Mince snob?

azzabazza

JackieO wrote: »

when the country was on rationing God knows what went into the mince we had to eat but eat it we did or you went hungry.My late Mum always put the mince into the saucepan with half a pint of water and brought up to the boil and simmered for a few minutes then drained the water off before cooking it in the normal way She said this got rid of any fat that she didn't need in the mince.She also only used if she could bisto powder to make the gravy and a plate of her mince and tatties with carrot and onions on a cold winters day when you got in from school with blue fingers and toes warmed you right up.I still make my mince this way 65 years later:) Bless you Mum I learned so much from you when I was a small child,both of my DDs also make their mince like this so its been passed down the years :):)

Jackie - my MIL who is in her 90s and was a NAFI cook in WW2 cooks her mince this way. She thickens her mince with a mix of bisto powder and flour.

Frugalsod

ladymarmalade wrote: »

Me too....I will only buy mine from the butchers!!! And it's not even that pricey. I know exactly where it's come from and I can buy just the right amount!

For me it is about not knowing what is in it! The horse meat scandal really freaked me out! Not because I have probably eaten horsemeat, that doesn't bother me, I'll eat anything! Rather the fact that it was untraceable meat! I like to know exaclty what's in my food. Also, the high fat content of some mince products puts me off!

If you are buying from the butcher it is more likely to be what you think it is. Even if you get it ready minced at the local butcher you are more likely to get what you ordered than from a supermarket with their convoluted supply chain. It was not the horse meat that concerned me but the drugs that were detected in it that were more of a concern.

maman

JackieO wrote: »

when the country was on rationing God knows what went into the mince we had to eat but eat it we did or you went hungry.My late Mum always put the mince into the saucepan with half a pint of water and brought up to the boil and simmered for a few minutes then drained the water off before cooking it in the normal way She said this got rid of any fat that she didn't need in the mince.She also only used if she could bisto powder to make the gravy and a plate of her mince and tatties with carrot and onions on a cold winters day when you got in from school with blue fingers and toes warmed you right up.I still make my mince this way 65 years later:) Bless you Mum I learned so much from you when I was a small child,both of my DDs also make their mince like this so its been passed down the years :):)

azzabazza wrote: »

Jackie - my MIL who is in her 90s and was a NAFI cook in WW2 cooks her mince this way. She thickens her mince with a mix of bisto powder and flour.

Strangely I never remember the sort of raw mince we have now existing when I was a child. If mam ever made cottage pie or beef pasties she always minced cooked beef LO from Sunday's joint.

terra_ferma

I don't like lean mince, it loses all its taste. I'd rather eat more vegetarian meals and buy really good quality mince, and enjoy my bolognaise sauce and cottage pie more, and also buy mince from Waitrose when I can. Adding flavouring (like powders, stock cubes etc) would just mean adding artificial ingredients, which we are trying to avoid.
We have decided to limit how much meat we eat because unless you buy expensive meat you don't know where it comes from (or you do and don't want to think about it, given the way animals are farmed...). Veggie food can be as delicious, nutritious and filling as meat based dishes.

Farway

ladymarmalade wrote: »

Me too....I will only buy mine from the butchers!!! And it's not even that pricey. I know exactly where it's come from and I can buy just the right amount!

For me it is about not knowing what is in it! !

Lucky you, our one & only local butcher has FSA food hygiene rating of 1, and obviously is not stuck on his window unlike Lidl's rating of 5

I also like to know what is in my food

Steve059

Farway wrote: »

Lucky you, our one & only local butcher has FSA food hygiene rating of 1, and obviously is not stuck on his window unlike Lidl's rating of 5

I also like to know what is in my food

Those FSA ratings aren't, IMHO, worth the paper they're written on. A highly regarded local restaurant currently has a rating of 0, simply because of one broken window. The local council jobsworths, who seem to have a mission against local businesses, do the inspections and the FSA just "rubber stamp" them.

ladymarmalade

Farway wrote: »

Lucky you, our one & only local butcher has FSA food hygiene rating of 1, and obviously is not stuck on his window unlike Lidl's rating of 5

I also like to know what is in my food

Ours is a five thank god! I wouldn't go if it was a one!!!!:eek:

ladymarmalade

Frugalsod wrote: »

If you are buying from the butcher it is more likely to be what you think it is. Even if you get it ready minced at the local butcher you are more likely to get what you ordered than from a supermarket with their convoluted supply chain. It was not the horse meat that concerned me but the drugs that were detected in it that were more of a concern.

Exactly. Literally a month before the scandal broke we watched a programme about illegal untraceable meat and how the fact that no one knows where it came from could mean it had unfit for human consumption medicines in them. I'll happily eat horse but I do not want to ingest horse tranquilizer and steeping worm medicine thanks:(

silverwhistle

I'm not sure why people are afraid of the fat: that's where the flavour is! I don't particularly like things swimming in fat, but I tend to take the Italian view of less meat overall. Anyone who has visited or lived there will know that you don't actually have much (say) bolognese ragu' with your pasta.

Sometimes if I cook pork I save the fat and then use it later with bean recipes (borlotti etc.) , as that way you get full value from your meat and don't, overall, end up eating too much fat.

Frugalsod

silverwhistle wrote: »

I'm not sure why people are afraid of the fat: that's where the flavour is! I don't particularly like things swimming in fat, but I tend to take the Italian view of less meat overall. Anyone who has visited or lived there will know that you don't actually have much (say) bolognese ragu' with your pasta.

Sometimes if I cook pork I save the fat and then use it later with bean recipes (borlotti etc.) , as that way you get full value from your meat and don't, overall, end up eating too much fat.

When I mince my meat I do throw in all the fat. In fact I mince it along with the rest of the meat. We need some fat for a balanced diet as well.