This recipe for Tomato Mince Meat pie filling comes from Grandma's old church cookbook, and is one that I've had my eye on for quite a few years. Mincemeat pie filling has been a bit harder to come by in the past few years, as I found when wanting to make Mincemeat Sweet Rolls with Brandy Icing, Mincemeat Cookies, and Mincemeat Ice Cream Cake, so I knew I wanted to try to make my own. In past seasons, I have tried to have some green tomatoes left at the end of the summer to make this, but it's really hard to do in our small garden - every tomato is so precious, there are never any left at the end. Earlier this summer, I finally had some green tomatoes ready in my garden, and so I made this BEFORE the end of the season so I'd be sure to have enough. That way I'd never really miss the number of green tomatoes needed to make this Tomato Mince Meat. Making mince meat turned out to be quite an experience for me, and while in the middle of it, I wasn't sure I'd do it again, now that I know more about it, it's possible I might. I'll explain more as we go along! 
Here is the recipe as I made it:
Tomato Mince Meat
What I found out the hard way, is that when I ordered suet from a local grocery store, they didn't have any chopped or ground for me. I had to render it myself. Uff. It was a good thing it was summertime and I could open ALL the windows in the house! The smell was something I'd never experienced before.
Originally I thought I would cut it up finely so it would melt faster. When looking closer, there didn't seem to be any way to do that, so I put the whole thing into my stock pot to melt it down and then go from there.
This part - I must admit - was not pleasant. But I stuck with it. I kept the heat on low, put the lid on, and let it melt until it looked like the fat (or suet) was all melted off.
I removed the bundle of "goodies" from the pot and then poured the melted suet through a sieve and into a glass bowl. From using suet for things in the past, I knew it should be solidified, so I put it into the frig to firm up.
Now that the rough part is done, onward and upward we go!
Peel and chop:
3 cups tart apples
Mix together with:
2 cups chopped green tomatoes
2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon ground cloves
3 cups sugar
3 1/4 cups raisins
1/4 cup vinegar (I used apple cider vinegar)
1 cup finely chopped suet
Bring to a rapid boil and simmer until thick.
Hint: Use a heavy kettle as it tends to scorch easily if not stirred often.
I used a combination of Granny Smith and Honeycrisp apples, and the green tomatoes came right out of my garden.
This uses all the holiday spices.
It is a LOT of raisins - but this is gonna be so good!
Everything into the pot!
Last, but certainly not least, is the suet. I put it into the pot with great ceremony.
After cooling, the mince meat went into two containers to go into the freezer until I need it. The recipe says this is enough for two large pies, but it's also a good filling for rolls and coffee cakes made with yeast doughs. I have to say - after all is said and done - I had a taste of it and it is absolutely delicious. You know what they say - homemade is always better - and this is truly the case here. I don't know if I'll ever make this again, but knowing how to render the suet now, I just might. It wasn't hard to do - just a bit fragrant. Stay tuned to see what make with this. I can't wait to use the Tomato Mince Meat this holiday season!
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