How long do you cook your mince for?

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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?

I browned it before hands also with onions added in

I'm at the mince fat! I always buy the lowest possible fat % - I thought that was better?! It's more expensive! I only use mince for lasagne and bolognese so this is a revelation.

When I've used higher fat mince (once by mistake) there was lots and lots of fatty oil on the top of the sauce

You need the fat for the taste.
I even add lardons for extra fat

How can you cook ragu in 10 mins?

It takes me at least 20 mins to soften the onions, carrot and celery so they go all caramelly alone, that's before i add the rest of the ingredients and simmer

And yes you need fat, that's why most traditional recipes add fatty pancetta lardons

I think it's either high heat and quickly and make sure to break any lumps down or... super slow. My top tip is to add either a teaspoon or red wine vinegar or a Jamie Oliver slosh of red wine into the mince. The acidic nature of the liquid helps to soften the mince. In terms of cooking to make it okay to eat, a few mins until it's all brown is sufficient. I know you want it better than this obvs.

Low fat mince is yuck!

For those who cook lasagne, do you leave it uncovered in the oven or foil over the top?

I cook my lasagne uncovered.

Couple of hours here. Sometimes longer.

You only need to brown your mince, Or do you mean how long to cook the Filling or the whole lasagne ?

Sorry just updated 😳😳😳😳
I leave it covered and then uncover for the last bit to brown up

I brown mince, drain the fat then stick it in the slow cooker for few hours.

Sorry my OP was confusing - I meant how long to cook the lasagne meat filling for

Once the meat is in sauce it goes in the oven on low (in a large casserole pot) for 3 hours.

@Titsywoo Oooh might try that next time!

I just brown it in the frying pan for 15 minutes, then the whole lot goes in the oven for an hour, I use ready made sauces though.

The trick is to cook in a really low heat, or even better, transfer to the oven after browning and combining all the ingredients. Cook long and slow.

Definitely low and slow, 90mins minimum, ideally 3 to 4 hours. I’d also cook the day before and assemble and heat the lasagne/ reheat for spaghetti Bol the next day.

Onion
Garlic
Pancetta cubes
Mince
Carrot
Mushrooms
Chopped tomatoes
Tomato purée
Oregano
Beef stock cube
Worcestershire sauce
Salt
Pepper

THAT, is a lasagne meat sauce

My ragu sauce always includes wine!
And celery but not mushrooms 😊

Just don't rinse the mince.

Either an hour in the pressure cooker plus an hour simmering to reduce or 4-5 hours simmering on the hob stirring (and tasting ) occasionally.

Makes the house smell divine.

I prefer the results with the latter but when pressed for time do the former.

I add:

Good quality olive oil
Onions, carrots, celery (finely chopped)
Garlic (not too much just a couple of cloves in a massive batch)
Pancetta cubes
Mince (not low fat)
Milk (sounds weird I know but works; about a mug full)
Chicken stock
White wine (not red it's too overpowering imho)
Dried oregano
Tomato passata
Tomato purée
Salt/pepper
Fresh Basil at the end of cooking

I make a huge stock pot full and freeze it in batches to make spaghetti (well linguine as I prefer it) bolognaise, lasagne and other baked pasta dishes.

Given how long it takes it makes sense to make loads at once.

Can't understand people saying they can make it in 30 mins!!

The flavours need time to develop and the mince needs time to tenderise.

For lasagna I leave it uncovered.

The best bits are the "crispy" bits around the edges.