Classic Delia Smith mincemeat is a rich mix of Bramley apples, suet, dried fruit, candied peel, dark brown sugar, spice and brandy. One batch fills six 350ml jars. You stir it together, leave it overnight, then give it 3 hours in a very low oven, with about 30 minutes of hands-on work.
Her website says the recipe was first published in 1974, and Delia’s Happy Christmas (2009, page 70) still prints it. The low oven solves an old problem, she explains: the apples used to ooze juice in the jar, and the juice started to ferment. When the suet slowly melts, it coats all the fruit and seals the juices in.
Packed into sterilised jars, the mincemeat keeps in a cool, dark cupboard, though Delia thinks it is best eaten within a year. Unopened jars keep for more than 3 years, her website adds. If six jars is too many, make half, as her 2009 note suggests.
This mincemeat is her mince pie filling, and a 400g jar of mincemeat is also the base of her quick Christmas cake.
Delia Smith Christmas Mincemeat with Brandy
Dark, spiced and fruity, with sharp Bramley apple, citrus zest and slivered almonds, all sealed in melted suet.
6 jars
servings12
hours30
minutes3
hours50
kcalIngredients
- For the mincemeat:
450g Bramley apples, cored and chopped small (no need to peel)
225g shredded suet
350g raisins
225g sultanas
225g currants
225g whole candied peel, finely chopped
grated zest and juice of 2 oranges
grated zest and juice of 2 lemons
50g whole almonds, cut into slivers
4 teaspoons ground mixed spice
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
a whole nutmeg, for grating
6 tablespoons brandy
Directions
- Mix: Put everything except the brandy into a large mixing bowl, grating in some nutmeg. Stir and mix very thoroughly.
- Stand: Cover the bowl with a clean tea towel and leave it in a cool place overnight, or for 12 hours, so the flavours can mingle.
- Heat: Heat the oven to 120°C, fan 100°C, gas mark ¼.
- Bake: Cover the bowl loosely with foil and put it in the oven for 3 hours.
- Cool: Take the bowl out. The mincemeat will look as if it is swimming in fat, which is just how it should look.
- Stir: Stir it from time to time as it cools, so the fat sets around the fruit instead of staying in tiny shreds.
- Brandy: When it is quite cold, stir in the brandy.
- Jar: Pack it into sterilised jars, cover with wax discs and seal.
Notes
- Her Complete Cookery Course (1992, page 621) peels the apples and grates in half a nutmeg.
FAQs
What can I use instead of beef suet?
Vegetarian suet works in Delia’s mincemeat, her 2009 note says, and her website adds that butter can replace the suet too.
Her Complete Cookery Course also has a separate Vegetarian Mincemeat from the Food Aid Cookery Book, with no animal fat and no added sugar. It needs no oven: dried bananas, apricots, grated apple and creamed coconut are mixed with brandy and packed into jars.
Can I leave out the brandy?
Yes, you can make and jar the mincemeat without the brandy, her website says. When you use it, stir in a spot of orange juice, or apple, prune or red grape juice, if it needs it.
If you do add it, Delia’s tablespoon is an old-fashioned 20ml one, so the 6 tablespoons come to 120ml.
How long does it take in a slow cooker?
About 4 hours on low is right for the mincemeat in a slow cooker, or 3½ hours for a half batch, her website suggests. Check that the fat has melted, the fruit is plump and the apple has softened.
Why is my mincemeat dry?
Delia’s mincemeat is much firmer than bought mincemeat once it has cooled, her website explains. To keep in more moisture, cover the bowl tightly with the foil. Keep the full 3 hours, though, because the long, slow cooking softens the fruit while the apple cooks.
How do I sterilise the jars?
Wash the jars and lids in warm soapy water, then rinse and dry them with a clean tea cloth, her website says. Then heat them on a baking tray in the oven for 5 minutes at 180°C, gas mark 4.
Let the jars cool until they are just slightly warm before you fill them.
Why has the juice sunk in the jars?
Sunken juice can mean the mincemeat was still hot when it went into the jars, her website says. A space at the top does not matter, so just stir it when you come to use it.
How do I make it with cranberries?
Swap some of the apple for 450g of fresh cranberries, as her Winter Collection (1995) version does to make the mincemeat sharper. It uses 225g of Bramleys instead of 450g and fills five 0.5-litre jars.
She called it her standard recipe in that book, and it bakes for the same 3 hours at 120°C.
