Mince and Tatties

gb-locks

Mince and Tatties a perfect dinner for a frosty evening, anyone tried mixing white pudding into the mince it's ace, had mine tonight coming back on me a bit now though.

wiffachip

no, but white pudding is lush though

might make mince and dumplings at the weekend

pneumatic

I was raised on mince and tatties. My old man didn't like onions or tomatoes or garlic so it was literally just mince and tatties (oh, and gravy browning).

This led to a few decades of abstinence. However, upon revisiting it in later life, I discover it to be a most delicious winter meal indeed.

Lea and perrins is a good enhancement, as is a tin of baked beans.

mats

Every monday night was mince and totties night my mum added dough balls which were the dogs but you could feel your arteries clogging up just at the mention of them. She also made mince and totty soup which entailed adding diced turnip and carrot and adding a bit more water while cooking. I fully support the lea and perrins and baked bean additions tried them both.....but not at the same time.

hisoka

Wow, sounding nice food here.
Now for the important question as I'm sure we have lots of variations.
Best recipe/method for this delightful dish for everyone?
Would give mine but never made one I truly like, and couldn't pry the recipe out of family members who made it well.

pneumatic

ok, first of all, get the best mince you can (lean steak mince from our local butcher is noticeably nicer than even the "finest" from Tesco.)

finely chop an onion or two and soften them in olive oil in a big heavy pan (distributes the heat better than a thin light one) Pressure cookers are good for this even if you don't use the pressure bit (see later)

add the mince and work at it with a wooden spoon while it browns so that there are no lumps bigger than a single "grain" of beef

when browned add liquid (tin of chopped tomatoes plus the same tin half full of hot water is my way)

then add crushed garlic, mixed herbs, black pepper (if you fry the garlic with the onion it loses some of its sweetness)

if you want to bulk it up, you can also add at this stage finely diced carrots, peppers, courgettes, mushrooms etc.

then, either simmer for 45 mins to an hour on a very low heat (checking the liquid level and topping up from the kettle if necessary) or pressure cook for 10 mins. Some say that the slow cooked method releases more flavour than the pressure cooked method but, if you follow the next step, that doesn't really matter.

When cooked, leave for 24 hours to infuse and congeal and heat and serve the next day (it always tastes better the next day)

before serving, warm it up and add the beans and lea and perrins.

Mash should be formed into a volcano on the plate, so that the mince can sit in the crater.

Serve with peas. Eat with a fork. Real ale on the side. Ensure that the Sofa and TV are pre-warmed for afterwards.

keef66

What in god's name is white pudding??

pneumatic

keef66 wrote:

What in god's name is white pudding??

Sometimes this forum is just like being down the pub!

Colzer1

I've never tried making it Pneumatic's way before.

We always have skirly with our mince and tatties and mashed potatoes. the gravy has to be thick though.

Any left over mice is nice on toast or in softie and eaten for lunch the next day.

My mother in law makes awful mince and tatties as she never adds gravy, you have to sit there and eat it as if you enjoy it, becuase if you say anything its just not worth it.

CHRISNOIR

keef66 wrote:

What in god's name is white pudding??

I first encountered White Puddingin Ireland and was a bit suspicious - being Northern I felt nothing could eclipse the Black variety.

I was wrong. It is fantastic stuff!

star_rover

I used to loathe mince n tatties as a kid and I've never eaten it since, but I have to say pneumatic's recipe actually sounds quite tasty.

Eat My Dust

lol, when I first moved to London a flat mate of ours found it highly amusing that we'd eat mince and tatties. He was quick to change his mind after I made him a platefull. He'd never even of heard of it before.

heavymental

Hand up who's having mince and tatties in the next few days after reading this thread?!

:P :P

gb-locks

We blast the slices of white pudding in the mirco for a couple of minutes then stir it into the mince near the end, can't beat it, dough balls sound good too.
I had left overs tonight, better stick to salad for the rest of the weekend.

barrybaines

Colzer1 wrote:

Any left over mice is nice on toast or in softie and eaten for lunch the next day.

Not sure I'm up for that! But I am looking forward to going to the parents in Elgin for Christmas And willno doubt be taking in some good old mince and tatties

DavidBelcher

Heavymental wrote:

Hand up who's having mince and tatties in the next few days after reading this thread?!

:P :P

Right. So now all the CIA has to do is suss out where exactly that particular Tesco Online delivery van's headed, and Bob's your uncle.

David

star_rover

What would Ma Broon make of this? White pudding? Garlic? In mince and tatties?

cee

My granma taught me how to make mince and tatties and she did not muck about.....

