What have OcUK'ers made for xmas already?

[Col_M]

Just wondering if any of you have made a start on your xmas grub?

I imagine that those of you who are making fruitcakes or puds have done them a good while ago and have been drip feeding them brandy

I just knocked up a batch of mincemeat and am letting it sit overnight, I didn't have any nutmeg though (I thought I did) so I'm off to Tesco tomorrow to get some. I just used this recipe. I replaced the veg suet with beef suet as I have no veggies to worry about. I'll be heating and jarring it up tomorrow, then I should have just over 1.5kg of nicely matured mincemeat for loads of mince pies.
I can't stop going over and sniffing it, it smells so good!

 

[Col_M]

I stuck it in the oven for a few hours at 120C to stop it fermenting when stored, then jarred it up with an extra splash of brandy, this is what I have now...

1.6kg of home made mincemeat

It not only smells amazing it tastes spot on too, it'll be even better when December comes around and it has matured

 

[Col_M]

This is the first time I've tried it too so I pretty much followed the recipe. I did add a little extra brandy though so we'll see how it is when I open the jars in December, I should have a better idea of any improvements then.

As far as how straight forward it is, it's dead simple, the mincemeat is just a case of throwing everything together, so is sweet shortcrust pastry, assembling the pies is easy too, just a spoonful of mincemeat between 2 disks of pastry in a pie/tartlet tin. For the minimal effort it's well worth it I think.

I'd make the mince now though so that it can mature for a month or so.

 

[Col_M]

It should either be in the baking section or with the dried fruit and nuts I'd assume.