Mince Pie Appreciation

Hi, where is this please?

I'm not normally one for a novelty mincer but the demerara sugar crust on the Gail's mince pies has broadened my horizons. Might give a crumble top a go.

I was highly sceptical but I’m converted.

Colour me crumbled - gonna hunt some of those bad boys out tomorrow

You’re going to need to be Sheffield based, but if you’re lucky enough to be local then you want Tonco on sharrow vale road

I bought a box of them and the mini “free from” Tesco’s own brand ones. I thought the Oggs were quite disappointing but have ordered more of the “free from” ones as I preferred the pastry and the filling.

I only eat a plant based diet on weekdays so come the weekend tend to eat the co op luxury pies this year. Sadly the butcher near us who made some of the best mince pies I have ever tried closed a couple of months ago.

Waitrose no.1 - excellent ratio of filling to pastry, satisfyingly crumbly case, good boozy flavour

If anyone is ever Bristol-ways, Gloucester services do an absolutely cracking mincer too. Massive but £££

Belated review of this year's Pavilion pie - very good. Thick solid pastry with pleasing roundness and uniformity. It looks like it will be dense and weighty, but when you bite in it's actually light and crunchy: if you look closely at the cross section of the pastry in the photo you can actually see the structure is kinda 'cellular'.

Excellent mincemeat with great seasoning and real body to it (big pieces of fruit and whole sultanas/raisins which I always approve of).

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Had a Rinkoff's yesterday - delicious. An old school pie with a star on top in a foil tray and they only cost 80p, so great value. But there's just something super moreish about them. Good mince. Obviously not deep filled but there's no air left inside.

They normally have more icing sugar on top than my example, which is quite correct for a star-shaped pie IMO.

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Gail's is the best I've had this year. Soundly beat Dusty Knuckle.

Can't believe my thread is still going 13 years on.

If anyone gifts some really crap mincers, just add 5ml of whatever cooking spirits you've got about (rum/brandy), then top with icing. Really lifts or at least makes bearable those factory crappers.

This looks very good.

Oh good shout, am driving from Newent to Westonbirt Arboretum for the Christmas lights now tomorrow. Will try and break the journey at Gloucester services as they always have great noms.

Can this technique can be replaced by a large swig of rum/brandy before each bite? 'tis the season & all that jazz.

Bravo

And what is the thread originators' mince pie of choice?

Anyone tried a St John's mince pie? Look v promising

The value of your contribution to the season is incalcuable, chapeau.

So far this year I've enjoyed the Gail's ones with the crunchy top the best, but I confess I've found the pastry to be so crunchy it detracts from the structural integrity of the pie. Will need to try another box to see if this was a one-off fluke.

Worst was the icing-topped M&S ones, but I already knew they were going to be foul and only have myself to blame for buying them anyway, thus propping up the shameful icing-topped mincer market. I deserved every second of the nausea they gave me.

Well worth it imo.

I have a couple of fortitude and Quality Wines wait I for me at home.
Had a St John today as well as a deep fried mince pie. Both slapped

Local cafe going with a controversial crumble top, and an equally controversial not-enough-filling. But - but! - they warmed the bugger which was a welcome touch, and actually the sweetness of the crumble paired well with a pretty zesty mince so I’m going with a solid 8/10

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Am I the only person who doesn’t want them warm? Wife’s family like to warm them, so they shrink a bit, then add squiry cream which gives me the shits. No good

Put back a tray of 6 Morrisons baked in store as they looked mean and thin, and took 6 star topped Kipling classics which are great. Pervert colleagues don’t like them so I ate 3

We've been scoffing a few co-op ones which are plenty tasty with a cuppa. Bonus points awarded for being veganist friendly 👍

M&S "Best Ever" mincer, actually only my 2nd of the season (hasn't really felt like the season till yesterday). 7.5/10, may increase that rating depending on other samples.

Tesco's Spiced Rum mincers are extremely good. Good pastry, whole raisins inside, small ish hit of booze but all in all a great pie.

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