Minced meat, but not beef

corblimey

I'm looking into getting some mince this weekend, but not steak or beef from Tesco. I want to try minced pork, chicken or lamb. I've never seen these varieties on sale anywhere, but I'm guessing I can just go into any butchers and ask for a half a kilo of minced chicken or whatever? Will most butchers be happy to do it? Will they be able to tell me ahead of the mincing how much it will cost?

gigawatt

dunnes usually do minced pork and turkey as far as i know. not sure about the lamb though:)

wyndham

You don't mince chicken. What do you want to do with it? Turkey mince is nice in a spaghetti and I think it's lower fat than beef. You can get all of them in Superquinn and you see turkey and lamb mince in other shops like Dunnes too.

corblimey

wyndham wrote: »

You don't mince chicken

That's a weirdly sweeping statement. What about the 44 odd recipes on Allrecipes.com that call for 'ground' chicken?

I don't believe there's any Superquinns in Cork, and Dunne's is not very handy, but I'll check some of the other supermarkets around the area, if minced non-beef is that common

olaola

You'll get pork, turkey & lamb from the butchers. If you want, they'll weigh it before mincing to tell you how much it will cost.
I've never seen chicken mince tbh. And I've never eaten it.

Faith

Tesco sell minced pork, lamb and occasionally turkey. I got minced pork and lamb in Tesco Mahon Point a few weeks ago,

the cannonball

you can mince any type of meat i work as a butcher in sydney and we supply meat to all the top resturants in sydney.
we make chicken mince everyday.theres two types that get ordered chicken breast mince and chicken thigh mince.
we also make beef,lamb,veal,pork,pork fat minced,30%pork fat mixed with beef mince.and on the odd occasion we had to do crocadile mince.
if you go your local butcher or butcher counter at your supermarket they would have no problem mincing any type of meat for you it would be no problem for them.

corblimey

I'm totally putting crocodile mince in my next chilli! :P

lucylu

support your local butcher...
They will not charge you for mincing meat, while a supermarket may price it differently to a piece meat.

I had trouble getting minced lamb for a Moussaka in my local supermarket the butcher behind the counter said "minced Lamb is very rare" :rolleyes:
The butcher down the road had none ready but minced it some me - he now gets my business.

If you cant get what you are looking for, mince it yourself in a food processor in small amounts.

rubadub

corblimey wrote: »

That's a weirdly sweeping statement. What about the 44 odd recipes on Allrecipes.com that call for 'ground' chicken?

Yes, strange statment, though I have never ever seen it over here and cannot understand why, esp. with all the chicken nugget/burgers using mechanically removed chicken.

Faith wrote: »

Tesco sell minced pork, lamb and occasionally turkey.

My tesco has always got all 3, they have 2 types of turkey mince, one higher in fat which is much cheaper.

With commercial mincing machines some is "lost" to the mincer. i.e. if you had a clean mincer and put in maybe 30g of meat nothing might come out, as it is stuck inside. A FOAF used to get small fillet steaks and have them minced to eat as tartare -I was sickened as he was probably eating any old meat pushed out first, and the next person was getting mince fillet!

Some might have a smaller hand mincer to do small cuts. I was thinking of getting one myself so I can see exactly what is going in. This place sells them and was recommended on here before.
http://www.sausagemaking.org/

Pembily

I regularly use turkey mince from Dunnes (tends to be on offer), I use it in meatballs and in spag boll, my bf never notices the difference and find it easier to digest than beef!

wyndham

corblimey wrote: »

That's a weirdly sweeping statement. What about the 44 odd recipes on Allrecipes.com that call for 'ground' chicken?

I don't believe there's any Superquinns in Cork, and Dunne's is not very handy, but I'll check some of the other supermarkets around the area, if minced non-beef is that common

Apologies I meant you don't get minced chicken. I have never seen it on sale here. You can mince anything.

The Sweeper

Minced chicken is useful in things like dumplings or any dish where you mix the meat with spices and finely chopped vegetables, then wrap it in an outer casing - pastry or rice paper or whatever you like - and then cook by steaming or frying.

