Scottish Mince Recipe with Tatties - My Kitchen Love (2024)

FAQs

What are mince and tatties made of? ›

Mince and tatties is a Scottish dish which consists of ground beef and mashed potato. Other vegetables or thickening agents are sometimes added to the dish as well.

Heat 1 tsp (5 mL) of oil in a large skillet and place the mince in the center. Break the mince into smaller chunks and sprinkle it with salt. Let the mince brown, and inspect a larger chunk to ensure it's cooked all the way through. Enjoy the mince right away or refrigerate it for 1 week (or freeze it for 3 months).

An economical dish, dating back to the 18th century, when the potato was first introduced to Scotland.

Ground meat, called mince or minced meat outside North America, is meat finely chopped by a meat grinder or a chopping knife. A common type of ground meat is ground beef, but many other types of meats are prepared in a similar fashion, including pork, veal, lamb, goat meat, and poultry.

Mince is cooked when the temperature has reached 75°C. If you don't have a thermometer, ensure it's been simmering on the heat (it should be bubbling gently) for at least 15 minutes. If you're cooking meatballs or meatloaf, use a thermometer to check the temperature or cut open to check it is cooked through.

Consider the fat content of mince before you buy. Beef mince, and sometimes lamb, is graded by its fat content, and remember that some fat is desirable as it adds flavour and helps to keep the meat moist during cooking. The standard fat content of mince is 20%, but you can opt for a lean or extra-lean version.

I cook it for between 20 and 30 minutes as it's usually in some kind of sauce (including wine!) and sometimes if I,ve been a little over enthusiastic with the liquid at 20 minutes I simmer for a little longer to allow some of it to evaporate and thicken up a little.

The best way to cook beef mince

Add a dash of oil to a hot frying pan. Remove the beef mince from the packaging and distribute it evenly into the pan. Stir it over the high heat for around 6-8 minutes, so it doesn't stick to the pan and browns evenly. Season early on with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Neeps are mashed swede or turnips, and tatties are mashed potatoes. Confusingly, people in Scotland refer to what the English calls turnips as swedes, and what the English call swedes as turnips.

When did they stop putting meat in mincemeat? ›

By the 18th century it was more likely to be tongue or even tripe, and in the 19th century it was minced beef. It was not until the late Victorian period and early 20th Century that mince pies dropped the meat and had all fruit fillings (albeit with suet). Even today there are traditions associated with mince pies.

Well, “neeps” is just the Scots word for swede – that hard winter vegetable that people also use in soups and stews. You might also hear Scottish people saying “nips”, which is much more obviously short for “turnips”. It's a hard job to peel and chop the neeps, and then we boil and mash, then add a bit of seasoning.

All different kinds of meat and poultry can be minced: beef, veal, lamb, goat, chicken, turkey and more. Nowadays, chuck steak (that's beef) is usually used to make minced meat because of the rich flavour and the fat-to-meat ratio.

Ideally mince contains 100% muscle meat, and that can include a range of cuts or trimmings. Making mince out of a range of cuts is a good way for butchers to make the most out the entire animal, avoiding wastage.

The terms “ground meat” and “minced meat” are sometimes used interchangeably. But they indicate two techniques for processing raw meat: ground meat is an emulsion of lean meat and fat, whereas minced meat is finely chopped skeletal-muscle meat. Ground meat is consistent and smooth; minced meat is choppy and textured.

The reason mincemeat is called meat is because that's exactly what it used to be: most often mutton, but also beef, rabbit, pork or game. Mince pies were first served in the early middle ages, and the pies were quite sizeable, filled with a mixture of finely minced meat, chopped up fruit and a preserving liquid.