Ingredients:

300g plain flour
250g unsalted butter (cut into cubes)
Pinch of salt
2 Eggs
100 ml Water
250g Minced venison (or beef)
250g mincemeat (see previous page)
100g Suet

Method:

Preheat your oven to 160 degrees Celsius and grease a cupcake tray.

Add the butter to the flour and rub it into the flour with your fingertips. Keep rubbing until the mix resembles breadcrumbs.

Add a pinch of salt, 1 of the eggs, and the water, and mix together to form a stiff dough.

On a lightly floured surface, roll the pastry out as thin as possible - 1 or 2 mm is best. Cut rounds for the bases using a pastry cutter and place into your greased cupcake tray.

Mix together the minced venison, mincemeat, and suet, and fill the bases with the mix. Cut slightly smaller rounds to use as lids. Whisk an egg and where the pastry lids and bases join, using a little egg to seal the edges together.

Prick the tops in the middle with a fork, and brush the tops with a little egg.

Cook in the centre of your oven for about 30-35 minutes, until golden in colour and cooked through.

For the mincemeat;

Ingredients:

500g pears (cored and cut into small cubes)
500g dried mixed fruit
100g stem ginger
100g crab apple jelly
250g muscovado sugar
Zest and juice of 3 oranges
Zest and juice of 2 lemons
100g flaked almonds
50ml ginger wine
2 tsp Ground ginger
2 tsp Cinnamon
1 tsp Nutmeg
50ml sloe gin

Method:

Mix all the ingredients well, except the gin, and put them into a large oven proof dish.

Bake in a preheated oven for around 2.5 hours at 120 degrees.

Stir in the gin and spoon into warm, sterile jars. Leave to mature for at least 2 months before using. Will keep for a couple of years.

For the pies;

Ingredients:

300g plain flour (sifted)
150g unsalted butter (cut into cubes)
Water
Mince meat
Milk

Method:

Add the butter to the flour and rub it between your fingers and into the flour. Keep rubbing until the mix resembles breadcrumbs.

Add a small drop of water and mix together. Keep adding a little water at a time, until the mixture comes together to form a stiff dough amd leaves the bowl mostly clean.

On a lightly floured surface, roll the pastry out as thin as possible - 1 or 2 mm is best. Cut rounds for the bases using a pastry cutter and place into cupcake cases.

Fill the base with mince meat and top with either smaller cut rounds or stars. Where the pastry top and base meets, use a little milk to seal the edges.

Brush with a little milk and cook in the centre of a preheated oven at 180 degrees for about 15 minutes, until golden in colour.

Meaty Mince Pies

Mince pies