Brown Butter Mincemeat
The ultimate homemade mincemeat! Packed full of dried fruit, spices, sugar, orange & lemon, plus there’s a generous amount of brown butter for a rich, nutty flavour. Level up your mince pies this Christmas!
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Homemade mincemeat is incredibly easy to make & SO much better than the stuff you get from the shop!
Instead of using just suet as the fat in our mincemeat (like you normally would when making traditional mincemeat), we’re using half suet & half brown butter for a subtle nutty flavour that works brilliantly with the other flavours.
Other than the brown butter, our mincemeat is kept traditional! There’s loads of dried fruit, plenty of spices & zests and a generous amount of brandy. It’s seriously tasty!
Check out our collection of Christmas recipes for different ways to use this brown butter mincemeat! There’s several different mince pie variations & even a mince pie ice cream…
What Is Mincemeat?
A mixture of dried fruit, sugar, spices, alcohol & fat, famously used in mince pies at Christmas. The high level of sugar, fat & alcohol preserves the mincemeat which is what allows it to mature for several months before using.
Traditionally, this contained minced meat, such as beef, pork, mutton or game, as well as dried fruit. Nowadays, we make it with just fruit & without meat but with suet instead.
How To Make Mincemeat
For this recipe, we first make brown butter (my guide to this can be found here) then add in dried fruit, spices, sugar, orange, lemon, apple, mixed peel, brown sugar & suet. This mixture is then cooked gently until the fat & sugar has completely melted. This coats the dried fruit, preserving it.
Once cooked, we let the mincemeat cool then stir in brandy. Adding the alcohol in when the fruit is cold means that it won’t be cooked off & lose any flavour!
Finally, we transfer the mix to a sterilised jar & leave to mature in the fridge for several months to mature before using.
Brown Butter In Mincemeat
Suet is commonly used as the fat but in this recipe we are using a mixture of suet & brown butter. The brown butter adds a super rich, nutty flavour. You’ll notice that the butter turns the mincemeat cloudy when stored in the fridge. This is normal & will look normal once cooked.
Frequently Asked Questions
This mincemeat needs to be stored in the fridge. It will keep for 3-4 months. For the best flavour, your mincemeat should be left to mature for a month or before being used.
The amount of brandy in this recipe is important as it is what preserves the mincemeat. If you’d prefer a mincemeat without a brandy flavour, add it in whilst the fruit is still hot as this will cook off the alcohol.
For the best flavour the mincemeat needs to mature in the fridge for several months. A couple of weeks will work if your short on time.
Before using, the jar needs to be sterilised. To do this, wash in hot, soapy water & rinse well. Then place into a 160°/320°f for 10 minutes. Soak any seals in boiling water for a couple of minutes.
This recipe uses butter as well as suet which makes the mincemeat cloudy when stored in the fridge. Once cooked it will look normal!
Of course! Simply use vegetable suet in place of beef.
Equipment Used
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More Christmas Recipes To Try!
- Classic Mince Pies
- Amaretto Frangipane Mince Pies
- Filo Mince Pies With Almond Streusel
- Sourdough Mince Pies With Brandy Icing
- Baileys Mince Pie Ice Cream
- Stollen Buns
If you have enjoyed this brown butter mincemeat recipe, it would mean a lot if you could leave a review & rating. And if you’d like to stay up to date with future recipes, follow us on Instagram & TikTok!
Brown Butter Mincemeat
Equipment
- 2 Litre Kilner Jar (Sterilised)
- Large Saucepan
- Microplane/Grater
- Juicer
Ingredients
- 120 g Unsalted Butter
- 200 g Raisins
- 200 g Sultanas
- 180 g Dried Cranberries
- 180 g Currants
- 1 Bramley Apple Peeled, Cored & Grated
- 80 g Mixed Peel
- 100 g Suet See Notes
- 1 Orange Zest & Juice
- 1 Lemon Zest & Juice
- 250 g Light Brown Sugar
- ½ tsp Ground Ginger
- ½ tsp Ground Cinnamon
- ½ tsp Ground Allspice
- ¼ tsp Ground Nutmeg
- 200 ml Brandy
Instructions
- Chop the butter into evenly sized pieces then place into a large saucepan. Place over a medium heat & allow to melt, stirring regularly with a spatula. Keep cooking, until the butter starts to foam, smells nutty & you can see that the milk solids in the bottom of the pan have turned golden brown.
- Remove from the heat & add in all of the remaining ingredients into the brown butter (apart from the brandy).
- Stir to combine then place over a low heat. Heat gently, stirring regularly until the suet has melted then allow to simmer for around 10 minutes. The sugar should have dissolved & the fruit will be completely covered in fat.
- Remove from the heat & leave to cool to room temperature, stirring every so often.
- Once cool, stir in the brandy then transfer to a sterilised jar.
- Allow to mature in the fridge for at least a week before using. Leaving it for a couple of months is best.
