Mince Muddles

[alioop]

Hi All
I haven't had much success with mince so far in the TMX and wondered if anyone had any suggestions to help.  Have tried a spag bol sauce (followed technique in EDC) and taco mince.  Used shop-bought mince (regular).  Both times, the mince turned out very 'fine' in texture and not slightly 'chunky' as it looks in the EDC (and how it usually turns out on the stovetop).  I made sure that I had the blades on reverse and soft speed, but think the TM has broken it up almost too well.  Is this what others have found?  What am I doing wrong and any suggestions on how to get the texture chunkier?  Am determined to get it right in the TM!!

Ali

[Nay-nay]

  Sorry - I'm no help - I found the same thing when I have cooked mince in the TMX .... Meanwhile it is the best texture for sausage rolls with the rough puff pastry in  EDC.

[Thermomixer]

Must confess that I have not tried the recipe - so will have to put it on the "non-existant menu plan"

[cookie1]

Everytime I do mince in the TMX it ends up very fine too. I've gone back to doing it on the stove.

[brazen20au]

we love the ragu but i've given up doing it for taco meat etc. not because it's too fine but because you can't fry hot enough like you can on the stove. i keep ending up with all this stewed meat in heaps of liquid

[alioop]

ok, thanks for the feedback everyone - sometimes with things like that, I think that it's just me doing something wrong and it's good to be able to check with others!
Might have to concede defeat on the mince cooking - have to use the stove top sometimes I suppose!!
Ali

[judydawn]

I have made spag bol and lasagne using bought mince (I only use the top grade low-fat variety so whether that makes a difference or not I don't know) and to be honest, haven't noticed your problem.  Don't do either very often but will take note next time and get back to you (may be a while though so don't hold your breath). DD's spag bol is chunky though because 4 yr old GD referred to it once as spaghetti and meatballs because of the little chunky bits in it.

[alioop]

Thanks for that JD - no hurry  . 

[marmee]

We haven't had that problem before either, and we cook mince often.  I will take note next time of what I am doing....

The worst thing I find when doing mince is that it leave a mark on the bottom of the pan which can be hard to get off   

[lucjar]

I have found the same thing when cooking mince...very fine texture.
 My eldest son has complained about this.  I have also followed all the recipes and tried tweaking them (eg reduced cooking time, reduced liquid etc etc)....I would love to hear any suggestions/tweaks to make the meal more 'chunkier'.

I I get marks on the bottom as well, Marmee.

[alioop]

lucjar, I eventually went back to doing my spag bol on the stovetop  - I did think though, that if you were determined to use the TM, that a courser-grade mince is probably the answer - maybe getting the local butcher to mince a low fat mince to a courser grade or mincing your own in the TM to a chunkier texture (bit tricky to get exact though)?
I think Thermomixer came up with a good suggestion for trying to avoid burn marks on the bottom of the bowl and that was to pre-heat the bowl and spray with oil before putting ingredients in (in this case the mince)...I tried this with scrambled eggs and it seemed to work ok.  .

[Thermomixer]

Cooking at a slightly higher speed and lower temp can help too with the sticking - just need to cook a bit longer

[judydawn]

I have made spag bol and lasagne using bought mince (I only use the top grade low-fat variety so whether that makes a difference or not I don't know) and to be honest, haven't noticed your problem.  Don't do either very often but will take note next time and get back to you (may be a while though so don't hold your breath). DD's spag bol is chunky though because 4 yr old GD referred to it once as spaghetti and meatballs because of the little chunky bits in it.

Sorry, I forgot to get back to you on this one.  Asked DD about it and she actually cooks it on the stove top, hence the chunks.   I personally like it with a fine texture though.

[rainbow]

I have just cooked the Bolognaise sauce (ragu) and found no problem with the texture but it is a sauce.  I did find it  burnt a bit in the bowl and used bicarb to clean but maybe try spray and cook in the bowl before starting?

[boonderoostudio]

Hi All
I haven't had much success with mince so far in the TMX and wondered if anyone had any suggestions to help.  Have tried a spag bol sauce (followed technique in EDC) and taco mince.  Used shop-bought mince (regular).  Both times, the mince turned out very 'fine' in texture and not slightly 'chunky' as it looks in the EDC (and how it usually turns out on the stovetop).  I made sure that I had the blades on reverse and soft speed, but think the TM has broken it up almost too well.  Is this what others have found?  What am I doing wrong and any suggestions on how to get the texture chunkier?  Am determined to get it right in the TM!!

Ali

 I have had great success with this recipe, but I always buy a piece of topside and mince that in the  It only takes a few seconds, it's nice and fresh and you have premium grade mince... buy the topside when on special and freeze cut in to cubes before freezing and you are ready to make what ever dish you want eg spag bol, a curry or whatever.