Name: James Beard’s ‘Fabulously Good’ Mincemeat
Yield: Makes about 10 kg (22 lb)
Ingredients: 125 g (4 oz) lemon peel, treated the same way; 250 g (8 oz) shredded fresh orange peel, with as much white pith removed as possible, diced; 250 g (8 oz) shredded and diced candied citron; 500 g (1 lb, 2 cups) sugar; 125-250 g (4-8 oz) chopped figs or dates; 1 Tbsp salt; 1.5 kg (3 lb) lean brisket or rump of beef; 750 ml (one bottle) medium to sweet sherry about 1.5 litres (two bottles) brandy; 1½ tsp ground allspice; 1 tsp mace; ¼ tsp ground cloves; 2½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg; 1 Tbsp ground cinnamon; 1 kg (2 lb) dried currants; 750 g (1½ lb) beef suet, finely shredded; 1 kg (2 lb) seedless raisins; 1 kg (2 lb) sultanas; 1 ox tongue weighing about 1.5 kg (3 lb), not pickled or brined

Preparation info

Makes about
10 kg

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

The Feast of Christmas

By Paul Levy

Published 1992

About

Americans continued to use real meat in mincemeat well after it dropped out of English recipes. This is a slightly toned-down version of James Beard’s famous recipe from his Delights and Prejudices (most recent edition, with a new foreword by Barbara Kafka, 1990). (Beard adds a pint, about 500 g, 1 lb, of strawberry prese