Minced meat is one of the things that is cooked badly more often than anything else and it’s so silly because once we know how to do it, it’s the easiest thing in the world. How often have you had to sit through badly cooked mince, trying not to choke on the floury lumps? Life is really far too short for bad eating and, in with this in mind, we decided to include this in our “Basically” series.   There are so many dishes that require minced beef that it boggles the mind. We compiled a short list of tips on how to prevent your mince from ever turning into a grey, lumpy and watery mass – this is how you make crumbly, brown, juicy mince.

• Meat has to be defrosted and free from all liquid – never use the defrost button on the microwave – remember to take out the meat in time but whenever you can, use fresh minced meat!
• Heat your saucepan and melt a substantial amount of fat (butter, lard, oil or a mixture of butter and oil);
• Sprinkle the minced meat* into the bubbling oil (or butter or lard) and do not stir immediately;
• With a wooden spatula, start stirring only after you are sure that the bottom layer of meat has browned – at least 3 minutes;
• Now watch the mince and continue to fry as you normally do, breaking up anything that looks as if it may coagulate – it usually doesn’t;
• You will notice that the meat is loose, browns well and has the aroma of roasted meat;
• At this point, deglaze the saucepan with the mince inside with a little (a tbsp) wine, stock or just plain water – depending on what you are cooking;
• If you need to fry onions or garlic, remove the mince and set aside so that you can prepare the dish from that point;

* The exception to this rule is fatty minced mutton – this must be dry-fried because the fat content is high enough.