How long do you cook your mince for?

[cantchooseausernamehelp]

I'm making a lasagne for tea and I've got mince in tomato sauce slow cooking on the hob. It's been on there for nearly an hour but when I've tasted it the mince doesn't taste really soft and tender.

How much longer should I cook it for? Last time I made it, it tasted so much nicer but I haven't done anything differently this time (I don't think).

Any tips?

For as little as possible, I hate overcooked mince 😬

@LoseLooseLucy Oops, I thought it was best to slow cook

Its should be cooked as long as possible imo, otherwise its all grainy textured. A lasagne mince I would usually cook 3-4 hours so its super tender. I usually cook enough at once to freeze another 3 portions so I only have to cook 1 in 4 times I need it. Lasagne is then super quick.

A traditional ragu bolognese cooks for 4 hours!! But as you are cooking it in the lasagne you can get away with a shorter time. Not sure why it tasted nicer last time... better meat?

Cross post - basically I agree with Caspianberg, but you will still need to cook the lasagne for 35-45 mins or so for the dish to come together.

I don't eat spag bol but occasionally cook it for friends and always cook the sauce for a couple of hours on a very low heat. I thought one hour was minimum.

3 - 4 hours. Once assembled it only needs about 20 minutes.

For my lasagne I cook the mince on low heat for 20 mins with the lid on, 20 mins with the lid off then when I've put it together with the lasagne sheets and white sauce it and cheese on top it goes into the over for 35 mins on 180 degrees. Always comes out lovely. Happy cooking

I always remember someone on here saying they can make a song bol in 30 minutes

The longer you can simmer the better.

I use same method for lasagne.

I think i was on the 30 minute bolognaise thread i could taste soggy mince bleurgh. Anyway i cook bolognaise for 90 minutes once ive made it up and another 45ish for lasangne

Really, I brown the mince, add sauce and bake for 30 minutes. Always tasted lovely!

It depends on the meat you are cooking. If it's cheap low fat mince, it won't taste great and you'll need to add lots of extra flavours to it.

You browned the mince first right? It only takes minutes to cook mince, which is your OP, but I cook bolognese sauce for 4 hours.

I always cook mince for an hour at the very least, usually much longer. I think browning it for a longer time (15 minutes or more) also improves the taste too. I brown it until it looks dry.

Well I brown the mince first until, you know, it’s brown 🤷‍♀️ then it’s cooked, you can eat it then but the longer you leave the sauce to cook the more the flavours develop I suppose.

As long as possible, at least a couple of hours. 30 minute mince anything sounds disgusting.

Oh I can cook spaghetti Bol in 10mins

Agree a ragu needs a few hours. If I need the sauce that day I'll just go vegetarian and not bother with mince - for lasagne sauce I'll cook the sauce one day and make lasagne the next.

As long as I've got time for - at the very least a couple of hours. It takes that long for all the flavour to develop. Apparently a splash of milk tenderises the meat, but I've not tried that myself.

After making the sauce I throw it in the slow cooker for 4 hours. Delicious.

This is really interesting, as whether I cook mine for 1 hour or 4 it's still not very good.
I use British lean 5% fat mince.

Has anyone got any good lasagne recipes?
I hatched cook last weekend, but wish I hadn't as it wasn't very good despite the sauce simmering for a good 3 hours.

You need more fat in your mince. If there is too much you can always skim it off, but it will be less dry & gritty.

Instant pot sauce on high pressure for 45 minutes tastes like 8hr sauce.

The Tesco frozen beef and pork mince is really nice and handy being cook from frozen.

Thanks everyone. I used 20% fat mince from Morrison's. Left it cooking until now and it tastes much much better