Seeking a Perfect (Meat) Mince Pie Filling

[Coote]

G'day...

I've digressed from sausage experimentation lately. I find that filling casings can be a bit tedious, rather expensive, and somewhat unnecessary for some occasions. I intend getting back into sausage manufacture when I've harvested some more skins. Meanwhile I continue to mince (grind) some of the meat that I have in the freezer.

I'd like to be able to make excellent ground venison pies.

Tonight I ground up some venison and browned it in oil along with some finely chopped onions. I added flour, pepper, salt and a bit of dried basil...then added a minimum amount of water to allow the mix to simmer without burning on the bottom of the pot. It tasted fairly good, but I want to do better.

If anybody has any suggestions as to how to make an irresistable minced venison pie mixture, I'd love to read them. I'm particularly interested in getting a firm, maybe glutinous texture....and a great flavour of course.

Many thanks in advance.....Coote in NZ (where it has been almost too hot lately to eat a hot meal).

[Bad Flynch]

Well, I'm unfamiliar with NZ history and even more so with NZ cooking habits. However, here in the U.S. mincemeat pies were made, long ago, with real meat. People usually made them with a pie-filling type mincemeat made with a cheap meat like neck meat. The pies so made were spicy and sweet, like today's faux-mincemeat versions.

I have my Grandma's real mincemeat recipe, but when I tried to make it years ago, it was a flop. The problem is that it was written in a day before the standardization of quantities into (for the U.S.) measuring cups, measuring spoons, etc. It turned out a little weird, as I recall

I am repeating it here for the benefit of all:

Grandma's Real Mincemeat Recipe

2 Bowls ground suet
2 Bowls ground neck meat (beef, I think, but it could have been pork)
3 Bowls chopped apples
2 Bowls raisins
4 Bowls sugar
1 Bowl vinegar
1 Bowl of Sorghum
1 Pint of canned cherries
1 teaspoon full each of ground nutmeg, cloves, and cinammon --plus a little extra of each, maybe 1/2 teasoon to really spice it up. The extra here is an amount to translate all the older measurements into new style. Nowadays 1 teaspoon full is 5 ml.
1 teaspoon full of salt

Note: 1 Bowl is a term for an old-fashioned restaurant soup bowl. Sorghum is sorghum molasses, a molasses made from various Sorghum species, principally Sorghum bicolor, sometimes also called Milo. The old-fashioned sorghum molasses was dark and more strongly flavored than modern incarnations. In the southern part of the U.S., sorghum molasses is well thought of as a covering for hot biscuits.

Boil the meat until tender. I am assuming one then adds the rest of the ingredients, and simmering an hour. After it is made, it can be "stretched" when making pies by adding an additional chopped appler per pie.

Hope that helps.

[earl grey]

I had a good success making a rich ragu for pasta - would have thought it would transfer well as a pie filling

50pct venison / 50pct beef about 30% fat - which was lean chuck and about 1/3rd very fatty brisket. Pass all the meats through the coarse plate of a mincer twice.

I then blitzed carrot/onion/garlic/few sticks of celery to give a similar sized mix as the meat. Sweat the veg mix off in a drop of olive oil - add the meat, brown over a low heat. Season with s and p and whatever herbs. I then added a botle of red wine (reducing the wine by almost 50% prior to adding to the meat is a useful tip) and some stock. Cook on a low heat for at least an hour and a half.

[Coote]

Thanks guys...those ideas are good food for thought. I will keep them in mind next time I have an attempt at making some decent pie filling.

That is a great old recipe from Grandma - a good insight into the past. I'm not always 'big' on exact measurements anyway, so I'm not bothered about not having an exact conversion. Dang....that's a heap of sugar....

Much appreciated. Thanks for sharing.

[Lee]

I've had pies that sound a little like Bad Flynch's recipe in Morroco, with a lot of cinnamon in them, they were absolutely delicious, and I think the only sweet meat product I've ever tasted. Don't have a recipe though, so not much use, sorry!

[Rivermute]

I have had good results mixing 40pct Pork and 60pct Venison as well as a few slices of non smoked bacon. Caramalize some carrot, oinons/leeks and celery and add to the mix. My grandfather would also "thicken as necessary with a small amount of oats but that would be optional. I usually just use S &P, sage and thyme as my herbs ( a little fresh paresly doesn't hurt). A few dashes of Oyster Sauce (the good stuff) can make a huge difference. Simplicity seems to be key.

It really depends on the venison. A lot of the wild stuff I get here varies from season to season depending on what the deer have been eating. Sorry I can't give you exact measurements but when it comes to pies I tend to eyeball it.

[Coote]

Thanks for the further good ideas.

I really enjoy cinnamon on things like doughnuts...it has never really occurred to me to use a lot of it in a meat dish. It would be worth trying.

Simplicity and 'eyeball' measurements appeal to me. I don't want to be dependent on following somebody else's recipe every time. I've also recently become aware of how good oatmeal can be in a meat loaf or sausage, so it doesn't surprise me that somebody has used it in a pie filling.

Much appreciated.... happy new year.... Coote.

[Bad Flynch]

I got a copy of a 1929 Heller's processing/curing/recipe and seasoning book. Got mine from Abe Books, used.

I saw at least two recipes in there for mincemeat. It is a really neat book, so you might want your own copy.

[Oddley]

There is a Heller book online from 1922 at:

http://www.archive.org/details/secretso ... 00bhelrich

It's called:

Secrets of meat curing and sausage making : how to cure hams, shoulders, bacon, corned beef, etc., and how to make all kinds of sausage, etc., and comply with all pure food laws (c1922)

Quite an interesting book. I don't know if it's the same one Bad Flynch was talking about though.

[TJ Buffalo]

That's an interesting link, Oddley, thank you for posting it.

[Bad Flynch]

>I don't know if it's the same one Bad Flynch was talking about though.<

It is the same book; it was published for many years in many editions.

Great link! It is a real service to the board.

[Oddley]

Thanks guys, but I really can't take credit for this one, it was originally posted on the forum by this41uk at:

http://forum.sausagemaking.org/viewtopic.php?t=3197

[Coote]

Thanks very much !!