Skip to main content
Main

Mince Meat

A preserved beef dish with suet, currants, raisins, citron, apples, spices, cider, molasses, and butter, boiled and jarred.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 19 ingredients
Jump to recipe ↓

Why it works: Cinnamon and nutmeg match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 11,917 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓

Mince Meat

Ingredients

Directions

Cook the beef

  1. Boil the beef in enough water to cover it.

  2. Remove any scum that rises when it reaches boiling point.

  3. Add hot water as needed until the beef is tender.

  4. Remove the lid, add salt, and boil until almost dry, turning the meat in the liquid.

  5. Let the beef cool overnight.

  6. Remove gristle and chop the meat finely.

  7. Mince the beef suet at the same time.

Prepare the fruit

  1. Wash and dry the currants and raisins.

  2. Slice the citron thinly.

  3. Prepare the apples.

Mix and cook

  1. In a large pan, combine the chopped meat, suet, currants, raisins, citron, apples, spices, lemon juice and rinds, salt, pepper, and sugar.

  2. In a porcelain kettle, mix the boiled cider, molasses, and butter.

  3. Combine with the other ingredients and boil for 10-15 minutes.

  4. If not moist enough, add a little hot water.

Pack and store

  1. Pack the mixture into jars when cool.

  2. Pour molasses to a thickness of ⅛ inch on top and seal.

  3. This will keep for months.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Cinnamon + nutmegtop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together11,917 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  2. Cinnamon + clovetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together14,189 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).

  3. Clove + nutmegtop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together8,686 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  4. Cinnamon + gingertop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together6,380 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  5. Clove + gingertop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together6,038 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Beef
Provides the meaty body and rich savoury base of the mincemeat.
Beef suet
Adds fat that keeps the filling moist and gives a rich mouthfeel.
Sugar
Sweetens the mixture and helps preserve it during storage.
Molasses
Adds dark sweetness and depth of flavour, and helps preserve the filling.
Tart cooking apples
Contribute moisture and acidity that balance the sweetness of the fruit and sugar.
Raisins
Add concentrated sweetness and chewy texture.

The step that matters

Boil until almost dry. Cooking the meat in its liquid until nearly dry concentrates its flavour and keeps the filling from becoming watery. Letting it cool overnight lets the meat firm up so it chops cleanly.

Swap the currant

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, raisin, apple, cinnamon, clove, ginger, nutmeg):

  1. Figfits better
  2. Orangefits better
  3. Quincefits better
  4. Currantthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against beef, raisin, apple, cinnamon, clove, ginger, nutmeg. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

More mince meat recipes

Pie Filling 11Pie 10with Apples 9Preserved 8Apple 7Mock 7 See all 183 →

You might also like

Lemon SauceLemon Sauce236 recipesRoast BeefRoast Beef211 recipesBeef LoafBeef Loaf175 recipesCorned BeefCorned Beef87 recipes