Victorian Mincemeat With Actual Meat 

Days before Christmas and so close to One Million Subscribers! Thank you all for your support.

I love old laws that never get repealed. There is a story of a student back in the 1970s at some old English university (Oxford I think) who in the middle of his exam stopped writing and demanded a mug of ale and some bread and cheese. When asked why he thought he could demand such a thing, he produced a copy of some ancient by-law saying that all students could demand this during an exam. The examiners conferred and someone was sent to get it for him. Later he got a letter from the examiners board saying that he had failed the exam because, quoting another ancient by-law, "he had forgotten to wear his sword".

This is how my grandmother made mincemeat pretty much exactly. I never touched it but my grandpa was all about that life every year for Christmas. I think it is oddly neat that my grandma's way of making it matches this, it kind of shows how things get passed down. She was born in 1929, so likely some elder in her life taught her how, and they would been from the victorian era. Neat!

Something I've noticed is that, not only is max killing it with the historical aspects of these videos. But his delivery is just outstanding! Not only are these videos interesting. They're just fun to watch as well.

My grandfather and I used to make mincemeat every year together for the holidays. In truth the only flaw this has if you asked my grandfather would be that there is a recipe. The recipe varied each year by what was cheapest in the store and what sounded good to try. He would make it all the way back in the 30s and 40s with his mother and I had the special privilege to make it with him. Honestly it's been two years since his passing and we haven't made it for three years but I just kind of want to do it again for the simple joy and thrill of the memories.

Years ago, my father and brothers cleaned out a house that had belonged to a recently deceased great-uncle. Along with the usual antiques, etc, one of the things they brought back was a jar of c. 100 year old mincemeat. Everyone was terrified of eating it except my father, who was renowned for eating absolutely anything, and he proceeded to bake it into a pie and devour the whole thing while the rest of the family sat around anxiously waiting for signs of incipient demise. Supposedly it was the best mincemeat ever, and the copious amounts of alcohol it contained rendered it harmless even after a century or more.

The tudors always look vaguely disappointed in their portraits I appreciate their honesty

My Southern grandmother always made some mincemeat pies for the holidays, along with all of her other fabulous baked goods. I haven't had any mincemeat pie in at least 50 years. My grandmother was what many might describe as a simple farm wife, matriarch of a large family of seven. If she'd been born in a different decade I feel certain she'd have been a famous baker or a famous fashion designer. People in her community hired her to make their holiday baked goods because they were so perfectly delicious, often made with goods grown on her farm, cream from their dairy eggs from their chickens, flour milled from their wheat, home churned butter, etc.. I used to love to watch my grandmother make biscuits which she did at least once a day every day of the week except for Sunday. She'd made biscuits so many times that watching her make them was almost like watching someone dancing. There was a Grace and real beauty in watching her do that simple task. There wasn't one wasted movement and it was so effortless the way she flicked the circles of dough up into her palm after she'd used the biscuit cutter and how her well worn hand laid them in perfectly spaced sequence on the baking trays. Just beautiful. My grandmother could sew anything she could envision or that anyone showed her a picture of. Her daughter's had fabulous outfits all through the 30s and 40s, clothing that they still talked about well into their 80s. Clothing that was handmade. Sewn on a beautiful treadle sewing machine or sewn by hand with teeny tiny little stitches. My grandmother loved fabrics of different textures colors and weights.. when she passed away she had an entire closet full of unused fabric. It's interesting to think how her life might have been different if she'd have been born in a different decade however she had a full and happy life, was well loved and respected which is actually much more important than ever having been famous. RIP Granny J, love you still.

My mom always made it with spices, meat, apples and raisins. When I started eating it premade I was surprised to find the lack of actual meat.

The best mincemeat I ever had was an old neighbour of mine who kept her mincemeat for years and every year added another cup of brandy. It was magnificent.

Oh yay!! Last December I requested a mincemeat episode and you wrote back, saying it would have to wait till next Christmas season. You didn't forget. Here it is! 😊 I love your channel. I'd subscribe thrice more to get you to a million. 💗

Max takes the expression “Dinner and a show” to a new stratospheric level! Thank you for showing us the connections between what’s on our plates and world history!

I went to a wedding about 13 years ago between two people in their 90s. They told the story of how they'd met. Jim having been widowed twice, and missing some good home cooking, was shopping alone. He approached a woman and her friend and asked where he might find mincemeat. One of the women, Dorothy, took pity on him and directed him not only to the jar in question, but also to her home where she made him a pie, and they fell in love.

