Page 95 - YC Cooking School

Mastering Meat 1

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The golden rules of Mincing

1. First prize when it comes to mince is to make it yourself
Buy yourself a good mixer that has a mincer attachment or, if you’re going to do
a lot of mincing, buy a standalone tabletop mincer.
2. If you don’t have your own mincing equipment, cozy up to your butcher
Ask them to mince specific cuts for you, depending on the dish you’re going to
prepare.

3. Chop your meat by hand
This will help you achieve coarsely ground mince for your burger.
4. Don’t use mince that’s too lean
This is especially true when making hamburgers, as they’ll come out dry and
tasteless. For a good hamburger, you want at least 10% fat.
5. Ignore the bad rap mince gets
This often happens if you use non-prime cuts that have a lot of connective tissue
or sinew, which makes the mince tough and chewy if not cooked for long
enough. Unless you’re grilling or frying a hamburger and cooking it medium
rare, mince should be cooked for at least 45 minutes to an hour, or even longer

if possible.
6. Try and remove visible sinew when doing your own mincing
If you don’t, your mincer may get clogged up. If it looks like the meat is being
forced rather than mincing freely, switch the mincer off and clean any sinew
from the blade.
7. Use bread to clean your mincer
When you get to the end of the mincing, take a small piece of bread and put it
through the mincer to clear out any last bits of meat. Handy hey?

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