The Lemon Fool

Hi Folks,
Having made spaghetti bolognese for years with Quorn, vegetarian daughter, I thought I'd have a go with 'real meat'. A quick look at Tesco's frozen mince gives me 5%, 10%, 15%,20% fat and within that Aberdeen Angus options.
Looks like it's tasty verses healthy or is it?
What's the best option? We don't have a local butcher to get the fresh stuff. Daughter moved out some time ago but we never got round to making bolognese, lasagne etc.
Any tips welcome.
Ray.

I'm on a permanent low fat regime because I have a horrendously high inherited LDL cholesterol level (thanks, ancestors), but I still push the boat out a little bit with beef, which I don't cook more than once a fortnight. I've tried 5% and 10% fat, but there just isn't enough joy in the food. Dammit, it's the fat that carries the flavour!

I'd rather have a smaller quantity of reasonable quality beef with, say, 15% fat than a plateful of generic cow that just doesn't taste all that beefy. So it's the Aberdeen Angus for me. Tesco-wise, it's the 15% Angus @ £4.90 for half a kilo, of which I'll put about a third back into the freezer if I'm cooking for two. I do pile on the taste extras, though - aubergines, herbs, a splash of red wine balanced by a touch of rock salt - and it seems to go down well with SWMBO. Whatever works for you.

BJ

Bolognese?
Use the 20% fat beef.
Cook the mince without oil slowly at the start so it renders out a bit then have it absorbed by the onions (and mushroom or carrot if that's the way you roll)
The fat is a good bit of the flavour and will ultimately form a smaller part of the meal/sauce.
I probably use 500g mince, and same in veg to two tins of toms

Why not continue with quorn?

I use 5% for most things but fat does have taste but I'd work backwards. Try 5 then 10 then 15 etc until you find your preferred taste.

The 5 is probably better health wise than the fatter versions.

servodude wrote:Bolognese?

I probably use 500g mince, and same in veg to two tins of toms

Bolognese???? Mama mia and lots of swearing and gesticulating in Italian.

I often use a mix of pork and beef, non scientific about half and half, smotimes bacon too. I think I read somewhere veal and beef is rated.

What SD says about 20% fat, but I use 1 'tin' passata and a large glass of red wine rather than chopped toms, one stock cube, large onion, and a red pepper (mainly so I can easily distinguish it from the green pepper in the Chilli in the freezer), and a dsah of lemon juice cuts through the fat a bit.

kempiejon wrote:I often use a mix of pork and beef, non scientific about half and half, smotimes bacon too. I think I read somewhere veal and beef is rated.

Running with the off-topic diversion, I quite often slice up a couple of raw Toulouse sausages (https://www.sainsburys.co.uk/gol-ui/pro ... ce-x6-400g) and add to the beef mince mix. It gives you little random nuggets of garlicky flavour which are really rather good. Try it some time.

BJ

kempiejon wrote:I often use a mix of pork and beef, non scientific about half and half, smotimes bacon too. I think I read somewhere veal and beef is rated.

Years ago I saw Antonio Carluccio make a Bolognese sauce. I remember him saying "50% pork mince, 50% beef mince, good quality passata, salt, pepper and nothing else, garlic only if you absolutely must". Simmer for a long time on very low to intensify the flavour. I've done it this way and on spaghetti with lots of parmesan it's a simple joy with a robust glass of red.

Dicky99 wrote:

kempiejon wrote:I often use a mix of pork and beef, non scientific about half and half, smotimes bacon too. I think I read somewhere veal and beef is rated.

Years ago I saw Antonio Carluccio make a Bolognese sauce. I remember him saying "50% pork mince, 50% beef mince, good quality passata, salt, pepper and nothing else, garlic only if you absolutely must". Simmer for a long time on very low to intensify the flavour. I've done it this way and on spaghetti with lots of parmesan it's a simple joy with a robust glass of red.

Spaghetti???? What other heresies is this thread going to drag up.