“If you ever read a recipe that begins ‘they’re safe to eat,’ make something else!” We love you, man!🤣

"Featuring a mother giving her child a sip of wine" to the modern day Uncle giving you a sip of beer or your dad with a sip of Whiskey, some things never change...

"She had it comin'!" - this is why we 💗 you Max 😂

Even back in the early 1980's my mum still made mincemeat with beef suet (ie beef fat) in it. I miss both her and her mince pies so much.

My nan use to make her mincemeat about a week into the new year. She'd bottle it up, seal it with wax and leave it in the airing cupboard near the water heater. Then she'd ignore it for about two years. That's how she'd rotate it and any mincemeat left over would go in to the next batch. Best mincemeat I ever had, I wish I had that recipe but she never wrote anything down.

It's sad that Max was so careless as to eat so much of a mince pie at once. Doesn't he know how dangerous those things are? He will be fondly remembered.

I live in a care home, and one of the cooks here is clearly of some middle eastern ancestry, and he made mince pies a few weeks ago for us, and they had a high meat content. It tasted quite odd and first, but I persevered and really enjoyed a second one... the flavour sort of resembled a not very sour sweet and sour meatball. While I enjoy the traditional English version that is meat-free (well, apart from the suet) this new version was a pleasant change. Were I ever to go back to cooking for myself I will try making some for myself! I was told by my mother years ago that if you can't get suet, then a 50-50 mix of lard and butter frozen and grated works as a substitute. Although in the US you can get "Atora" brand suet from stores that supply the British ex-pat community and Amazon!

My Grandma, who was born in London in 1886, taught my Mother how to make Christmas pudding and mincemeat. In both cases the fruit was put through a meat grinder so that everything blended together really well. Suet is still something that can be had here in Canada. You could probably ask your butcher for some, but remember to grind it well!

"The Puritan hated bear-baiting, not because it gave pain to the bear, but because it gave pleasure to the spectators." -Thomas Babington Macauly, also explaining why Cromwell hated those perfidious mince pies.

This recipe was almost exactly what my grandmother prepared every fall right after the beef and hog butchering were completed on their farm. She canned the results, and made pies for the next year from the results.

My mom always makes a mincemeat pie for my dad at Christmas (none of the rest of us eat it). It was something that his family always had but instead of beef, they made it with minced venison.

If you’re planning on keeping the mincemeat for a long time, with or without meat, it’s important to slowly warm the mix up to melt the suet so it covers all the fruit - especially the apples - to seal it all in, before putting it into sterilised jars. If the fruit isn’t sealed in suet, it will ferment and go off. I take this from Delia Smith’s Christmas recipes 😁

If anyone deserves to hit the million mark it's you, Max!

I don't think I'd actually like living in Victorian times, but boy do their images make me think of Christmas more than any other historical era.

That *CHOMP* in the subtitles at the end is the cherry on top of another delightful episode!

the filling would get better the longer you leave it like a salami, a lot of these kind of heavy spiced fermented stuff was a way to preserve without a fridge but almost by accident they are also tastier because of the fermentation, like salamis that hang at room temp or cheese stored outside of a fridge just gets better, I do it

I love that you keep managing to throw in the word "bedight." It always makes me smile! Thanks for all the work you do to educate us about food history!

"Ox tongue or roast sirloin...I know which one I'm choosing..." Agreed, ox tongue is delicious. Fergus Henderson would approve!

Max Miller is an amazing and entertaining teacher because he brings his own genuine awe and curiosity to every topic he posts. And although I'm not really a cook, the wonderful history and etymology keep me addicted to this great channel.

My grandmother always made her mincemeat with venison. There really is no beating that.

That mincemeat pie defense is just a turn-of-the-century Twinkie defense.

I am 63 and remember minced pie being a consistent feature on our holiday menu. I am not at all sure when Mom stopped making it. Happily, Mom is still very much with us and I will be asking her in our next phone call. This episode served to bring up a nice childhood memory and lend to sharing with Mom which I especially love! Thank you!

Hello Mr. Max! It is December 2022 and I have just discovered your posts which are delightful because you make them so. My Victorian grandmother made mince pies with meat--beef or venison--and suet much like your original receipt which called for a pound of this and a pound of that which she canned. In the last ten years, I have made it with this recipe and found that rather than canning it can be frozen or even refrigerated with no ill effect. I know this recipe was her great-grandmother's so it must go back tot he Civil War. Thanks for your posts, those on the Titanic recipes were great fun and I note that you have replica dinnerware from that historic ship. Thanks again, your new fan, Edward.

