Page 91 - All About History - Issue 72-18

On the Menu

ROYALMINCE

PIES

Ingredients

For the Mince: orange ground O 142g rum
O 454g cooked O 170g candied cinnamon O 142g brandy
beef lemon O 454g sugar O 142g port
O 454g beef suet O 1/3rd teaspoon O 226g stewed
O 454g raisins ground pears For the Pastry
O 454g currants nutmeg O 226g stem O 225g flour
O 170g candied O 1/3rd teaspoon ginger in syrup O 115g butter
citron ground cloves O 2 oranges O 4-6 tsp milk
© Thinkstock
O 170g candied O 1/3rd teaspoon O 2 lemons O 1 tsp sugar

A SWEET MEATY TREAT WORTHY OF QUEEN VICTORIA BUCKINGHAM PALACE, 19TH CENTURY

METHOD
he origins of the mince pie – once
containing literal mince meat, often tripe
or tongue – are distinctly Medieval, but 01 To prep: chop/mince the beef and suet into small 05 Empty the dough onto a lightly-floured work surface

Tduring the mid-18th century this meat pieces, do the same with the candied lemon, orange and knead until smooth and elastic. Roll out the
feast was given a sweet touch as plantations and citron. Grate the orange and lemon zest and pastry to a thickness of 1cm and cut into discs using
on Britain’s Caribbean colonies made sugar squeeze out the juice, discarding the pips. Chop the an upturned bowl. Place a mug in the centre of each
more affordable and more widely available. stewed pears and ginger into small pieces. disc and draw the sides of pastry up against it to

Charles Elmé Francatelli, Queen Victoria’s 02 Mix all the ingredients for the mince together in a make the case.
chef from 1840 to 1842, recorded an large bowl using your hands or a wooden spoon 06 Divide your mincemeat mixture evenly between the
indulgent royal recipe in which the roast for a minute or so until the ingredients are evenly pastry cases.
beef was accompanied by raisins, currants, distributed. Transfer the mixture to a saucepan and 07 Roll out the remaining dough again and using the

suet, candied citron, orange, lemon, spices heat over a very low heat for three to five hours, mug, cut eight lids. Place each lid on top of its pie
and sugar, stewed pears, preserved ginger, stirring occasionally. and pinch the pastry together to prevent leakage.

grated orange and lemon rind and juice, one 03 Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6. Using a knife, cut a cross or a pattern into the top of

bottle of rum, one bottle of brandy, and two 04 Sift the flour into a large mixing bowl and add each lid to allow steam to escape.

bottles of port. It would be another two the butter in cubes. Rub the cubes into the flour 08 Place the pies onto a baking tray and bake in the
decades before meat was seen as an optional using your fingertips until it has the consistency oven for 20 minutes, or until the pastry is golden-
ingredient with the legendary Mrs Beeton of breadcrumbs. Gradually add a tablespoon of brown. Remove the mince pies from the oven and
outlining a meat-free mince pie in her 1861 water at a time to the pastry mixture until it comes cool on a wire rack.

book Household Management. together as a stiff dough. 09 Eat, and have a very Merry Christmas.

Did you make it? Let us know! www.historyanswers.co.uk /AllAboutHistory @AboutHistoryMag 91