Tesco frozen beef mince

DrScotsman

(Do discussions about the quality of cheaper food belong here? Sorry board guides if they don't!)

I've only ever eaten fresh beef mince at home, so I decided to make my usual mince and dumplings with Tesco's frozen mince because it's cheaper - already went from Atora to Tesco dumpling mix very easily :-). I thought I'd start with the normal beef mince before I'd then try to downshift to the value mince (I know that's probably the wrong way to do it, but meh)

So I made my mince and dumplings, keeping everything the same except the mince of course...it turned out to be mush and gristle. It turned to mush still in the frying stage, so I'm doubting it's the way I used it (although I miiiight have overstirred it...). It tasted...okay, but I couldn't stand the texture. I'm quite bad at not tasting with my eyes, but that said I do not think it was good quality.

I've kept the remainder, because I'm just not convinced - I just thought that frozen mince would be perfectly fine, but I'm really not one for trying new things and don't want to waste time trying again. Has anyone else found complete failure in downshifting to frozen mince? Think I just cooked it wrong the first time and should try again?

tanith

I would say if its cheaper then its going to be inferior quality to what you usually use... if you don't like it go back to the fresh mince , no point in saving a few pence if you don't like the resulting meal..

Enterprise_1701C

It is inferior, and it does go to mush. But then a lot of what I use mince for incluldes heavy flavouring so my lot never notice any difference! I very rarely use fresh mince this day except for meatballs.

dave461_2

I found asda value mince to be gristle and chewy, but couldn't tell the difference between tesco value and tesco normal mince. I tried the tesco frozen pork and beef mince in a lasagne and binned it after about 3 mouthfulls.
So tesco value from now on, especially when its reduced with a yellow sticker!

mannews

I use the Sainsburys frozen mince, but only in shepherds pies and lasagnes or chillies I would not use it for burgers or meatballs. The Sainsburys bag does actually say it is good for chillies and spag bols etc.

cherokee

I had the same experience with frozen tesco mince first time around - it was mush city. Next time I used it (to use up bag) I drained it thoroughly after frying it as it was really watery - I found the second lot was much better. Having said that I wouldnt be rushing to buy it again anytime soon!!!:D

bumblebee23

I've found that this happens with all frozen mince, it just turns to mush. It's a false economy as it just shrinks to practically nothing and so you use twice as much.

We used to use the Tesco premium beef, my boyfriend would insist on buying that one... this month I ordered the shopping and got the chilled tesco value mince and he didn't even notice the difference, so perhaps just downsize on the chilled mince...?

DrScotsman

dave461 wrote: »

I found asda value mince to be gristle and chewy, but couldn't tell the difference between tesco value and tesco normal mince. I tried the tesco frozen pork and beef mince in a lasagne and binned it after about 3 mouthfulls.
So tesco value from now on, especially when its reduced with a yellow sticker!

Ah, I like all of the fresh beef mince. Value, normal, extra lean, discount brand lean. Not sure I've bought healthy living, and I know I've not bought organic, but I'm sure I'll like them (although I prefer normal turkey mince to healthy living)

The problem is which to choose health wise (don't read the following if you like not knowing how unhealthy your food is)! I'm not really fat concious usually, but after reading value's fat content...

Here's the RDA of fat for 250g from memory:
Value: 50% (I eat almost a 500g pack a meal!)
Normal: 35%
Discount brand lean: 16%

Normal costs something like £1 for 500g more than value, but discount brand lean only 30p more than normal, so it's really down to Value or DBL for me...I don't think those numbers are on the cooked mince, does a lot of it burn off while cooking perchance? (Wishful thinking)

Fire_Fox

It's almost as unhealthy to eat excessive amounts of protein on a regular basis as it is to eat excessive amounts of saturated fats. Your body cannot use or store the protein in 500g of mince, and the excess will put a strain on your liver and kidneys. There are also associations between certain cancers and inflammatory diseases and a diet high in animal proteins.

Buy reasonable quality, lower fat mince and pad it out with Quorn mince (on offer at present I believe), red lentils, oatmeal or extra veg as suggested on the Old Style boards. :T All will add extra fibre to your diet, the Quorn/ lentils/ oats will increase protein, and lentils/ veg will contribute to your five-a-day minimum (nine a day if you are stocky).

Bronnie

Much of the fat will come out if you dry fry the mince, then you can drain it off. As you have discovered mostly the cheaper the mince within the supermarket's range the higher the fat content. Some people suggest pouring a kettle of boiling water over the fried mince to remove as much fat as possible.
You may be paying a cheaper price, but you are ending up with less for your money.
My personal take is buy the best quality mince you can afford, save money and reduce your red meat/animal fat consumption by eating a smaller portion of it, dry fry it, drain excess fat and continue with the recipe. Rinsing it washes away some of the juices and flavour as well.
But each to their own!

Princess_Coupon

I never used to eat mince as I didn't trust what cuts could be in it:eek: . 3 years ago I invested in an electric mincer, I do my own beef, pork, and chicken mince, for the beef and pork I buy meat that is on offer or yellow stickered when ever I spot it, mince it up (most cuts even chops or joints) then freeze it.
It's amazing how red mine is with no excess fat, sinuw, or connective tissue and I don't tip out half a cup of watery fat after cooking.
It cost about £50 but well worth it.