Max: Who knows why they really hated them. Me: The Puritans hate everything. It's no special case.

"She had it comin" Oh my, now I am laughing my backside off. This has to be one of your greatest videos :-D

I have always made mincemeat as my mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother did (of Scottish descent on all sides) with lean meat (beef and/or venison) roasted in a slow oven in apple cider and minced, suet, apples, golden raisins, candied citron and lemon peel, a little sugar and salt, and all the spices you wish. I use cinnamon, cloves, ginger, nutmeg , mace, and allspice. It’s much moister than your recipe, because there is nearly twice the minced apple to the minced meat, and the remainder of the roasting cider is incorporated. I do both open and double crust pies, as well as miniature tarts, which in a good homemade crust are the perfect amuse-bouche. I grew up in good Scots Protestantism, which (by the time they reached Michigan) precluded spirits, but I’m willing to be persuaded. I absolutely prefer using a combination of currants with the raisins, but both currants and mace are increasingly difficult to find.

Mincemeat pies are one of my favorites. Unfortunately, they are hard to find anymore, at least on the west coast. Hot mince pie with vanilla ice cream is delightful.

My 78 year old aunt says she used to make mince meat in the 1960s with some deer meat her husband processed and her mother before her. I'm all for modern mincemeat Borden's None Such in the jar!

He always makes history seem so much more interesting than what we learned in the classroom. If only actual classes could be this interesting. More kids would be engaged in the topic.

This is also the way my grandmother and mother made mincemeat.... however, what I'm asking is, would you please make Eccles cakes? My mother in heaven had always looked for a recipe for them and I would like to make them with my sisters in her memory. Love your shows! Thank you

Max, while I was still admiring your incredible 1930s radio announcer voice (for a 1907 murder), you shift accent into an even more amazing tough guy from the wrong side of the tracks. Amazing 👏

Not just Victorian, my Mum was a Scot and as kids when we had a "proper" High Tea she'd often do a big lattice topped tart with real mince

They still make "real" mincemeat where deer hunting is a thing. I come from the northeast and have eaten mincemeat pie ( containing vension). My friends would make alot from the neck of the deer and would can it for later use.

I started watching you back before 100k in June 2020, it's SO CRAZY to see you almost at 1M subs so fast! You definitely deserve all of the recognition though, your videos are amazing!

I love how much of what we consider beautiful, traditional Christmas items, be it food, decorations, carol's, caroling outfits and apparently even cards, came from the Victorian era.

"Which is why she's making like a wheelbarrow full of mincemeat" That cracked me up. LOL

“… I bedight mine with powdered sugar.” Yes Max, not only have you helped to bring that word back, you’ve got me using it too! Thanks for another wonderful video!

Mincemeat tarts/pies have always been a part of my family's Christmas tradition, surprisingly since we're French-Canadian. We have anglo ancestors on my dad's side, which is, I guess, where we got the habit of eating mincemeat pie. So I loved this video very much, and now am tempted to try your recipe! By the way, I guffawed at the Chicago excerpt. Only you, Max, only you could pull that off. 😄

I knew I wasn’t crazy! People kept insisting that mince meat pies have no meat, but I could have sworn I’d seen a recipe where it did. Thank you so much for proving me right! I think this might be my favorite episode!

I sure hope you get to million by Christmas because you're one of the best cooks and History channels that's here on RU-vid love ya Max.

As Robin Williams once said about the Puritans, "how uptight do you have to be for even the English to say, "get the f*ck out" Keep up the good work as always!

That "Chicago" reference and song just earned you a new subscriber! My mom would make modern mince pie for Thanksgiving because my grandpa loved it. We, as kids, couldn't stand it, but we'd eat it anyway because that's how we were raised. You ate what was put in front of you, and you didn't argue or complain. The last time she made one, she was taking it out of the oven, and as she turned to put it on the table to cool, it upended out of her hands and onto the floor. She sat down on that floor in the middle of the sticky mess and cried and cried! I felt so bad for her. She never made another one after that. Mind you, mom had polio when she was a child, and had a lame right leg. She could walk, but not well, and would lose her balance easily. My guess is the act of turning caused her to feel she was going to fall, and she dropped the pie in order to regain her balance. Poor mom. God, how I miss her.

That rendition of "She had it comming" had me in stiches.

