Stuff Apples with Mincemeat and Bake Them Because It’s Christmas

Fergus Henderson is known as the godfather of the modern nose-to-tail eating movement; a man who can turn any part of a pig into something delicious and got us all eating bone marrow on toast. But the St. John co-founder and chef knows his way around another type of meat, too. Mincemeat.

RECIPE: Baked Apples and Mincemeat

In honour of the festive season, Fergus shared his recipe for the fruity, cinnamon- and allspice-packed mince pie filling. The ingredient list is kinda long—you’ll need a whole lot of different dried fruits, as well as candied peel, quinces, and slivered almonds—but the result is worth it. Being a chef of traditional methods, Fergus makes his mincemeat the old fashioned way, cooking the fruit and spice mixture with suet in a low oven for a couple of hours, before finishing it off with a splash of Armagnac.

After all this, you end up with a rich, fragrantly spiced mixture ideal for stuffing into cored apples and baking, a la Fergus' original recipe, or using for the best ever homemade mince pies. Oh, and a bottle of leftover brandy. Def worth it.