MINCEMEAT PIE

MAKES TWO 9-INCH PIES

Mincemeat pie is quite an oddity to someone who has never heard of it. If I understand correctly, it originated in England. Somewhere along the line the Pennsylvania Dutch picked it up and made it often, so often that I thought it must have originated with them. We lost our recipe a long time ago because my mother started using a canned variety and I never cared much for it. She said to tell you that it has to be "Cross and Blackwell", nothing else will do. Oddly enough, that variety contains no meat. But she loved it, so I must take her word for it. As I look back on things, I probably never cared much for the original pie because it included whiskey, something for which a young person, as I was lo those many years ago, does not have an acquired taste; and second, I never liked dried or candied fruits. I can now tolerate raisins and love currants. Anyhow, I, with my mother's help, found a recipe by Jeff Smith and revised it to what we remember as my grandmother's traditional mincemeat pie. And, believe it or not, after all these years of saying "Yuck", I like it.

INGREDIENTS

1-1/4 pounds lean beef stew meat

2-3/4 pounds Granny Smith apples, cored and chopped

1/3 pound beef suet, coarsely ground

3/4 pounds dark raisins

1/2 pound dark brown sugar

1/2 cup white vinegar

1/4 cup molasses

1/2 pound currants

1/2 cup apple juice

3/4 teaspoons ground cloves

3/4 teaspoons ground nutmeg

3/4 teaspoons ground allspice

3/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 cup bourbon or rum, divided

Place stew meat in 2-quart pot; add water to cover. Bring to boil, cover, and simmer for 1 hour or until tender. Drain and put through meat grinder or processor until coarse.

Place the ground meat and the remaining ingredients, using only 1/4 cup of the liquor, in a 4-quart pot. Stir and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook gently for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and allow to cool. (Can be made several days ahead and refrigerated or frozen.)

Prepare favorite double crust for 9-inch pie. Place one-half of meat mixture into pie shell. Place remaining crust on top and seal to bottom crust. Put hole in center of top crust to allow steam to escape while baking. Repeat with remaining meat mixture or freeze for later use. Bake in preheated 375° F oven for 1 hour or until brown and bubbly. Place pie on rack. Using a funnel, pour in the remaining 1/4 cup bourbon or rum. Tilt pie back and forth to incorporate. Serve warm.

Note: I substituted more currants for the raisins.

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