Lumpy mince beef.......

I buy Sainsburys frozen mince, just pour out the amount I want from the freezer, no waste, no lumps. Cooks down well. Perfect.

i buy the throw away gloves to use in the kitchen and just get my hands in and break it all up if i buy fresh mince but as i don't get out often i buy the frozen from iceland, being on my own it is easier as i can batch cook or just if i feel like mince that day.

Interested to hear that some of you have independent butchers who know the provenance of their meat and, particularly, that they have been genuinely humanely slaughtered. Our couple of local butchers don't give any impression of being interested in welfare. How do yours prove their credentials.

Another vote for adding some milk whilst browning mince.

Very rarely have I encountered this problem. I usually buy Aberdeen Angus 5% fat mince from Waitrose or M&S and find these break up very quickly.

Wallop it with a rolling pin while it’s still in the vacuum pack?

We're in the sticks so rely on delivered Sainsbury's mince. I have to scrunch up the slab and keep rubbing it through my fingers until it's small bits

I’ve bought the 250g vacuum packs from Sainsbury’s and was very disappointed. Fortunately there’s an m and s near me and their mince is excellent. Only available in 500g packs so I have to divide it in half.

I buy beef stewing steak and mince it myself, no fat pure beef

I buy Ocado Lean Beef Steak Mince 5% Fat, it's reared under one of the farm assured schemes. It isn't tightly packed and I find it very easy to break up with my fingers. If it's been frozen it is more difficult.
One of my favourites is venison mince, but most are vacuum packed and very difficult to break up. Constant chopping with a wooded spatula or fish slice is the method I use, though I do sometimes get a little chunk or two.

Wash hands. Then take mince out of packet and separate with hands firstto break it up, it helps.

It is the law here, (France) that butchers have to mince the fresh meat in front of you when you give the order. You then see only cuts of beef, no offal or other parts of the body nor other ‘stuff’ can be added. Of course you can buy from the supermarket.

I did ask a UK butcher once, where my DD lived, if he would mince a particular cut on display for me but he refused on the grounds that he would have to clean his machine both before and after. His place closed down a few months later, through lack of trade.

I would never use 5% fat mince. Fat = flavour.

I buy my mince elsewhere now.
Morrisons and Booths still do normal mince or else the butchers.

Butchers to keep them going, sometimes grass fed mince from Lidl, add a little milk when making Italian, tenderisers the meat.

I have also found this with our local Sainsbury’s. It’s not only difficult to break up but tastes awful too. I now only buy from our local butcher’s or Waitrose.

I have also found the mince is lumpier in the vacuum packs. I’ve started cutting the slab of meat whilst in its pack into a grid of about 6 slices by 5 making 30 cubes of meat. It is then easier to work with when you break it up in the pan

I use my potato masher during the browning process - works perfectly for finer "grains".

Catterygirl

Tried vacuum packed twice from Sainsburys. It’s awful and there’s an Irish butcher next door so guess where we buy.

I bought Sainsbury's mince just once
since they started vacuum packing it.
The meat tasted strongly of liver.
Very unpleasant, spoiled the meal.
Waitrose don't vacuum pack atm and I hope it stays that way.
As a point of interest, Waitrose know where their meat comes from. It's all responsibly sourced. We no longer have a butcher in the town and I am not able to get to local farm shops. I'm very happy with Waitrose meat.
Any lumps I flatten with a large fork.

We are lucky in having 3 good butchers in our 3 villages.now suburbs 3-5 miles from our dying town centre. A fresh fish van now sits outside our butcher every Saturday.

Pittcity

I live in a City that has no butcher, fishmonger or greengrocer in the centre. It's a drive to get anything other than supermarket fayre.
I hate the vacuum packs, but sometimes beggars can't be choosers.
Never heard of a meat masher Minimoon. Will have to get one.

That's very sad, Pittcity. I'm pretty sure that you live in the place where I grew up. There was at least two of all those shops in the town centre, and grocers, when I was a child there. Mum used to go to town to do her weekly food shopping...

I don't have a problem using the supermarket mince, I just break it up with my fingers as I put it into the pan to cook. Then keep it moving with a spoon when browning it off.
I have used two different packs this morning, one beef/pork mix for Lasagne sauce and another pork for Spring roll filling and both have no clumps.

I think I might try putting the raw mince in a large bowl...pour a little oil on it and 'massage' it into it.
These ideas come from the gransnetter who suggested breaking it up with my hands before starting to cook it and the information from another gransnetter that low fat meat needs lubricating because that's what the fat does.....
I can but try..... as my mum used to say

I don't know of any butchers near me but ten miles away is a one which my sister uses. It is a family run business and they sell yummy home baked pies too, they also sell locally produced curry sauces which make your own meals taste like top class restaurant meals.
Sorry I got distracted, their mince is perfect but like everything else in the shop it is pricey.

Try using a potato masher on it whilst you are browning it. It seems to happen with very low fat mince as there isn't enough fat to lubricate the meat.