Using sheep’s fat was a bit of a gamble but I had a hunch that it would work, and it surely did. Sheep’s tail or flank fat can be rendered at home, slowly on a low heat for a long time, and then strained if you like. Mine still had some tiny kaiings (bits of crackling) in it, which I don’t see as being a problem, so they’re in the mince that is now in jars in the fridge. It only lends even more character. Otherwise use suet, which is the fat around the loins and kidneys of sheep; a good butcher should be able to oblige.
Ingredients
2 apples, cored and chopped finely
250 g raisins
250 g sultanas
250 g currants
100 g mixed peel
50 g walnuts, very finely chopped
Grated zest of 1 orange
Grated zest of 1 lemon
2 tsp mixed spice
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp nutmeg
1 Tbsp kapokbos leaves, including some blossoms
250 g dark brown sugar
50 ml Klipdrift brandy
50 ml Omstaan XI white muscadel
100 ml persievet (rendered sheep’s fat, or use suet)
Method
Mix everything except the brandy and muscadel in an ovenproof bowl, very well. Cover and leave to macerate overnight, refrigerated.
Heat the oven to 120℃. Cover the bowl with foil, loosely, and put it in the warm oven for three hours.
Leave it to cool, and stir it every 15 minutes. Once it has reached room temperature, stir in the brandy and muscadel, and refrigerate.
Once cold, spoon into sterilised jars, right up to the brim, and put sterilised lids on.
It can be refrigerated for several weeks and considerably longer; some say “indefinitely”. DM/TGIFood
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