Browning meat (merged)

agiaga

I agree with Icbjcomc - browning is for extra flavor and reducing fat

PasturesNew

Cheers. I'm trying to find if somebody's favourite food (mince) can be done in a crock as they're unable to use a frying pan (one arm, unstable on their feet, not 100% with it a lot of the time) - and turning a ring on and turning/browning mince, then draining it, introduces lots of opportunity to burn themselves and drop/lose the lot on the floor or elsewhere - oh and to forget the ring was on and somehow set fire to the house.

I didn't want to just try it in case it turns out to be an 8 hour wait for some inedible muck.

ifonlyitwaseasier

if they are having trouble draining then maybe a sieve over a bowl would be an option just in case?

PasturesNew

ifonlyitwaseasier wrote: »

if they are having trouble draining then maybe a sieve over a bowl would be an option just in case?

No, then it becomes all too much and creates more opportunity for them to get it wrong. Judgement, dexterity and spatial awareness aren't always there. And it's the bit before that which terrifies me most: turning on the ring, it getting hot, managing to turn the mince successfully without it all falling on the floor (creating a fatty goo/slip opportunity) - and then remembering to turn the ring off etc. So many hazards I am trying to avoid here.

Mrs_Jojo

Firstly, I'm sure it can.

Secondly, do they have a freezer? If so, perhaps you could brown the mince and then freeze it for them so they just need to stick it in the crockpot? I know this is partly taking away the independence to cook for oneself, but it would potentially solve the mince problem.

Good luck!

witchwoopiggy

umm i just chuck it in raw and it has always been fine both in looks and taste

tsstss7

PN I make mince type dishes with veggy mince and OH didn't know until I told him so maybe that is an option for your friend if unbrowned mince doesn't taste so good (I also do meat mince for my family but must admit have always browned it first as taught in home ec..but I never taste it so is a bit of a hit and miss jobby). Veggy mince doesn't need browning so is very easy to use. I just bung it in towards the end just before the boil/simmer bit.

PasturesNew

Mrs_Jojo wrote: »

Firstly, I'm sure it can.

Secondly, do they have a freezer? If so, perhaps you could brown the mince and then freeze it for them so they just need to stick it in the crockpot? I know this is partly taking away the independence to cook for oneself, but it would potentially solve the mince problem.

Good luck!

I thought of that, but it still requires somebody to do that bit for them (not me). And, it then made me wonder how many times you can reheat mince once it's cooked/frozen/crockpotted.

As it is, it'd be: cooked in the pot, decanted to tupperware, put in the fridge and spooned out over a few days. So I figured, from raw, one pot of mince could be split into two lots: one lot to freeze, one lot for the fridge.

PasturesNew

tsstss7 wrote: »

PN I make mince type dishes with veggy mince and OH didn't know until I told him so maybe that is an option for your friend if unbrowned mince doesn't taste so good (I also do meat mince for my family but must admit have always browned it first as taught in home ec..but I never taste it so is a bit of a hit and miss jobby). Veggy mince doesn't need browning so is very easy to use. I just bung it in towards the end just before the boil/simmer bit.

I did wonder if I could use a veggie mince. They've probably not know nor care, so long as it tasted OK. Also, for me, if I tried veggie mince and it was !!!!!!, then I'd not feel guilty that some animal died and I was going to chuck it in the bin

What's the timing in a crock for veggie mince?

PasturesNew

witchwoopiggy wrote: »

umm i just chuck it in raw and it has always been fine both in looks and taste

Ah - found somebody who does it

Do you use "good" or cheap mince? How many hours do you do it for? I'm assuming beef mince, but I guess I'd also be interested in finding out about lamb mince .... and possibly turkey mince and chicken mince and pork mince.

Got this pot, never used it... nobody has.