|

15 Mince Recipes – Save Money without Getting Bored of Mince

This website may earn commissions from purchases made through links in this post.

The bell tinkles as we open the door and step into the coolness.

Nothing entombed in plastic and Styrofoam, instead a raw but fresh smell, mingling with a hint of lemon disinfectant.

The blue and white striped apron, the strong meaty hands that wield the cleaver.

Chop.

“What’ll it be, luv?”

I grew up in a country town where there were almost as many butchers as there were pubs.

There was the one next to the corner shop that displayed in the shopfront window, with little bits of parsley tucked in amongst the cuts.

There was the one on the corner of George and Russell, where a boy I went to school with was apprenticed.

There was the butcher, a Master Chef in his own right, that always had a recipe suggestion to try and a few ‘special cuts’ at the back of shop.

They’re all gone now.

Lost to the supermarkets and the big-chain, shopping centre ‘butchers’ who get their meat pre-cut and prepacked in large boxes.

“I’ll have 2 kilos of mince thanks. The special.”

And those strong hands would sink into the mince and always pull out the right amount then deftly swing the bag into a knot and hurl it thwump onto the counter.

“Anything else, luv?”

“That’ll be all today, thanks.”

Mince is the accommodating cut. It appeases the meat eaters in the family, while saving money on the groceries.

It’s one of the cheaper cuts, but it can be made even cheaper by extending with grains, lentils of beans.

And no one will ever be the wiser.

You can’t hide lentils in a steak to make it cheaper.

Mince is versatile. Today I’ve gathered together all the mince dishes on the blog. Just a few of the many possibilities.

A trick with mince that I do when I’m organised (read rarely at the moment), is to cook up a big batch of mince with tomatoes and seasonings and freeze in meal-sized batches.

This can be turned, with a few extra spices or ingredients, into bolognaise sauce, lasagne, mince bake, savoury mince, tacos, cottage pie, the American Sloppy Joe, baked potoato toppings, chilli mince, nachos, mousaka and a whole host of other easy dinners.

Mince – the versatile meat.

What is your favourite mince dish?

Similar Posts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

3 Comments

  1. Eileen Miles says:

    Yes Melissa those Butcher’s still exist (at least in Batlow they do). What’s my favourite – all of the above . One problem my husband won’t eat mince! I could mince rump steak in front of him or chicken and he still wouldn’t eat. Its the texture he doesn’t like. Sausages , sausage rolls and hot dogs no problem. I can get away with cubing the meat ( very small cubes) and he will eat it. (doesn’t really like pasta either or tomato based sauce).
    Ho hum but in most other things he is really flexible(except carrots they are a no no ). He still eats them he just doesn’t know ( he he) :).

    1. Melissa Goodwin says:

      I have a fussy hubby, he’s not as bad as he used to be though. When we first met he wouldn’t eat any fruit and only corn and potatoes (and meat and pasta). I hide a lot of veg too – for him and the kids. :)