18th Century Neats-Tongue Mince Pie - Recipe Adaptation.

So, I embarked on the lengthy and interesting journey of making a neat/beef/ox tongue mince pie from the eighteenth century.  As mentioned in the last entry, I adapted the recipe for “A Mince Pye” from Elizabeth Raffald’s 1769 book The Experienced English House-keeper.  

Here I am just presenting the modernized recipe. In the coming days, I will recount the adventures of cooking the tongue, the candied peel and misadventures with period pie crusts. Please read the notes after the recipe. 

Recipe: 

Enough for 4 standard pies or cook and use later. See notes. 

• 1/3 (about 1 lbs.) of a beef tongue, boiled, skinned, chopped fine.  See notes. 
• 1 lbs. (454g) beef suet 
• 1 1/3 lbs. (605g) currants 
• 1/3 lbs. (151g) raisins, chopped as much as you can  
• 1/3 lbs. (151g) white sugar 
• 1/6 oz (about 2 tsp) mace 
• 1/6 oz (about 2 tsp) nutmeg 
• 1/12 oz (about a tsp) cloves 
• 1/12 oz (about a tsp) cinnamon  
• Candied peel to taste (I happened to make 22g)  
• 1 lbs. (454g) dessert apples (I used Pink Lady), chopped fairly small
• 1/3 pint (¾ cup) lemon juice. Some recipes called for fortified wine or brandy. 
• Pie pastry for 4 standard pies or individual pie equivalents

Instructions:  

Chop apples last and combine with lemon juice to keep from browning.  Other than that, simply combine all the ingredients in a very large mixing bowl.  Refrigerate until your pie dough is rolled and ready. 

Roll out pie dough, place in pie plate, fill with mince. Roll out a lid and place on top. Crimp sides as desireed. Alternatively cut out muffin-tin sized circles, press into tins and fill.  Cut and roll out lids or make lattice or festive shapes with rolled dough.   

For full pies, cook in preheated over 375F for 15 minutes, turn oven down to 350F and bake an additional 30 - 35 minutes or until golden.  

For individual pies made in muffin tin, bake at 400F for 15 - 20 minutes.

Notes:  

Couple of warnings.  First, this is a lot, I did a third of what the period recipe called for because I had about a pound of suet but it still made enough for four (4) ten-inch pies.  Along the same lines, to maintain the ratios of the period recipe, I only used a third of the tongue I got.  The meat is great and I used it well but, if you want it just for this recipe, another cut or a butcher that would get you part of a tongue would be useful.   If you have a full tongue, you both it for about three hours and then skin it. 

Second warning, a number of these processes are new to me and this is more of an experiment than instruction though all versions tasted good, to me at least.   

I ended up using a basic pie dough after trying a large pie with a period recipe for puff pastry as called for in Raffald’s pie.  You can read about some of the struggles there in later entries.  

Possible modern adjustments: 

The mix is loose and wet after baking compared to modern mincemeat.  You could add flour or corn starch.  Or cook the mix out before you bake it.  Cooking the mix would also allow you to can or freeze it for later, which would be helpful considering how much I made.  

The spicing was intense for some.  Using 3/4 of the measurements might work. I might cut back on the sugar slightly or use an apple that is more tart.