How to Make and Can Green Tomato Mince Meat

Making and canning green tomato mince meat Learn how to turn those green tomatoes in your garden , into delicious mince meat. You will learn how to prepare them , and can them . And, a sneaky short cut for pie crust!

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Green Tomatoes -2 qts
• salt- 1 tbsp
• medium-orange
• @12 medium apples
• raisens- 1 lb
• chopped suet (omit if vegetarian )
• brown sugar-3 1/2 cups
• apple cider vinegar -1/2 cup.
• cinnamon 2 tsps
• nutmeg 1 tsp
• cloves 1 tsp
• ginger 1/2 tsp
• 10 clean pint canning jars or 5 clean quart jars
• Large bowl
• Large saucepan
• stove
• jar lids
• steam pressure canner

1. You are looking at all those green tomatoes in your garden that the frost is going to kill. Don't let them go to waste. Pick them and turn them into mince meat for pies. Mince meat pies ! You either hate them or love them. If you like them but hate the expensive prices for a jar at the grocer , make your own mince meat. Step 1 pick them. You will need about 20 small ones . Wash , chop, and core them. You need 2 quarts from this process. Sprinkle one table spoon of canning or sea salt over the chopped tomatoes and let set for one hour. During that hour get your other ingredients ready . One washed medium orange. Grate the orange peel of the whole orange . It should equal about 3 tbsps . Take the rest of the orange chop it into pulp to get about 2/3 cup . Take 12 medium apples and peel and core them. Chop them also. Now add a pound of raisins, 1 1/2 cups of chopped suet. That's the tallow part of beef . About 6 oz. ( If you are vegetarian omit this step ). Add 3 1/2 cups of brown sugar, and 1/2 cup of apple cider vinegar, and the spices ,2 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp nutmeg, 1 tsp cloves, 1/2 tsp ginger . When the hour is up rinse and drain the tomatoes well. Now cover the tomatoes with boiling water and let that stand for 5 minutes.( You should have your jars also in hot water and they should have been cleaned .) Drain the tomatoes well again.
2. Combine all the ingredients with the green tomatoes in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil and ladle the hot mincemeat into hot jars.,leave about an inch of space at the top . Remove the air bubbles with something non metallic like a plastic spatula.Use a clean cloth to wipe off the rims of the jars . The jar lids , new ones of course, I like to have in hot water,simmer at 180 degrees for about 10 minutes but not boiling, I use the two piece ones , and adjust the two -pieces, the lid, and the cap that screws onto the jar and holds the lid in place. Have your steam-pressure canner ready with 2-3 inches of water heated to a simmer (180 degrees) and your jar rack in place.
3. Using a jar lifter, place your filled jars onto the canner rack as soon as possible after each jar is filled. Lock your canner in place and let it heat up , let the exhaust escape for about 10 minutes. My canner has a weight vent. You follow the directions of whatever kind of canner you have. Process pints or quarts for 25 minutes at 10 pounds pressure . You should get 10 pints or 5 quarts.

Tips & Warnings

• A sneaky way to make a pie crust . I prefer homemade, but when in a hurry, I buy the ready made crust in the aluminum pie pans. There are usually two crusts and two pie plates . Take one and dump in your mincemeat . Now carefully take the other and set it over the filled one, upside down. You may have to free the edges but I have never had any trouble with it falling exactly right on the bottom pie pan . Remove the empty aluminum pan and using a fork or your fingers seal the edges . Prick holes in the top with a fork and bake in a 350 degree conventional oven for about an hour, you can tell when the crust is golden and the filling is bubbling. Another method is after filling the first crust, carefully take the second one out and lay it on a cutting board. Cut into strips and weave a basket design across the top of your pie.
• Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. Delicious !
• When canning always follow the manufacturer's advise for your particular canner . The altitude makes a difference too . This recipe is for an altitude of 1000 ft above sea level . If your altitude is higher send me an email and I will let you know what your gauge should read, although it should come with your canner's insructions and is no doubt also available on line . If this is your first time at canning it is always good to have an experience canner teach you . I did .