Homemade 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! This traditional Christmas pie filling is made with dried fruit, festive spices, candied citrus peel, orange & lemon zest, brown sugar, grated apple & brandy. It’s sweet, rich, full of flavour & a classic English Christmas ingredient. Of course it’s good in mince pies but mincemeat can also be used to make tarts, crumbles, ice cream & lots more!
So traditionally, mincemeat is made with suet which gives it a rich flavour, silky texture & because suet is 100% fat, it also helps preserve the mincemeat which means that it will keep for several months, if not a whole year! However, for this batch of homemade mincemeat, we’re going to be using 50% suet & 50% brown butter. The brown butter adds a nutty, caramelised flavour to the mincemeat which complements the spices, sugar & fruit perfectly. And because we’ve cooked the water out of the butter, replacing some of the suet won’t affect how long the mincemeat keeps for.
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. For a traditional choice, try our classic mince pies!
What Is Mincemeat?
Mincemeat is a traditional festive pie filing that’s made with a mixture of dried fruit, sugar, spices, alcohol & fat and is famously used to make 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, old fashioned mincemeat would have contained minced meat, such as beef, pork, mutton or game, as well as dried fruit. Nowadays, we make it without meat & with just fruit instead!
What You’ll Need
- Dried Fruit – We’re using a mix of raisins, sultanas, currants & dried cranberries! If you like, you can add in chopped dried figs, apricots, dates or sour cherries as well, just make sure that the total weight of dried fruit stays the same.
- Spices – Mincemeat is flavoured with warming, festive spices. Think cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg & allspice.
- Suet – Suet is the traditional fat used in mincemeat. Either beef suet or veg suet will work, it’s up to you!
- Butter – We’re using unsalted butter, which we’re going to be making into brown butter by cooking it on the stove.
- Sugar – Light brown sugar adds a rich, treacly flavour to our homemade mincemeat.
- Citrus – You’ll need candied mixed peel for this mincemeat, as well as orange & lemon zest and juice.
- Apple – We’re adding grated apple to our homemade mincemeat, for extra flavour & fruitiness. Feel free to leave this out if you’d prefer though. I used a Bramley cooking apple but an eating apple will work instead, if you’d like some extra sweetness.
- Brandy – Mincemeat tends to contain alcohol, as it helps preserve it & adds extra flavour. I used brandy but rum, whiskey, amaretto or Kirsch will all work instead.
How To Make Homemade Mincemeat
Brown butter mincemeat is really easy to prepare & is made pretty much the same way as regular mincemeat. The only difference, is that we need to cook the butter in a pan first, to brown it then we add the rest of the ingredients in & cook to melt the suet & sugar. This ensures that all of the fruit is coated in fat & sugar, which preserves it!
Once cooked, we let the mincemeat cool then stir in the brandy (or whatever alcohol you’re using). 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.
Mincemeat Step By Step
- Add the butter into a large saucepan then cook over a medium heat, until it smells nutty & you can see that the milk solids in the bottom of the pan have turned a deep golden brown.
- Take the pan off the heat then add in the dried fruit, sugar, spices, citrus, grated apple & suet.
- Set the pan over a low heat then cook the mincemeat, stirring regularly until the sugar has melted. This will take around 5 minutes.
- Next, continue cooking the mincemeat over a low heat for another 10 minutes or so, until the sugar has dissolved. The fruit should be evenly coated in the fat & sugar.
- Once cooked, take the pan off the heat & let the mincemeat cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally.
- To finish, stir brandy into the mincemeat then transfer to a sterilised jar. Leave to mature in the fridge for at least a month before using.
Frequently Asked Questions
Homemade mincemeat needs to be stored either in the fridge or in a cool dark place (like a pantry) & will keep for at least 4 months or even up to a year. For the best flavour, your mincemeat should be left to mature for a month or so before being used. Once opened, make sure to store homemade mincemeat in the fridge.
Yes, homemade mincemeat can be made without alcohol but it won’t keep for as long because alcohol is what preserves mincemeat. Alcohol free mincemeat will keep for up to 2 months when stored in an airtight container in the fridge.
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 though.
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.
As brown butter mincemeat is made with butter & suet, it can look cloudy when stored in the fridge. Don’t worry though, this is normal & once cooked it will look regular mincemeat!
Yes homemade mincemeat can be made to be suitable for vegetarians. Simply use vegetable suet instead of beef suet.
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
Watch How To Make Homemade Mincemeat
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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 the pan 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.
- Cook the mincemeat gently, stirring regularly until the suet has melted then allow to cook for around 10 minutes. The sugar should have dissolved & the fruit will be completely covered in fat.
- Next, take the pan off the heat & let the mincemeat cool to room temperature, stirring it every so often.
- Once cool, stir in the brandy then transfer the mincemeat to a sterilised jar.
- Let the mincemeat mature in the fridge for at least a week before using. Leaving it for a couple of months is best.
