The Best Homemade Mincemeat Recipe (You’ll Never Buy Supermarket Mince Pies Again)

This week we're sharing our favourite Christmas dishes from Neven Maguire's Complete Family Cookbook Today's recipe? MacNean's Mincemeat... "Not surprisingly, my Auntie Maureen is the champion of this Maguire classic." says Neven. "Before she retired, she was a domestic science teacher in Cavan, and I don’t believe she ever had a pupil who didn’t learn how to make her marvelous mincemeat pies. Once you’ve made it yourself, you’ll never buy another jar of the stuff again." Why not make twice the amount of mincemeat and put it into some sterilised fancy jars, then wrap with a red ribbon and give a jar to your friends for a Christmas gift? MAKES ABOUT 4 X 400G (14OZ) JARS 225g (8oz) butter 350g (12oz) eating apples, peeled, cored and finely chopped 225g (8oz) raisins 225g (8oz) sultanas 225g (8oz) currants 175g (6oz) blanched almonds, chopped 175g (6oz) dark brown sugar 100g (4oz) candied citrus peel finely grated rind of 1 orange finely grated rind of 1 lemon 1 tsp ground cinnamon ½ tsp ground nutmeg ½ tsp ground cloves ½ tsp fine salt 300ml (½ pint) whiskey Melt the butter in a small pan or in the microwave. Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl and cover with a clean tea towel. Leave for 2 days for the flavours to develop, then pack into 4 x 400g (14oz) sterilised, dry jars. Seal and store in a cool, dark place for 3 weeks before use. Neven Maguire's Complete Family Cookbook (300 Life Saving Recipes for Super-Busy Parents) is available now in all good bookshops, €29.99.