More exciting mince recipes

JEz_w67

ashlea170706 wrote: »

hi
i got some mince out of the freezer this mornin wondered if anyone had any different things i can do with it as we are all fed up of lasagne bolegnese chilli and shepherds pie in our family its gettin to the end of the month so am runnin out of all basic ingriedients too i have pasta rice potatoes etc but want to try something different! thanks ash x

How about a curry. Soften some onions in tablespoon of oil, throw in some garlic, chillis, cumin, corriander seeds (crushed or powder), bit of garam masala, may be a bit of turmeric. I like some cardamon (only a pod or two as strong flavour). Fry out for two minutes to cook the powders and let the oils from the seeds free up, add the mince and fry over low heat till mince cooked (the longer the better). Drain off the excess fatty oil (we want a good heart for our money savers). add bit of chilli powder to your taste and some salt. Might want to bulk it up with just about anything ! - chickpeas, lentils, etc (read instructions for those as they vary) - I like mushrooms and red peppers. Allow to cook over low heat til cooked. For nice twist, crack a few eggs on the top and let them cook in the curry ! Final finish, add some fresh corriander & serve with rice.

BrandNewDay

Hello! I was wondering if you'd all like to have a thread where we talk about recipe ideas for mince, discuss where to find the cheapest mince, debate the merits of lean steawk mince vs the cheapest mince, how to stretch mince, etc. etc.

I only know a few things to do with mince. My mom used to tell stories about her friend who would buy vast quantities of mince and then cook it all up on a Saturday. She'd make some of it into chili con carne, some of it into meat sauce for pasta, some of it into meat loaf, some into meat balls, and then she'd freeze it all.

I think mince may be the cheapest and most versitile source of meat protein for my family. I buy a lot of it. But, I really only know a few things to do with it. Today, I'm thawing out some for a cottage pie. I want to use half for the pie and half for... I don't know, I guess to make and freeze a spaghetti sauce.

I was talking to some master butchers who work for a one of the major supermarket chains and I wanted to know what would be the cheapest sources of meat. One said that it would probably be cheapest to just keep an eye out for the multi-buy specials and then stock your freezer. Another said you could buy a forquarter of a cow, negotiating a good price from a butcher and get it minced/cut up as stew meat. But, they both agreed that if quality isn't as important as simply locating the cheapest meat, then buying the bags at Iceland or Farm Foods would be best. I saw beef mince for £2 at Iceland, recently. And, I saw combined pork/beef mince at Asda for £1.40 a kilo. I am thinking that that will likely be the sort of mince I use in the future. However, if it's really fatty and cheap beef, by the time you drain off the liquid/fat, you might not have much food in the pan.

I don't mind fat, though. I believe that tasty hamburgers are made from fattier mince. I also subscribe to the belief that animal fats are healthy for you. So, I'm not going to be impressed by lean beef from a health POV. Only from the POV of volume after cooking.

OK! So... any thoughts on mince?

And, on the subject of cheap beef... what are the cheapest cuts you can make a decent meal from? If I want to make a beef pie or stew, what cuts should I look for? Surely it's not cheapest to buy the little packets of cubed beef. Surely it's cheaper to figure out what hunk of cow that is and dice it, myself?

Generali

If you go to the butchers you should be able to get shin of beef for about £2/lb. The flavour is fantastic and you get a really nice gravy out of it when you stew it too. It's usually the cheapest cut.

Pink.

Hi BrandNewDay,

These earlier threads may help:

More exciting mince recipes

Mince is DISGUSTING! Help with alternatives

Basics Mince?

To get help with cheaper cuts of meat have a look at this thread:

cheap cuts of meat

For advice on cooking cheaper cuts of meat it's best to search on the individual type of meat and you'll find lots of recipes.

Pink

Raspberry_Swirl

mince ideas:

spag bol/meat sauce for pasta
shepherds pie/cottage pie
keema mince (curried mince)
mince & potatoes (scottish mince and tatties!)
meatloaf
meatballs
chilli con carne
mousakka
mince, onion and potato pie

JailhouseBabe

For anything that would typically used cubed/diced beef, I always buy the cheapest frying steaks or braising steaks and cut them up myself. On those, I tend to look for the leanest cuts, as me and DD really struggle with lumps of fat - it would put us off dinner completely.

For the same reason, I always buy brisket when doing a 'roast' dinner. I boil the meat first for usually an hour and a half, let cool, then slice (removing all the fat) and place in a casserole dish, cover in gravy, put lid on and cook in oven for maybe half an hour.

When it comes to minced beef though, I always buy the cheapest value packs. I find these give the nicest texture when cooked - lean mince always tastes a bit 'lumpy'. I make sure I drain all of the fat out before adding any other ingredients, and eke out with either lentils or a tin of value beans.

For example, dinner tonight was chilli con carne made from a third of an 800g value pack of mince (£1.6x in Tesco), with a tin of value beans thrown in as well as the usual pepper, mushrooms, onions, carrots and tin of tomatoes. Me and adult DD had a generously sized meal each, and there's enough leftover to feed each of us the same amount again. That works out at approx. 14p worth of meat each in a filling meal!

BrandNewDay

I bought some mince at Asda when it was £6 for 2 packs of 1250 grams. £2.4 a kilo for fresh mince is pretty good, IMO. It wasn't lean - it was rather fatty. But, it wasn't "smart price" mince.

Anyway, with such a huge package, I knew I needed to prepare a lot of different meals from it. So, last night, I cooked it all up. In one pan, I made cottage pie. In another, I made basic tomato-and-meat sauce, which can be frozen, then heated with other ingredients... it can be made into chili con carne or spag bol or cheeseburger macaroni casserole...

Anyway, I figured something out. For tomato-ey dishes, you don't really want all that fat. You will be pouring it off, so either buy lean or pour it off. Not sure which is the best value. What *I* have done is leave the fat in, and it will be easy to chip/cut off when I get it out of the freezer to use.

However, for the cottage pie, the excess fat/liquid wasn't a problem at all. I added some boullion, anyway. When that was about all cooked off, I stirred a bit of corn flour into the pan and it made a lovely gravy. My husband really loved the cottage pie.

Kadeeae

Generali wrote: »

If you go to the butchers you should be able to get shin of beef for about £2/lb. The flavour is fantastic and you get a really nice gravy out of it when you stew it too. It's usually the cheapest cut.

Have to agree, we had a nice slow cooker meal last weekend with shin, was absolutely delicious and had the leftovers for pie - twice

BrandNewDay

I realize that those steaks I've seen on offer can be cut up for stew meat. They're called "beef medallions" maybe? Anyway, they do NOT fry up very nice at all, but I think they can be baked in BBQ sauce or cut up into stew.

I will have a look for shin, sometime. I don't really go to the butchers very often.

Mrs._Irwin

Adding oats to the mince not only bulks out the amount you have but absorbs the fat, so you don't waste all the goodness and flavour. No need to pour off the excess fat.

Mrs. Irwin
xx