Mince?

[Scotsfox]

Originally Posted by suzy_homemaker

What exactly is the mince part of, say, a mince and tatties meal? I know it's ground meat, but is it traditionally hamburger (ground beef) or ground lamb, or what?

First it is NOT ground beef it's minced beef, preferably prime steak. I visited Canada as a young chap and attempted to make Mince using ground beef - disaster!!

Mince needs some fat say 10-15% or it will be very dry and quite unpalatable.

[Lithgae]

Originally Posted by Scotsfox

First it is NOT ground beef it's minced beef, preferably prime steak. I visited Canada as a young chap and attempted to make Mince using ground beef - disaster!!

Perhaps my memory isn't very good, but... i'm pretty sure our steak mince here is the same thing as 'ground steak' in the US.

It's just a difference in terminology... 'minced' v 'ground'.

[Polwarth]

Prine steak? I presume you mean filet or sirloin or rump? It doesn't work well as there is too little fat in it to 'casserole' or 'stew' well.

[SherbrookeJacobite]

The machine shown in the link from pogofish's post is exactly what we use in Canada to make ground beef. We use round steak (rump) to make 'ground round', which is leaner than regular ground beef. I don't think there is any difference between what we call ground beef, and what Scots call mince. I can't imagine anyone grinding up sirloin or filet.

[Scotsfox]

They aren't the same and Polwarth is right it's all to do with the fat content. You can't make good mince if the beef is too lean. However, that doesn't mean you can use off cuts and poor quality meat - it has to be good prime beef but with a reasonable fat content. I suppose the same applies to a good steak, if it's too lean it's dry and tasteless

[SherbrookeJacobite]

Originally Posted by Scotsfox

They aren't the same and Polwarth is right it's all to do with the fat content. You can't make good mince if the beef is too lean. However, that doesn't mean you can use off cuts and poor quality meat - it has to be good prime beef but with a reasonable fat content. I suppose the same applies to a good steak, if it's too lean it's dry and tasteless

I have eaten mince in Scotland, and ground beef in Canada - and they are the same to me. Based on your description, I am baffled by what you think the difference is. You can buy ground beef with varying degrees of fat. And if mince is not made from "off" cuts - what do you do with those cuts of meat? Throw it away? Once it is ground up, it is indistinguishable from ground up "good" cuts. Grinding up a 'good' (i.e. tender) cut of meat is a waste. The difference between a cheap cut of meat and an expensive cut is generally due to the tenderness. The cheap cuts are tougher, but taste every bit as good.

I live in "cattle country" and have processed (butchered) my own beef - from the point where it is standing in the field to my frying pan.

When you say you had disasterous results making mince in Canada - what exactly was wrong with it? If there was not enough fat - you must have been using lean ground beef (which has become popular because of the negativity associated with fat). If you use regular ground beef it can have up to 30% fat content.

[suzy_homemaker]

Sherbrooke Jacobite,

You butcher your own meat? How can you stand to eat it after going through all the process to kill the cow and then doing whatever else is necessary? No, no, no, I'm not vegetarian by a long shot (though I was one for nearly 20 years); however, I'm all-girl, too, and can't imagine having an appetite for what's been freshly killed. I saw my grandpa kill a chicken to be prepared for fried chicken one night at my aunt and uncle's place. It disgusted me because, for one thing, it wasn't a clean cut and the chicken was flapping around with its head dangling on a bloody thread. I skipped out on the chicken part for dinner that night, that's for sure. My meat comes straight from the supermarket. Let the workers there deal with it!