Mincemeat Tart

Name: Mincemeat Tart
Yield: 20 servings
Cuisine: Baking
Ingredients: 1 lb (500 g) seeded raisins; 1 lb (500 g) currants; ½ lb (250 g) finely-ground beef suet; Rind of 2 lemons; ½ lb (250 g) candied orange peel; ½ lb (250 g) candied citron; 12 oz (375 g) white granulated sugar; 2 lbs (1 kg) green apples, peeled; ½ tsp (3 mL) nutmeg; ½ tsp (3 mL) cinnamon; ½ cup (120 mL) brandy or rum; 1 Tbsp (15 mL) salt; Shortcrust pastry dough, homemade or store-bought; Milk; Egg (optional)

Mincemeat is a spiced fruit preserve that does not in fact contain meat, although it may contain animal suet. The name is a throwback to Middle English from when "meat" was a word for all food, or to Victorian and earlier recipes that did combine minced lamb or beef with the spiced, preserved fruits. Mincemeat Tarts are large (8 inch (20cm) diameter or more) open pastry tarts, sometimes with a lattice pastry top, and occasionally also containing baked or stewed apple. The smaller pastry topped tarts traditionally served at Christmas are known as Mince Pies.

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Ingredients

Makes

1 lb (500 g) seeded raisins
1 lb (500 g) currants
½ lb (250 g) finely-ground beef suet
Rind of 2 lemons
½ lb (250 g) candied orange peel
½ lb (250 g) candied citron
12 oz (375 g) white granulated sugar
2 lbs (1 kg) green apples, peeled
½ tsp (3 mL) nutmeg
½ tsp (3 mL) cinnamon
½ cup (120 mL) brandy or rum
1 Tbsp (15 mL) salt
Shortcrust pastry dough, homemade or store-bought
Milk
Egg (optional)

Ingredients for 20 servings (3.2 kg) · the original recipe

Method

1
Mincemeat: Wash and dry currants. Set aside.
2
Put citron, orange peel, lemon rind, raisins, apples, and suet through a meat grinder using the coarse grinder blade.
3
Mix in the currants, brandy, and spices.
4
Store in a tightly-covered plastic container in the refrigerator (do not freeze) for up to 1 year.
5
Assembly: Let the pastry warm slightly to almost room temperature. Place on a floured cutting board and roll it out as necessary.
6
Use a doughnut cutter with the center removed or a 2½ inch round cookie cutter to cut out tart shells. Gently press into 1½-inch (4 cm) tart pans.
7
Fill shells with mincemeat and top with a 1-inch (2.5 cm) round piece of pastry cut with the doughnut hole cutter. For added decoration, cut or press a design into the 1 inch pastry round before placing in the center of the filled tart.
8
Lightly brush the pastry lids with milk, or a mixture of milk and beaten egg.
9
Bake at 425 °F (220 °C) for approximately 20 minutes or until pastry is lightly browned at the edges.
Oven
10
Allow to cool on a wire rack, and dust with icing sugar.

Recipe from Wikibooks Cookbook, written by Wikibooks contributors. Used under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence; the ingredient list and method on this page are taken from that page and edited (its notes, tips and variations are not reproduced), and are available under the same licence. The macros, equipment tags and scaling are Ma Kitchen’s own and are not the source’s figures. Ma Kitchen is not affiliated with or endorsed by Wikibooks Cookbook. Copied on 2026-11-12.