Venison Mincemeat

 My middle stepdaughter got her deer this season (her first!). We are very happy for her. Her freezer is getting pretty full, since both she and her boyfriend like to hunt. So she gave us some venison for our freezer. And I was delighted to be able to cook some of it up for this recipe.

I'm actually not a mincemeat eater...altho I made mincemeat cookies for my dad every Christmas until he died, and he loved them. I plan to make either mincemeat cookies or small pies with this recipe, for some friends who love mincemeat. I cut back on the amounts in the recipe, as it clearly makes a big batch. I also studied up on beef suet and chose to use vegetable shortening instead, adding in beef stock to make sure there was plenty of moistness for the venison. The donor says this recipe comes out of "an old cookbook, All Maine Cooking, by Ruth Wiggin and Loanna Shibles" and so I found it amusing to read the ingredient portions: "one package golden raisins" "1 jar red jelly." It makes for a great guessing game: what size is the package or jar?! 

No worries, I've learned from this cookbook that when in doubt, compare the recipe to a modern recipe, and then sort of blend the benefits of each recipe, to make it work. This is what I chose to do with the mincemeat. I compared the recipe to two others that I found to be similar.  I also chose to use some "Stinky Foot Cranberry Apple Jelly" (see blog) for the "red jelly" and added a bit of brandy, because, well, why not?! Very pleased with the results, and I'm sure my friends will enjoy this mincemeat.

This recipe completes the Pies & Crisps chapter. It has been literally a "treat" to try out all of the recipes in this chapter. The Worcester Family Blueberry Buckle and the Blue Ribbon Blueberry Pie (see blogs) tied for my favs.




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