It's STILL tough and not getting better - so how are we coping?

EstherH

Thanks Mrs Bartolozzi

I do drain the fat away. Very interesting to see that there is so much fat even in the lean steak mince.

I suppose I need to take the plunge and try different ones and see how many portions I manage to get. I tend to do a big slow cooker full of something like bolognaise or chilli and freeze in individual portions. Of course this would only work if I used exactly the same amount of veg in each one. I never weigh anything or stick to recipes, just make it up as I go along and depending on what we have in at the time. Seems a bit complicated or is it just my frazzled brain today?

EstherH

Thanks Madarther

I saw the lamb mince when I was in Costco the other day, and considered buying it but I always expect lamb to be very fatty. Don't know where I have this idea from if it isn't true because if I have ever bought lamb mince before it would be years ago. Also lamb is usually really expensive, we don't have it much at all although it is probably my favourite meat.

mardatha

I love lamb and cant afford it. The mince is great because its cheaper and yet it tastes of lamb. LOL we are sad eh ? !

BigMummaF

EstherH wrote: »

....I always buy value mince but is this false economy. I know there is loads of fat coming out of it, but if I paid more, would I get more portions?....

I use value mince & dry fry first to remove most of the fat. I don't think any meat you buy will ever be totally fat free & in any case, we need a little to help with essential body repairs & that sort of thing Anyhoo, my suggestion would be to use the 'dry fry' method after first weighing your fry pan, then again once you've removed the meat & that will tell you how much of that particular pack was meat vs fat.
I've used the fat for basting a roast & spuds before now to help add a bit of flavour so perhaps the old fashioned way of keeping 'dripping' in a cup in the fridge may appeal to your thrifty nature
I also add lots of grated carrot, red lentils & pearl barley to my mince base, plus finely chopped whatever veg I can smuggle in too. The Offspring used to moan about it at first but if I do plain mince now the taste is strangely missing something
Another way to stretch out mince is to use dry soya that looks a little like couscous & is sold in the same area of the supermarket. Good Luck with your experimenting & let us know how you get on...

northwest1965

EstherH wrote: »

I have bought turkey mince because people have recommended that on here, but the amount of fat that comes off that is more than the value. I know this sounds really thick, but if I bought minced steak then, would the weight of the fat in the value be replaced with meat?

Hi Esther, where do you buy your turkey mince from? I always use turkey and never had it fatty at all. If anything it can be a bit too dry. What I have been doing is mixing half and half with dried soya mince, now that is good value. You just reconstitue it with hot water and youre good to go:)

Sorry bigmumma - I repeated some of what you said

EstherH

Bigmumma, my mum still has a dripping bowl that she pours all her fat into. Will have a think about that
as I would normally use veg oil for basting cos it's healthier. Typing that makes me think that I sound so contradictory when I'm using value mince! Had never thought about it before.

Weighing the frying pan etc., would be a good scientific exercise. Think I'll do that out of interest. Thanks for that tip.

Northwest 1965, I usually buy turkey mince in Morrisons.

I actually have two packs of turkey mince and a pack of soya that I bought the other day. I am planning on sneaking the soya in and hoping nobody notices.

parsonswife8

mardatha wrote: »

I love lamb and cant afford it. The mince is great because its cheaper and yet it tastes of lamb. LOL we are sad eh ? !

I often manage to find whoopsied lamb mince at Sainsburys. I use it to make lamb mince curry or moussaka:D

northwest1965

Thats where I buy mine from, is it frozen?

EstherH

Wish I had a Sainsburys nearby. I've learned on here that a lot of their basics products are better then the other supermarkets. We have Morrisons, Tesco, Lidl, and then Asda a bit further away but good for combining with other shopping such as B%M's, Farmfoods which I don't use very often but again, may do now. Loads of great tips and info on here.

Subject change - I'm just peeling loads of small (tiny) apples which I got off the tree to go with the blackberries in a crumble. We usually leave them because they are difficult to get to, are small and when fall on the floor get attacked by the millions of slugs and snails who have residence in our backgarden. Now I am determined to use as many as possible. Been inspired by you all. Wish we had plum and cherry trees around.

EstherH

No it's fresh. Didn't know you could get frozen turkey mince.