James wrote:

Dicky99 wrote:
Years ago I saw Antonio Carluccio make a Bolognese sauce. I remember him saying "50% pork mince, 50% beef mince, good quality passata, salt, pepper and nothing else, garlic only if you absolutely must". Simmer for a long time on very low to intensify the flavour. I've done it this way and on spaghetti with lots of parmesan it's a simple joy with a robust glass of red.

Spaghetti???? What other heresies is this thread going to drag up.

There is nothing heretical in Italy about the form of pasta called spaghetti. The heresy if you're from Bologna is referring to that combination as being Bolognese.

Dicky99 wrote:

James wrote:
Spaghetti???? What other heresies is this thread going to drag up.

There is nothing heretical in Italy about the form of pasta called spaghetti. The heresy if you're from Bologna is referring to that combination as being Bolognese.

Yes, but this whole thread has been about Bolognese sauce, or ragu alla Bolognese, which should not be uttered in the same sentence as spaghetti or tinned tomatoes.

James wrote:

Dicky99 wrote:
There is nothing heretical in Italy about the form of pasta called spaghetti. The heresy if you're from Bologna is referring to that combination as being Bolognese.

Yes, but this whole thread has been about Bolognese sauce, or ragu alla Bolognese, which should not be uttered in the same sentence as spaghetti or tinned tomatoes.

What cream do you think is best in a carbonara?

servodude wrote:

James wrote:Yes, but this whole thread has been about Bolognese sauce, or ragu alla Bolognese, which should not be uttered in the same sentence as spaghetti or tinned tomatoes.

What cream do you think is best in a carbonara?

Whichever one is nearest to the bacon counter at the supermarket
To be fair, carbonara has dubious provenance at the best of times, but anyone putting cream with it should be taken out and shot, pour encourager les autres.

James wrote:

servodude wrote:
What cream do you think is best in a carbonara?

Whichever one is nearest to the bacon counter at the supermarket
To be fair, carbonara has dubious provenance at the best of times, but anyone putting cream with it should be taken out and shot, pour encourager les autres.

OK the secret's out...you are Jamie Oliver and I claim my five pounds.

redsturgeon wrote:

James wrote:
Whichever one is nearest to the bacon counter at the supermarket
To be fair, carbonara has dubious provenance at the best of times, but anyone putting cream with it should be taken out and shot, pour encourager les autres.

OK the secret's out...you are Jamie Oliver and I claim my five pounds.

If I had his money I'd give you the fiver. Sadly, I don't, but I did misspend a lot of my wayward youth working in Italian restaurants (i.e. proper ones with Mafia links).

James wrote:

Dicky99 wrote:
There is nothing heretical in Italy about the form of pasta called spaghetti. The heresy if you're from Bologna is referring to that combination as being Bolognese.

Yes, but this whole thread has been about Bolognese sauce, or ragu alla Bolognese, which should not be uttered in the same sentence as spaghetti or tinned tomatoes.

Nonsense. It's a tired old trope that bolognese style sauce should never be combined with spaghetti. People enjoy it in their millions the world over and nobody gets hurt

Dicky99 wrote:

James wrote:Yes, but this whole thread has been about Bolognese sauce, or ragu alla Bolognese, which should not be uttered in the same sentence as spaghetti or tinned tomatoes.

Nonsense. It's a tired old trope that bolognese style sauce should never be combined with spaghetti. People enjoy it in their millions the world over and nobody gets hurt

They would have if they'd asked for it at the places I worked.

bungeejumper wrote:

kempiejon wrote:I often use a mix of pork and beef, non scientific about half and half, smotimes bacon too. I think I read somewhere veal and beef is rated.

Running with the off-topic diversion, I quite often slice up a couple of raw Toulouse sausages (https://www.sainsburys.co.uk/gol-ui/pro ... ce-x6-400g) and add to the beef mince mix. It gives you little random nuggets of garlicky flavour which are really rather good. Try it some time.

BJ

Chorizo works well too, and makes up flavour if you use lean beef.