Hairy Bikers Mincemeat Recipe

Prunes and sour cherries fill Hairy Bikers mincemeat, along with sherry, brandy, cardamom and an optional splash of orange blossom water. From Brilliant Bakes, one batch makes about three 450g jars in 110 minutes, or 45 servings of 30g at roughly 95 calories by my reckoning.

Their promise is that it “keeps for ages, so if you make it for Christmas, save some for Easter!” And the fruit is brought to the boil with the orange and alcohol, then stands off the heat for an hour.

The two heatings matter most to me, because the second has to be very gentle, just until the suet has melted. Then it goes into sterilised jars to cool, before it sits somewhere cool and dark for at least 2 weeks.

Hairy Bikers Mincemeat

Author: Alex Saidani Cooking Method:Simmering Cuisine:British Courses:Dessert

Difficulty:BeginnerPrep time: 30 minutesCook time: 20 minutesRest time:1 hour Total time:1 hour 50 minutesServings:45 servingsCalories:95 kcal Best Season:Summer

Description

Raisins, sultanas and finely chopped prunes, cherries and peel come to the boil with orange, sherry and brandy, then soak for an hour. Next the apple, spices, sugar and suet go in over a low heat, and the jars mature for a fortnight or longer.

Ingredients

For the fruit

• 200g raisins
• 200g sultanas
• 100g dried prunes, finely chopped
• 100g dried sour cherries, finely chopped (or dried blueberries or cranberries)
• 100g candied peel (preferably orange), finely chopped
• zest and juice of 2 oranges
• 100ml medium sweet sherry, such as Amontillado
• 75ml brandy or Kirsch

To finish

• 1 Bramley apple, peeled, cored and finely diced
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp ground cardamom
• ½ tsp ground allspice
• a good rasp of nutmeg
• 1 tbsp orange blossom water (optional)
• 250g light brown soft sugar
• 100g suet

Instructions

1. Sterilise the jars: Sterilise about 3 x 450g jars in a hot dishwasher, or wash them in hot soapy water, rinse well and dry in a low oven. And make sure they’re completely dry before filling.
2. Soak the fruit: Put the raisins, sultanas, prunes, cherries and peel in a large saucepan with the orange zest and juice. Then add the sherry and brandy or Kirsch and bring to the boil.
3. Leave to stand: Take the pan off the heat, stir thoroughly and leave it to stand for an hour.
4. Add the rest: Add the apple, spices, orange blossom water if using, sugar and suet. Then heat again, very gently this time, until the suet has melted.
5. Jar and mature: Spoon it into the jars and leave to cool before covering. Then store somewhere cool and dark for at least 2 weeks, preferably a month, before using.

FAQs

How long does homemade mincemeat keep?

There’s no exact shelf life in Brilliant Bakes, only the Easter line above. So I’d read it as roughly Christmas to Easter unopened in sterilised jars, which is my reading rather than a firm date.

Once a jar is open, I’d keep it in the fridge and use it within a few weeks, again my guide rather than theirs. And because it needs at least 2 weeks to mature, I’d make it in early November for Christmas.

Is there a quicker version I can use the same day?

Yes, in Perfect Pies they simmer raisins, sultanas, currants and dried cranberries with brandy and orange, then cook grated Bramley in for a minute. Then marmalade goes in off the heat, and the suet once it’s cold, before it fills their orange and cranberry mince pies.

It doesn’t keep like this one, though, since they give it up to a week in the fridge. So for baking through December, the jarred Brilliant Bakes batch is the one to start early.

Can you change the fruit or the alcohol?

They allow dried blueberries or cranberries in place of the sour cherries, and Kirsch instead of the brandy. And the sherry they name is a medium sweet one such as Amontillado, and the orange blossom water is optional.

They don’t mention vegetarian suet here, though in Perfect Pies they say you can buy it, and I’d expect it to swap in. But I wouldn’t drop the alcohol, since the fruit soaks in it for the full hour, and I’d expect it helps the jars keep too.

What can you make with a batch?

Up to 400g fills 24 of their open-topped frangipane mince pies, so one 450g jar covers them with a little spare. Or 100g goes over panettone in their One Pot Wonders Christmas bread and butter pudding, with optional whisky and orange curd. And that one gets an FAQ on the bread and butter pudding page here.

In Brilliant Bakes, 4 heaped tablespoons make about 28 mincemeat and marzipan twists from one pack of puff pastry. And their British Classics mincemeat lattice tart takes 500g, a little more than one jar, over a hidden disc of marzipan.

Is it the same recipe in Everyday Winners?

Yes, it also appears in Everyday Winners with the same quantities, down to the good rasp of nutmeg. And only the wording shifts slightly, so both versions ask for at least 2 weeks of maturing.

That’s the book where their frangipane mince pies point you to it, calling it really easy. And their official website’s old-fashioned mince pies describe “a traditional mincemeat”, which I haven’t been able to compare with this one.