Just Circling The Pond: Mr P's Christmas Tarts

Every year since we have been married --23 years--I have made Mr P mince meat tarts for Christmas. I don't eat these things but he loves them. The first step happens usually in October when the mince meat is made. This is NOT that stuff you can find in the pie filling aisle of your grocery (maybe) but homemade with real meat. Originally mince meat was a way of preserving the small meat from game such as deer and elk that could not be butchered into steaks and roasts. Usually it was meat scraped from the carcass--waste not, want not. Mixed with sugar, candied fruit, spices ( allspice,cinnamon,cloves,coriander,mace,and nutmeg) ,rum, and brandy, it can last several weeks and should be made ahead of time so it can "set up." I don't use game your can't pick up mince elk and deer in the supermarket and substitute good quality ground sirloin, then mix with fresh grated apple, candied citron, lemon, orange, brown sugar, the spices, and the alcohol which cooks off and but still functions as a preservative..

Soooo, yesterday I made enough pastry dough for four pies. Let me tell you right up front that I hate making pastry dough because it always is a mess. Every year I am tempted to buy the frozen mini pie crusts BUT, I put a decorative top on each and so would have to make pastry dough in addition. Yes I know that you can make it in a Cuisinart but my fav recipe really would not work there as you will see in a minute. Mr.P likes it made with lard not Crisco or any other vegetable oil based shortening and a butter pastry crust just would not do in this situation. So, 4 cups flour, 11/3 cups lard and 12-14 tablespoons cold seltzer water make two double crust pie crusts. I make the four in two batches just for ease in handling. This usually take over an hour not counting cleanup of flour and lard everywhere. Baby Girl always gets involved by trying to lick up the flour/lard combo bits that hit the floor. This year I shouted her and Mr P to stay out of my way. Sorry about that. I usually do this when Mr P is gone so he can't see how annoyed I get until it all comes together which always eventually does. Once made the dough should be chilled for 24 hours before being rolled out. Before going to bed I got out the tart making kit which I have put together over the years which include pastry cloth, rolling pin, cutters, silicone mats, cup cake papers, and three cup cake tins. These are kept together in a drawer specific to this activity.
This morning prepped and ready go I lined up everything and started rolling out dough and cutting the bottom crusts.

The blue is the silicone mat which is supposed to be used for cookie sheets. I find they really work well if lightly dusted with flour for rolling out the dough. Less use of flour and little to no sticking. The cutter is actually the lid to a deflunct drip coffee pot of Mr P's. It works well with the handle and is just the right size. Since I can only estimate that I will be making close to three dozen tarts I complete on pan before starting the next. Over the years I have learned to use three muffin pans which can all go in the oven on two racks at the same time. Really saves on baking time since it takes nearly and hour per batch. I fill one pan with bottom crusts.

Mr. P likes his crusts thick as you can see. He really likes pastry dough and tells me he used to eat it raw as a little boy. Once I have all of one pan filled I added the mince meat. One large serving spoon is just the right size per tart. Overfilling is a no,no since the juices will tend to flow out onto the top of the pan,turning into hard candy, making tart removal and cleanup a pain.

The tart down in the right hand corner is a little too full. I had to take some out and push the rest back in the shell. Next comes the cutting of the decorative tops. I use metal Christmas cookie cutters for this that I have probably had for about 40 years. It is best to use ones that are not to narrow and to use cutters that are just the edges in order to easily poke the cut crust out if it sticks.

Here you see stars and hearts on tarts ready to go into the oven. I also cut trees and bells. The mince meat ended up making 33 tarts or three shy of 3 dozen. I have some pastry dough left over that may become a meat pie which Mr. P also loves. Maybe New Years day. The baked tarts really do look nice. I assume they taste good although I have never actually eaten one. Mr P always seems happy