Lumpy mince beef.......

Just been to Sainsburys and bought the free flow frozen mince that has been mentioned on here.
Hopefully it will be the answer to lumpy mince!

Having seen this post the other day, I went to Lidl to do a bit of shopping. I bought some vacuum packed minced beef. It didn’t taste too bad but I spent a while removing most of the lumps. I gave up in the end and made a mental note to buy Aldi minced beef, as I usually do.
Aldi has 20%, 10% and 5% fat. I usually buy 10% for traditional British food but 5% for meatballs etc.
iI wasn’t impressed with vacuum packed mince.

My local butcher was recently diagnosed with cancer and closed for his treatment ( he advertised and could not get a qualified butcher to cover), hopefully he will reopen.
So I bough some Sainsbury’s vacuum packed mince it was awful, so hard to break up and seemed to have the texture of pate. I will try and find non vacuum packed from another supermarket and see how it goes.

Can the cooks get to grips with it when it's chilled and use a pair of gloves whilst 'slicing' it with a Carving knife or a Bread knife?

I've seen Prue Leith (on a TV programme) use a potato masher to break up mince.

Maybe a thing to try before purchasing yet another kitchen gadget that won't fit in the drawers

DanniRae

Now I am using the newish mince beef which is vacuum packed I find it really difficult to break it up. I use a wooden spoon to break up all the lumps before I cook it. This hardly works so as it is cooking I have another go, then another go, then another go...... You get the picture!
Has anyone out there solved this problem? If so please let us know!!

Those vacuum bags make the meat awful, so I buy from Tesco or the Co-op now as they’re still in the usual plastic trays.So far anyway.

I actually hate mince , I do cook it occasionally for other people .
If it's solid - I tip it into a frying pan with finely chopped onions and a little oil and I fry it at the lowest temperature .
A bit tedious , but I'll sip some tea or wine whilst I wait .
I flip it over when I see a colour change and gently fry the other side .
Then I either add some gravy powder or cubes and herbs or
chopped tomatoes , tomato puree and herbs .
Both with a little water .
I might add a dash of Worcestershire sauce to either variation .

I bring it up to the boil and then I simmer it .
The mince breaks up easily with the extra moisture .
No one has complained - yet!

use a metal spatula as it browns
if there is not enough fat add bit of olive oil
it browns nice that way too

I’m so glad you said that.

Look its either "minceD beef" or "beef mince"
Just saying

By adding milk when browning mince isn't that adding fat hence it breaking up with no or less lumps.

Sainsbury’s is the only supermarket who’s mince I have difficulty with, it takes forever to seperate out sadly

Ditto

Low fat 5%, 12% mince is a nightmare to break up. Stopped buying it due to lumpiness and reduced taste.

Midell

Interested to hear that some of you have independent butchers who know the provenance of their meat and, particularly, that they have been genuinely humanely slaughtered. Our couple of local butchers don't give any impression of being interested in welfare. How do yours prove their credentials.

Ours has boards in the shop which shows exactly where the meat came from if hung for how long and all the other details you might want to know. They are more than happy to talk about it too and you can chose what you want minced and how many times too..

I either break mince up with my hands before putting it on to cook, or put it on a chopping board and chop it through with a knife.

I find this works better than trying to break it up with a spoon while cooking.

Nice to hear so many of you have an old-fashioned butcher's shop nearby. I don't and probably OP doesn't either, so supermarket mince is my only option.

I pound mine up in the Kenwood mixer with the K beater and a bit of water before cooking. And I buy 10% fat to start it off, then drain it.

Wash hands. Then take mince out of packet and separate with hands firstto break it up, it helps.

No it doesn't! Sains vacuumed packs are one solid mushed together mass, only ever bought once from there.
Asda's breaks apart easily between fingers.

I have this problem but a few weeks ago I heard a chef on tv saying ‘if you have lumpy mince, add a little cold water’.
It works

If you have a Lidl nearby, as well as their usual mince they also have grass fed minced beef. I have found that to be excellent, soft and totally unlumpy.

From time to time I buy on-line. A well known Scottish butcher. He supplies the Royal Household - I reckoned if it was good enough for them it would be good enough for me!!! He sells everything, including that which we cannot now buy in the local butcher or supermarket (venison, calves liver, kidneys, game etc). Always check for the special offers, though, as he is not cheap. Delivered to the door. Packaged and frozen. Just throw it in the freezer! Have just received an order (and had four free steaks!). That will be spread out over about five or six months. I have never, ever been let down.

We buy venison mince which is lower fat than beef.

Buy a mincer and steak, mince it yourself, problem solved

I am lucky enough to live close enough to a monthly farmers market. I have bought all my meat there from the same farmer for the last twenty years. I have visited his farm, it’s not organic but his welfare standards are very high. I know that all the meat I buy (I freeze it as soon as I get home) has been reared less than 20miles away, has led a good life and wasn’t transported miles to an abattoir. The mince I buy is lump free, just the right amount of fat and any guests always comment on the flavour of the meat. If you can get to a Farmers Market I really recommend them. Yes, it is more expensive than a supermarket but we just eat less of it.

We’ve lost two really good butchers but are fortunate to have an award winning butcher in the next town who does deliver. Nothing beats a good plate of mince and tatties.