Minder

Minced chicken is not usually available as it has a particularly short shelf life - so most supermarkets don't carry it. Poultry mince is less stable than minced red meat and will discolour quicker due to oxidation. Additives such as ground dehydrated rosemary or onion juice are used to slow oxidation and keep the colour of the meat looking pink and fresh.

pickarooney

I used to find many butchers, including the one I worked in as a kid, wouldn't mince anything other than beef unless you ordered a large amount or got them at just the right moment, as it was hassle to clean the mincer between meat types.I just mince my own now - my mincing machine was one of my best investments as minced beef costs up to three times as much as the meat used to make it where I live.

Kenny_D

I made turkey burgers this week with minced turkey from Dunnes and they were some of the tastiest, juciest burgers I've ever made. Nicer than homemade beef burgers. Can't wait to have more turkey mince based recipes!

brianthebard

pickarooney wrote: »

I used to find many butchers, including the one I worked in as a kid, wouldn't mince anything other than beef unless you ordered a large amount or got them at just the right moment, as it was hassle to clean the mincer between meat types.I just mince my own now - my mincing machine was one of my best investments as minced beef costs up to three times as much as the meat used to make it where I live.

I had to get two pounds of lamb mince the other day for this reason. Not a problem in my book. :pac: Definitely want to get a mincer soon though, rubadub posted a great link to one that also makes sausages. *drool*

rubadub

Minder wrote: »

Minced chicken is not usually available as it has a particularly short shelf life - so most supermarkets don't carry it. Poultry mince is less stable than minced red meat

I am still left wondering why I see turkey mince all the time, and never chicken.

neuro-praxis

GStormcrow wrote: »

I made turkey burgers this week with minced turkey from Dunnes and they were some of the tastiest, juciest burgers I've ever made. Nicer than homemade beef burgers. Can't wait to have more turkey mince based recipes!

I've made turkey burgers a few times and they were crap - bland and dry. What did you do to make them tasty and juicy? Share your recipe!

Minder

rubadub wrote: »

I am still left wondering why I see turkey mince all the time, and never chicken.

Yes, minced turkey is common in my local supermarket. I'll have a look to see if it has additives next time I see a packet.

I use a mincer to make turkey mince, then add roast sweetcorn, breadcrumbs, an egg, cumin, parsley, chopped spring onion salt & pepper. Fry the meatballs in a shallow pan then finish in the oven for 5 minutes. They should be bouncy if pressed with a finger.

Kenny_D

neuro-praxis wrote: »

I've made turkey burgers a few times and they were crap - bland and dry. What did you do to make them tasty and juicy? Share your recipe!

I'll post it up over the weekend. I wrote it down and stuck it to the fridge afterwards Was a bit of an experiment but they came out great

Kenny_D

neuro-praxis wrote: »

I've made turkey burgers a few times and they were crap - bland and dry. What did you do to make them tasty and juicy? Share your recipe!

Ok so here it is:

1 pack of Turkey Mince (425g)
1/2 Chopped Onion
1 tbsp chopped parsley
1.5 heaped tbsp dijon mustard
1 large handful of breadcrumbs (about half a cup I guess)
1 tbsp water
1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
1 chopped red chilli
1 clove of fresh crushed garlic
salt/pepper to season

Optional: 1 tbsp soy sauce (I prefer light soy) or 1.5 tbsp franks red hot sauce (I split my recipe in two and used soy sauce in 2 burgers and franks in 2)

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl and make into burgers. You should get 4 good sized burgers. Pop them on a plate, cover in cling film and leave in the fridge for at least an hour.

Cooking:
Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in cast iron skillet on a medium/high heat. Season burgers with fresh ground pepper and a little sea salt. Pop burgers onto skillet and cook for 5 mins per side and serve immediately. These are quite lean and can fall apart if squashed or messed with in the pan so just put them in and leave them and turn once. You could probably add an egg white to help bind the burgers but I didnt use one.