Recipe: Venison Mincemeat

I thought I'd wait a day before posting this as it didn't exactly have brandy in it. I would imagine you could add it instead of some of the fruit juice. But never having made mincemeat I haven't any real idea.

Venison Mincemeat

4 lbs. venison "trim" meat with bones
Water
3/4 lb. beef suet
3 lbs. apples, peeled and quartered
2 lbs. seedles raisins
1 (15.oz.) pkg seeded raisins
1 (12 oz.) pkg currants
1 tblsp. salt
1 tblsp. cinnamon
1 tblsp. ginger
1 tblsp. cloves
1 tblsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. allspice
1 tsp. mace (optional)
2 qts cider, grape or other fruit juice
1 lb. brown sugar

Trim fat from vemison. Cover with water; simmer until meat is tender. Refrigerate venison in cooking liquid overnight. Remove all fat from top of liquid. Separate meat from bones and put meat through food chopper - using coarse blade. (There should be be enough ground venison to make at least 2 quarts.)
Put suet and apples through food chopper.
Combine all ingredients in large kettle. Simmer 2 hours to plump fruit and blend flavors. Stir often to prevent sticking.

Pressure Canner Method
Pack at once into hot pint jars. Adjust lids. Process in pressure canner at 10 pounds pressure (240 degress) 60 monutes. Remove jars from canner and complete seals unless closures are self-sealing. Makes about 11 pints.

Freezer Method
You can freeze mincemeat. Recommended storage time: 3 months.

This recipe followed all the homemade mincemeat recipes so I thought I better include it.

Basic Homemade Mincemeat Pie

You will need 4 c. homemade mincemeat for a 9 inch pie. Dot the filling with 1 tblsp. butter, adjust the top crust, cut vents and flute edges. Brush top with light cream if desired. (It's a good idea to cover the pie edges with 1 1/2 inches of aluminum foil the first half hour of baking to prevent excessive browning.)
Bake in hot oven (425 degrees) 40 to 45 minutes, or until pastry is golden brown. Partially cool on rack before serving.

This recipe came from the Farm Journal Complete Pie Cookbook. Their recipes have always worked well for me. Sometimes I didn't like the end product, but it has always been a matter of taste not of quality. One good thought about this recipe. You are instructed to remove the fat from the liquid before you touch the meat. My very limited experience with venison has been that venison fat leaves a nasty taste in the mouth. Good luck to you, and I really hope someone who knows about cooking wild game responds to your request.