I made homemade mincemeat one year, and you're so right. Beef suet is hard to find! The grocers where I live are pretty stingy because they use the beef suet for some of their ground meat. I found a small mom & pop grocer who ordered a pound for me. Super cheap, too!

Congratz Max on closing in on one million subscribers. Can't wait to see you reach it!

I still make mincemeat from aa recipe now three generations old. For meat, it uses venison, usually from the neck, which is either boiled until tender or cooked in a pressure cooker. The meat is already in long 'shreds' as it is from the neck and is simply cut into shorter 'shreds'.. The recipe calls for an assortment of fruits from cherries, apples, raisins, and currants to candied rind and a whole lemon and orange that are ground up ( in an old-fashioned hand grinder) and mixed with sugar, wine, spices, and either brandy, rum, or sherry and then put into quart jars and canned. I usually only make 1 pie per year since only a few like it. Last year's pie was made from a batch my father made some 20 years ago, so yes it ages well, once sealed. This year will be from the first batch I made in 2006. The recipe makes about 14 quarts. 1 quart makes a 10" pie, and it is our tradition to do a lattice top crust, rather than no crust or a full crust. I was raised in rural Pennsylvania, so deer hunting was/is and annual event. The neck was always used for mincemeat. It's stringy texture made it less desirable in other dishes, but perfect for mincemeat.

My grandmother died more than 20 years before my grandfather. Many years after her death, they found a jar of mincemeat she had made. My aunt made it into a pie for her dad, my grandfather. I always wondered how bittersweet it was for him, one last gift from his beloved wife.

i did living history for a time(nearly 10 yrs.), and your channel is SO fun. i can make a pound cake in a dutch oven, Max!! i really can. ive baked numerous types of pies the same way. and i chose to message you today, because not only is victorian my favorite era, but, my mother in law also made her own mincemeat. she used a pork roast. her mother however, used the pigs head. MIL used to say 'she boiled the snot out of it'. AND SHE MEANT THAT LITERALLY!! keep up the good work. love you to pieces for all youre doing for history!!!

Some American mincemeat brands (especially None Such, which is one of the more common brands of mincemeat) actually still use meat (generally just listed as beef) in their filling. Always double check the ingredient list for store bought mincemeat if you are feeding it to vegetarians.

You read my mind. I just had the mince meat conversation with my parents 2 days ago. Our unanimous response,"let's check TASTING HISTORY "

Minced meat pies are still really popular here in Quebec! We call it Tourtière

My mom makes this. She uses candied ginger, dates, a variety of dried fruits, and smoked beef, plus most of the expected ingredients. Also, recently, she's taken to adding cranberry juice and fresh cranberries -- much to the dish's detriment. Though it may add to the preservative effect.

I'd so be here for this if any other dried fruit but raisins were used. Apricots and cherries sound like FAB substitutes. Live deliciously, Max!

Max, have you ever tried beef tongue? It's actually very delicious. A favorite of mine when I hit the mom and pop taco shop on the other side of town.

Sounds like the trifle Rachel made in Friends: cake, custard, jam, cream and, by mistake, beef which makes everyone sick.

My mother has made the “Mock Mincemeat” pie recipe from The Joy of Cooking every year for Christmas and Thanksgiving since 1987. Since 2011, I have made one as well, and we’ve had my uncle judge between them (except for last year obviously). It stands at 17-2 currently, not in my favor. I’m making my Christmas pie with more booze though this time…

I would watch “Max Miller and the Merry Murderesses of the Cook County Jail” any day.

This is a classic recipe! My dad loved this stuff! He was a butcher by trade and earned extra money every fall by processing wild game. He saved elk and deer necks expressly for making mincemeat. He actually preferred this portion of the animal for this purpose. Every year he'd put mincemeat up in jars and he'd have mincemeat pies all year. He often used preserved mincemeat that was several years old and never suffered ill effects. I tried it many times but couldn't stand the stuff and still won't eat it. Thanks Max! This brought back some great memories! I love your channel!

I was drinking when made the "have you eaten your sand today?" joke and I spluttered all over my keyboard.

I was today years old when I realized Little Jack Horner was eating a mince meat pie, lol. One of a million reason I love this channel.

The enigmatic deity that is *the Algorithm* recommended this channel as far back as the third episode, and boy am I glad it did! Since then, I've been so happy and impressed to see how much it's grown (and a tiny bit proud, because I've sent links to basically everyone I know!). Looking forward to the 1 million subscibers episode, Max!

