do you boil or fry your mince?

Question

my mum had a rate go at me when she came round for her dinner because i was dry-frying mince for the pasta dish i was making.

she said i should boil it so i can skim the fat off the top.

i havent heard of anyone do this before... surely it wouldnt work or taste right?

Answer 1

I always fry it no matter what. Boiled meat (except for silverside) tastes disgusting.

I fry it in a deep frying pan with a bit of onion and some garlic paste, and then tip out the excess moisture before continuing to cook it.

Answer 2

Boiling mince is an old fashioned method - my mum used to boil the mince for about an hour years ago - I think today we tend to simmer in tomatos instead for bolognaise and things like that now. But your mum is right - if the mince is fatty it is better to skim the fat off - some people let their mince cool down first and then let the fat solidify on the top before taking it off.

If you buy ordinary mince you probably will need to skim the fat off - the best thing to do is buy the lean or extra lean mince and then it doesnt matter how you cook it!

Answer 3

Ew I have never heard of anyone boiling mince before. That would just take all the flavour out. Fry with a little oil to keep it moist but don't boil.

Answer 4

You are correct to dry fry the mince to seal it . But you must drain the mince using a colander or sieve to get rid of the fat. Boiling I thinks lose the flavour of the mince.

Answer 5

i wouldn't boil it as you need to make sure all of the mince goes brown or you will be ill after eating it. im sure boiling doesnt get rid of fat either.

to make it healthy fry with a little bit of vegetable or sunflower oil and add a stock cube to give extra flavour then plenty of vegetables with the pasta too. simple but delicious. take this from someone who only normally eats chicken lol.

Answer 6

i dry fry my mince for everything, even Shepard's pie. i empty the mince onto a plate with kitchen roll on and then empty the rest of the fat into a jar and throw away. i think it tastes better then boiled.

Answer 7

boiled mince sounds rank! carry on as your were, sounds a damn sight nicer. mams arent always right! you can always dry fry then cool, to skim off the fat. then carry on to make the recipe. i dinna like mince a lot but when i cook it i do this to get rid of any fat, then carry on adding the things i want to make lasagne, chilli. cottage pie, moussaka or just plain mince and tatties

Answer 8

I always dry fry mine too, very slowly to allow all the fat to turn to liquid then drain.
I think boiling mince is an older generation thing ?.

Answer 9

It's all down to personal taste and training and upbringing.
I do what you do.
I refuse to eat anything my own mother cooks - she's the sort of person who grew up skimming off fat and then adding five frikin litres of sunflower oil, otherwise it won't cook properly. (She can't buy Lard so easily anymore, but if she could, she'd use it).
They also believe old wives tales like when boiling vegetables, if it grew above ground you must start it off in hot water, or below ground you must start it off in cold water. a load of bollox.
And oh, yeah - microwave ovens don't cook properly and give you cancer (cigarettes don't).
Tell your old lady to drag her sorry **** into the 21st century, tell her if she wants to fight about it, mail me.
In her defence, depending on her age, she may have grown up in the days when a single pig's trotter was a rare treat for a family of five, but that was when you could buy two movie tickets, a chip supper and a dozen pints, and still get change from a shilling.

Answer 10

Your mum is really showing who is wearing the apron. If you boiled the mince...you would still be wrong because your mum is the original recipe woman. You could try and boil the mince,wrap it in the pastry and bake it. Try that.