Beef mince is the most popular meat product in the UK and one of the staple ingredients used in cooking worldwide. No wonder: it’s relatively good value, easy to cook with and versatile. Show me a student who can’t cook a decent Bolognese, even if they don’t know it should be called ragù!
It does cause some language issues though. Apparently some Americans believe that it is an unknown foodstuff in Britain, having searched high and low, in vain, for ground beef. Indeed, that’s what it’s called over there, and I’ll point out with pride that it’s technically wrong. Meat is put through a mincer, rather than pulverised between hard surfaces. Unless, of course, that’s how they obtain their burger material over there!
Joking aside, minced or ground beef is not only good for burgers or ragu Bolognese. Here’s a dozen excellent recipes with beef mince, including those two stalwarts as well in a couple of variations.
Authentic ragù Bolognese is cooked for hours and served with chunky pasta shapes, not spaghetti. Spagbol, begone! This the real deal. You can use just beef mince or, like I suggest, a mix of pork and beef for best results. Double or triple the recipe for the freezer: your future self will thank you.
This is another recipe for beef ragù, used in an amazing dish of conchiglioni, jumbo pasta shells, filled with the meat sauce and baked with mozzarella and tomatoes.
Conchiglioni with beef ragu
RECIPE
Chilli is my favourite dish to cook with beef mince, regardless what chilli purists in Mexico and Texas have to say about it (chunks not mince, chicken not beef, and beans or no beans). What’s not to like? It’s marvellously easy to cook and, depending on the seasoning, can be as hot or mild as you wish. Serve with plain rice, tortillas – or see the next recipe.
The ultimate comfort food in my view: loaded nachos. The chilli is cooked from scratch, the salsa is made from scratch, even the crema topping is homemade. Tortilla chips and cheese – shop bought, we’re sensible.
Nacjhos with beef chilli
RECIPE
The topmost beef mince recipe is for burgers. Although supreme burgers will be made with beef minced at home, mince from a good butcher with a reasonable fat content is perfectly acceptable.
Meatballs are a kind of domesticated burgers, with the meat content tamed by breadcrumbs or in this instance also ricotta cheese and oregano. And they are super delicious, with chunky tomato sauce, as per recipe adapted from Ottolenghi.
Ricotta and oregano meatballs
RECIPE
Another meatball recipe, this time full flavour and no mess as they are baked in the oven. The filler compound is Ritz crackers instead of breadcrumbs, and the seasoning is inspired by Korean BBQ flavours.
Korean BBQ style meatballs
RECIPE
The best meatloaf is made with a combo of beef and pork mince: beef for the flavour, pork for the texture. This is a fine specimen, with Parmesan and crème fraiche in the mix, and maple syrup-glazed pancetta on the outside.
Thai classic, pad ka-prao or basil and chilli stir fry can be made with pork, beef or chicken mince. Just do a straight swap of beef instead of pork from this recipe ingredients and follow the rest of instructions as they are.
Kibbeh is a Middle Eastern dish of minced beef and bulgur wheat, seasoned and spiced, sometimes shaped into balls and other times, like here, baked like a pie. It takes a little bit of effort, but pays off hugely in taste.
This is an even better dish than Swedish meatballs: kalpudding is Swedish brown cabbage meatloaf. It is usually served with boiled or mashed potatoes and a sweet and spicy preserve. It can be made with minced beef or beef and pork, but arguably the best thing is the caramelised cabbage topping.
You might expect Greek moussaka to be made with minced lamb, but traditionally beef is more common. Moussaka means a good few hours of cooking so I suggest you double the amounts and cook for the freezer whilst you’re at it.