Just remember, only one pie per day from Dec 25th to Jan 6 or it is bad luck! 🤣

Years ago I had some traditional mincepies. They had half minced lamb and half fruit with a very litle clove and considerably more nutmeg/mace. They were delicious.

"Meat" originally meant "food", which means that as long as the mincemeat is edible, it really _is_ meat.

I've been making "real" mincemeat for many years, with venison when I can get it, but I cook mine for about an hour before storing it in 1 qt freezer bags. 4C makes a pie, but lately I've been making tarts instead. I should mention that mincemeat, if cooked first and if sherry and brandy are added, does not really freeze and small amounts can be spooned out when desired. Also, for those who find it funny that people who won't eat a slice of mince pie will gobble it down when mixed in to other things, please try adding it to muffin and pancake batter; also to your favorite brownie recipe.

This is the first channel that's large that i've been watching early on. glad to have been able to watch this channel grow and improve!

I hope you make it to 1 million. Ny wife never liked mince neat but will make a pie using jarred mince meat for Christmas dinner this year. I always have associated it with the seacon.

Thanks Max! My wife made these and they were delicious! I had a bizarre daydream about fending off a giant snake and woke to my wife having been strangled, but that just means more mincemeat pies for me. Cheers!

Finally back on schedule! Fun story about mincemeat (and spoilers for anyone playing Curse of Strahd), there's something in the adventure called 'dream pies' that has a mincemeat filling. I made a round of these for our players using veal, pork and beef, bing cherries, cinnamon, anise, nutmeg, chopped walnuts and molasses. They came out exceptionally well and it's been added to my rota!

8:28 It's refreshing to see the spelling "Christ Mass", showing the history of the word "Christmas"

The Puritans sound like the epitome of "You must be a delight at parties" remarks

I made a large jar of mincemeat one year, I think it was from Mrs Beetons book. Its still in the cupboard, I use it every year. It's now 7 years old and it's superb.

The Puritans didn’t need a reason to ban something. “See that over there? That looks enjoyable…….I hate it.”

I remember the first time I ever tasted mincemeat. I had an old book of children's tales that I read to pieces and one Christmas I begged my mom to make some mincemeat pie because the characters in the book loved it so. She made it herself and I was bouncing off the walls I was so excited. Then I took my first bite, it was the most vile thing I had ever tasted. Granted I was 7? and I was expecting something like spiced hamburger not spiced dried and candied fruit. I refused to eat any more, much to my mother's frustration.

On the re-watch "half a boiled lemon, though you'll need to boil a full lemon" with the sudden cut to a lemon being boiled just... tickled me utterly pink.

This video is so extra with the acting and I love every second of it. One excuse to use the hardtack clip and it would be my favourite episode so far!

That shot of the mincemeat surrounded by Christmas imagery as music played in the background ignited such a strong feeling of nostalgia that you would've thought I grew up in the Victorian Era. What a feeling. Props to both you and Jose for the great work this video!

I’ve never had mincemeat pie and always wanted to. I’m glad I watched this video so now I know that todays mincemeat has no meat 😭 the way you describe the one you made is exactly how I imagined it tasting, I’ll have to try it out. :) I love savory sweet spiced things. :)

congrats! it took you almost two years to reach 994k subscribers when a lot of channels take them years, if ever. Some people have all the luck in the world or maybe most viewers love food and history like me.

I need more *Max Miller the 1900 news reporter* in my life...

Damn Max, you're just killing it this Holiday season!

"Idolatry in crust!" OMG loved this. Absolutely adore this channel and how much I learn from you Max! Keep up the amazing work 🙌🏼❤

My mother-in-law had a good recipe made delicious mincemeat! She passed that recipe on to us, but we never made it because it was a lot of work and had lots of ingredients. I may still have it somewhere. But I can say, unequivocably, that I loved that mincemeat, and I'm looking forward to watching Max make some. And by the way, it's now October, 2023, and Max now has almost TWO million subscribers! No wonder! He digs up the most interesting stories, and he does it so well!

I had a long discussion on an internet forum once about mince pies and meat. Someone told me there was and had never been meat in mince pies and that I was wrong saying there was. That I was working as a chef at a historical museum making 300 mince pies with meat everyday from this very recipe, that I linked, wasn't proof, apparently.

We need Max to have those million subscribers!

I have always made my mincemeat with meat. Its common here in Maritime Canada to make it with meat, often venison.

"An indifferent bigness" Ah yes, the perfect description for my body weight post holiday eating.