincemeat pie, but my father does. He loves mincemeat pie. I tried this recipe and told him he was my guinnea pig, because I don’t usually do any baking (from scratch or otherwise). He said it tasted pretty close to non such mincemeat pie. I would use this recipe again.