mince

Former Member

iv only just recently started cooking with meat so forgive me if this is a stupid question but....

in the supermarket (asda ) they have lots of different mince. they have 500g for £2 (its not the smart price one) and 500g for £4. the only difference I can see between the 2 is that the £2 one says its less than 20% fat and £4 one says less than 10% fat. so I'm guessing the more expensive one is leaner?

what I want to know is when you cook with mince you usually brown it off then pour away the rest of the excess fat so does it really matter what percent fat the mince is in the first place? I'm confused it's not that I want to buy cheap meat in fact im really funny about it but one is twice the price of the other!

before anyone says it I know it all probably contains horse :mad:

Former Member

Right, so you'll buy 500g of meat, and then pour some off?

The leaner meat will come from a nicer section of animal, you're getting what you pay for with meat, literally, if you pay for fat, you'll pour off or eat fat. If you buy the lean meat, you won't, it tends to be slightly better quality as well.

I am somewhat incoherent, sorry, but to sum up, as a well practised meat eater and buyer and cooker, I will always buy the most expensive cut I can afford (organic aside, because I still think that's a rip-off). Lean mince, good cuts, no added salt or sugar or water, free range, no fillers. Make sense?

Former Member

If you can be bothered to scoop off the fat after cooking then yes it's a better deal.

400g of meat for £2 vs 450 grams of meat for £4.

There are no bad sections really. Eat cut is fit for a different purpose. A well marbled piece of rib will have a much higher percentage of fat than a piece of brisket. One will cost £5 a kilo the other £25. Both are superb when cooked suitably.

But you're talking about mince from a super market, the price is reflecting how much easier it is to shove a fatty piece into a mincer than to cut the fat off it first.

eta don't pour it off after browning wait until your sauce is finished it will settle at the top.

Former Member

buy it from a decent butcher is my advice, so you both KNOW what youre buying, and not supporting the supermarket led decimation of the farming industry.

Former Member

so I'm still a bit confused I thought that's what you do with mince, every recipe iv seen (bearing in mind iv only made chilli and tacos ha) it says brown the mince then pour away the rest of the juice, because there's quite a lot in the pan compared to when you cook chicken etc, I assumed that was fat?

im really funny about meat and would much rather buy the more expensive pack but sometimes money is tight and my boyfriend kept saying he didn't see the point in paying twice the price although he's a bloke and he would eat anything.

Former Member

It's fat and meat juices so you're removing flavour. If you are cooking a sauce you can remove it at the end.

DIfferent dishes require a different type of mince anyway. Bolognese and chilli need lean mince and hamburger requires a fattier mince for example.

Former Member

Minimi38 has done the maths for you.

You're getting less actual meat in the cheaper pack than you get in the more expensive one, but even accounting for that the cheaper one still gets you more actual meat for your money.

My suggestion would be to buy the classier mince when it's on 3 for £ 10 or similar and stick it in the freezer. If you're budgeting, then also have a look at lamb mince. That often gets you much nicer meat for your money and you can substitute it for beef mince in any recipe of do half and half and tastes good.

Former Member

Fiendy is smack on. There's all sorts of factors to involve in price. Leaner, better quality meat needs more work (for instance taking excess fat off), or the cut they use you get less per carcass than the cheaper cuts ergo it's more expensive so this is reflected in the price. As fiend says, the higher priced is probably a better cut of beef.

I usually do the 3 for £10 thing. Make a big batch and freeze it. Or make some chilli, some bolognaise sauce and some burgers and freeze em all for leigh.

I made a huge pot of veggie chilli thursday. With mushrooms, veg mince, celery and carrots. I got 10 generous portions for under £6 and now have several homecooked meals in the freezer that just take a few minutes in the microwave to heat up, so if you have a large freezer 3* or more, i'd get into doing it if i were you. Saves you loads of time and a fair bit of cash too