All my mates call it the "Decadent Mince" because I add about 200g of stewing steak and 6 beef link sausages (chopped into chunks), at the same time as browning the mince....then all the standard stuff like flour, onions etc....but do it in the slow cooker (or casserole in the oven) and leave it for as long as you can stand....

YUM!

gkerr4

i made a cottage pie the other night - which I guess is the "english-ized" version of mince and tatties - it seemed a success in the house,

I did say at one point, "this would be 20 minutes quicker if we just had it as mince & tatties" and got a look from the wife as if I had grown horns.

lovely though - even my ultra-awkward eating 4 year old daughter tucked in to it

I used tesco finest mince which is decent, a massive onion finely chopped, some chopped carrot and browned the mince for about 40 minutes with a crushed up beef oxo cube and a splash of worcertershire sauce.

then I have to confess I cheated - i used a colemans "cottage pie seasoning" mix sachet which when mixed with 1/2 pint water makes the 'gravy'. at this point it could have been easily served straight away with tatties but I added it to the oven for the final 20mins to brown the mash on top.

lovely!

heavymental

Went for it last night by the way. Fried the onion, added the mince, tin of tomatoes, water and then went on a mini bulking mission so it would last for another meal at least...added some red lentils (just a few) and some chopped swede. Salt, pepper, bay leaf and some mixed herbs to taste. Almost forgot the baked beans so slung them in not long before serving. Served on a bed of tatties squashed with olive oil and pepper, and some peas. Very nice. Indeeeeed.

Its kind of like an inverse cottage pie though isn't it. Just that you haven't stuck the mash on top and whacked it in the oven.

blackworx

Olive oil?? In mince?? Dearie me, you're not making bolognese! Whatever happened to a lump of lard & a couple of oxo? Eh?!

bill57

Tinned tomatoes and garlic have no place here either. Carrot, turnip and onion (coarsely sliced, not finely chopped) are all fine, and peas are allowed mixed through or on the side.
Salt and pepper are the only permitted seasonings, and Bisto to finish. The finished product can be eaten from a plate, on toast or in a roll, hot or cold.

As an afterthought, anything that hastens arteriosclerosis is usually held in high culinary esteem in Scotland, so dumplings get the thumbs up as well.

heavymental

blackworx wrote:

Olive oil?? In mince?? Dearie me, you're not making bolognese! Whatever happened to a lump of lard & a couple of oxo? Eh?!

No, no. I 'squashed' the potatoes (unpeeled) with olive oil and pepper to make it a bit more rustic (in a mediterranean style). Or did you mean using the olive oil to cook the mince? Anyway, sounds like a true Scotsman speaking there! Lard and Oxo cubes? What else does a kitchen need!?

heavymental

bill57 wrote:

Tinned tomatoes and garlic have no place here either. Carrot, turnip and onion (coarsely sliced, not finely chopped) are all fine, and peas are allowed mixed through or on the side.
Salt and pepper are the only permitted seasonings, and Bisto to finish. The finished product can be eaten from a plate, on toast or in a roll, hot or cold.

As an afterthought, anything that hastens arteriosclerosis is usually held in high culinary esteem in Scotland, so dumplings get the thumbs up as well.

Ah ok. Fair enough. Basically you're saying its a rough and ready meal and that we're all poncing it up. Can't say I'd be able to bring myself to use lard, oxo cubes or bisto when other alternatives are available. I bet you laughed at my 'squashed' pots aswell! :oops:

pneumatic

I wish to defend the use of mediteranean ingredients in Scottish Cuisine.

It's like fitting a Campagnolo drivetrain to a Flying Scot frame - a beautiful and satisfying fusion of truly excellent things.

bill57

There's absolutely nothing with adding tinned tomatoes, garlic, mixed herbs and olive oil, it's just that, as Blackworx says, you've now made Bolognese.

The lentils might add a bit of cheap speed though...........

blackworx

Lard and Oxo cubes? What else does a kitchen need!?

Aye. Add a little hot water (or not, if you're Dundonian) and you've got a meal right there!

bill57 wrote:

anything that hastens arteriosclerosis is usually held in high culinary esteem in Scotland

Anything that, er, stiffens the gut and aids core control for those punishing Highland climbs has to be a bonus

heavymental

bill57 wrote:

There's absolutely nothing with adding tinned tomatoes, garlic, mixed herbs and olive oil, it's just that, as Blackworx says, you've now made Bolognese.

The lentils might add a bit of cheap speed though...........

True. Not much difference between Bolognese, Cottage Pie, Lasagne sauce, Chilli Con and Mince and Tatties is there really. You can decide which to cook as you fry the onion and mince.

pneumatic

bill57 wrote:

The lentils might add a bit of cheap speed though...........

mince with cheap speed in it sounds interesting! makes a change from a packet of crisps and a bottle of Buckfast, anyway!