Mincemeat pies are a fun holiday treat that will surprise everyone with how good they are. These are venison mincemeat pies — and yes, long ago, mince pies did indeed have meat in them — made with a Scottish flair.

Everyone knows the term mincemeat, and, technically speaking, it’s just a British term for what we Americans call ground meat; mince is another term you’ll hear over there. I grew up calling it “chop meat” in New Jersey.

Most people also “know” that mincemeat pies don’t have meat in them. They’re largely correct, as the standard mincemeat pie recipes over the past century have largely skipped the meat.

But venison mincemeat pies have an ancient heritage, dating to the 1100s even. During the reign of the Tudors — think King Henry VIII — in the 1500s, mincemeat pies included meat, and it was often venison.

The pies also got smaller over time, and this gets into my recipe for venison mincemeat pies. I love them as little personal “pie-lets,” teeny three- or four-bite wonders. And they are wonders, as I’ll explain in a moment. But to do that I went out and bought a mincemeat pie pan for $20 online.

Lest you think this is crazy, a) these pies are worth the effort, and b) you can make jam tartlets with the pan the rest of the year.

Or you can make your venison mincemeat pie a regular pie in a regular pie pan, which is a thing. Or you can use any small tart pan you happen to have. The standard issue mincemeat pie pan gives you that pretty little shape though.

Why Make Mincemeat Pies?

Because they’re made of awesome. No, seriously, there’s a reason people have loved them since the Crusades — and I am not kidding. It’s a sweet-tart-savory-fatty-crunchy thing. And I know of no member of the human race who does not like sweet-tart-savory-fatty-crunchy things.

You do have to get over the meat + sweet thing, but chances are, if you don’t tell someone that there is actual venison in their venison mincemeat pies, they won’t notice.

Why? Because you make the filling with almost equal portions of fruit and meat and fat. This gives the filling oomph without it screaming, “I’m chopped deer meat!”

I highly recommend you make these little mincemeat pies if you can, even with a cupcake tin if that’s what you have, because that ratio of pie crust to filling really shines with a small pie.

Fruit in Mincemeat Pies

All mincemeat pies, not just venison mincemeat pies, have fruit in them — usually dried fruit.

Most recipes will have you add raisins, sultanas, and “currants,” which in this context are actually still raisins. Go figure. Boring!

Instead, use dried berries. Several kinds if you can get your hands on them. This mincemeat recipe has dried lingonberries, dried blueberries and dried black currants. The real kind.

I chose this mix for depth of flavor and tartness. You will absolutely want to include lingonberries or dried cranberries, which are a lingonberry’s big cousin. Also, dried cranberries are way easier to find.

Other options that are good are chopped, dried apricots and dried blackberries, gooseberries, raspberries, huckleberries, mulberries or dewberries.

The one traditional mincemeat pie fruit I do use is fresh, grated apple. I use a granny smith, but any baking apple will do.

Spices and the Filling

The history of mincemeat pies holds that the originals were made with lots of spices the crusaders brought back from the Middle East, and you still see that today. Cinnamon, clove, mace, nutmeg, and later allspice (a spice of the Western Hemisphere) all play a part.

The filling is all cooked together for a long time, then left to cool a bit, then, traditionally, mixed with brandy or rum. I, being of Scottish descent, use Scotch instead. Ideally you then refrigerate the venison mincemeat for, well, a while.

Its acidity, fat and salt content and the presence of hard liquor all help preserve the filling for weeks, even months. It is said to improve over time, to the point where some cooks make their mincemeat pie filling in October or November for Christmastime.

But yes, you can absolutely just make it, let it cool and fill your pies with the fresh filling, too.

Venison Mincemeat Pie Crust

Any decent pie crust, even store-bought, will work.

My recipe, as well as the inspiration for the filling recipe, is from the excellent book by Ben Mervis, The British Cook Book. It’s a pretty simple pie crust, only it adds an egg, which is unusual, at least in my experience.

You could use puff pastry, but that’s not traditional, and you could even use a British hot water suet crust, like you would in a game pie or pork pie.

Storage

Once made, venison mincemeat pies will keep about 10 days or so in the fridge, but it’s unlikely that any will be left after that long. You can freeze them, too.

To reheat, remember they’re already cooked, so a toaster oven is ideal. Maybe 10 to 15 minutes at 375F will do. I do like these pies at room temperature, but not actually cold.

Other Meat Pies to Try

I have a wide selection of other fantastic meat pies you might want to try. Some are bready, others use pie crust, some use other doughs. Keep in mind the filling meat can really be whatever you have lying around.

• Venison pasties. Cornish meat pies filled with ground or diced beef or venison, carrots and rutabagas in a bready crust.
• British game pie. A game pie is a classic hand pie made with a hot water crust and whatever wild game you have handy.
• Finnish lihapiirakka. Another bready dough. These have rice, meat and lots of onions.
• Fried empanadas. This one’s a pie dough made for frying. You can fill them with anything. Even this mincemeat filling.
• Mexican masa empanadas. This is a corn masa dough, a little more fragile than a wheat dough, but lighter and crispier.
• German bierocks. Imagine a nice bread roll stuffed with meat, onions and sauerkraut.
• Plantain empanadas. This gluten-free dough mixes masa flour with mashed plantains. Delicious, and it browns nicely.

If you liked this recipe, please leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating and a comment below; I’d love to hear how everything went. If you’re on Instagram, share a picture and tag me at huntgathercook.