Mince recipes are a weekly staple in most houses, and who doesn’t love a comforting bowl of bolognese? Or maybe it’s Mexican night, and you have a craving for tacos!
Whatever your jam, we bet you’ve been cooking mince wrong your whole life.
How do you cook minced meat properly?
Chef Mel Alafaci, a Brisbane-based chef and author of Culinary Quickies says the key to cooking mince is in the sizzle! And as hard as it might be, do not break up the mince. Let it brown and hiss, and seal in the juices before you start stirring.
“First, you should heat and grease a large pan until it is just about smoking hot. Now add the mince – we want it to sizzle when it hits the pan, and IT SHOULD SIZZLE nice and loud and sexy,” says Mel.
“DO NOT STIR. I know you are worried about this burning, and you are also worried about lumps, but let the mince brown and seal on the first side you put down FIRST. Then let the pan heat up again, and THEN you can stir ever so slightly just to get some more mince onto the base of the pan.”
Once your mince smells lovely and fragrant, you can add other ingredients to the mix.
How do you fry mince?
Here are Mel’s step-by-step instructions for cooking mince in a pan.
- Use Canola Oil or Rice Bran Oil and put the mince first.
- Ensure your pan is hot and the mince sizzles when it hits the pan.
- Don’t stir the mince from the start. Get the first layer brown and fragrant before you move it around the pan.
- It will smell like roast beef if you do it right!
- Use a plastic whisk to break down the lumps.
- By browning the meat, you won’t need to use various sauces to make it taste delicious.
- Get creative with my mince and change the spices, thus changing the flavour.
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