Mince snob?

Zippy001

I am guilty of draining the fat too, Id rather see it in a dish than clogging up our arteries, obviously there is still fat on the mince but not hardly as much.
I only get my mince from a butcher and i do notice there is far less fat than in supermarket one even lean mince.

terra_ferma

There's an interesting article here about fat
http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/fats-full-story/#cholesterol

Frugalsod

terra_ferma wrote: »

There's an interesting article here about fat
http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/fats-full-story/#cholesterol

I have been on a low red meat diet for years, but have also reduced the amounts of processed foods as much as possible. I saw the low fat products as a scam some years ago and use full fat options sparingly instead. I think old style cooking has a lot going for it even if I still have dairy products. Everything in moderation.

jpscloud

I'm not afraid of the fat, but I afraid of gristle. I have often found gristle or unexplained bits of (for want of a better word) tube in beef mince - I only use turkey mince now and so far have never found anything scary in it.

xMonsoonx

azzabazza wrote: »

I am not against Quorn but I can't stand the smell! I eat Quorn based food whenever I visit my friend who is veggie. I believe some folk can get an upset tummy eating Quorn but it has never affected me that way.

I can not eat the stuff due to an allergy to all mushroom/fungus, I didn't realise what it was made of until my veggie friend poisoned me!

With regard to mince I try not to mince with a fat content over 10% - you need some fat for flavour - however whatever I buy has to the British.

Queen81

jpscloud wrote: »

I'm not afraid of the fat, but I afraid of gristle. I have often found gristle or unexplained bits of (for want of a better word) tube in beef mince - I only use turkey mince now and so far have never found anything scary in it.

I totally agree with you. There's nothing worse than tucking into a nice meal of (say) spag Bol and then finding a horrible bit of gristle/toenail/whatever else I dread to think. It really puts me off. I buy extra lean mince or turkey mince

suki1964

I'm happy to buy up to 20% fat but I won't buy value range

For long slow cooking it's very good value. ESP as I'm adding so much flavour to it myself , chilli, curry, bolognase etc

For a mince and tatties dinner, then I do upgrade but prefer to only put that on the menu if I've been lucky in the reduced sectio

nearlytherenow

Hi I've been wondering about the differences between the different mince packs recently particularly as the higher fat ones are so much cheaper.

If I buy 20% fat mince then drain the fat I'm guessing I end up with (up to?) 20% less meat. But if it is half the price of the lean mince then it still ends up as better value I'm thinking?

Frugalsod

I get beef shin from the butcher in 1 lb bags and mince it myself. I will use it all and since I top up the freezer I have mince for months but I mince it on the day I use it and it exits the mincer and falls into the slow cooker. After that I add all the other ingredients and prepare a large batch of chilli for the freezer. So I really do not worry about meat scandals.

kboss2010

I have a mince snob in the house (OH) but if I cook spag bol or lasagna with the cheaper stuff he can't tell the difference!

Generally I try to buy the lean mince because, as someone said, most of the normal mince is fat (bad for you and not great value for money). I buy mince when it's YS and freeze it in portions. A 500g pack will stretch to 4 lasagnas (4 portions each) if you add plenty of onion, beef stock and diced carrots.

My super cheap lasagna recipe is:
Meat:
1 tin tomatoes
1 large diced onion
3 large diced carrots
125g mince
1 tbsp bisto gravy powder
1 value beef stock cube
1 chopped garlic clove

Sauce:
350 mL milk
50-100g plain flour or cornmeal (keep adding until the sauce thickens)
Salt and pepper
Large handful of grated block cheese

Value pasta sheets (6) soaked in cold water for 30 minutes before layering.

Saut!e the mince and veg etc in water until the mince is cooked and the veggies are soft. Make the sauce in a pan then layer meat/pasta/sauce/meat/pasta/sauce. Sprinkle with cheese and bake for 20 minutes or until bubbling.

Serve with salad and garlic bread