To cook mince from frozen...

[hauntedvagina]

Or am I about to poison my whole family? Convinced I can but second guessing myself now.

Shamelessly posting here for traffic as said mince and a already in the pan.

It's fine.

It'll be fine, I do it and haven't died yet.

Defrost in the microwave first if you can otherwise it’ll tend to stick together in clumps while it cooks. It won’t poison anyone either way though.

I cook mince from frozen all the time. Haven't died yet.

Thanks all. Well speedy responses. You may all have a slice of my lasagne as a thank you.

It's fine to do this!

It won't poison anyone but might not taste very nice.

Defrost it in the microwave first for best results

If you don’t have a microwave please see below:

😱😱😱😱 HOW do you LIVE without a MICROWAVE??? It must surely be the kitchen equivalent of “I don’t drive”?

It's absolutely fine, it tastes the same and it's safe as it breaks down into small bits so they cook through no problem. It's not like cooking a whole chicken breast from frozen, where the outside might look well cooked, but the inside hasn't reached a safe temperature.

But do you rinse the mince?

no - you do not 'rince the mince' Just put it in the pan with the onions etc over a gentle heat and as it starts to thaw, break bits off with a fork, until the block is broken up then cook as normal

@Doorhandleghost

I don't have a microwave. I got rid of it after realising that I could not remember when we last used it. That was 3 years ago. Haven't missed it! My kids are young though. I'm sure I'll need to get one in about 5 years when they're wanting too heat up micro meals.

@loopylindi

no - you do not 'rince the mince' Just put it in the pan with the onions etc over a gentle heat and as it starts to thaw, break bits off with a fork, until the block is broken up then cook as normal

The rinse thing is, I think, a joke about that woman who put her "life hack" online during lockdown. Her hack is to rinse the mince after cooking to get rid of all the fat... and all the flavour! So she had just sort of dry lumps of rinsed mince.

@TheWoleb -
Was a joke yes, but a really old MN thread had a question about rinsing mince before or after cooking and i've weirdly never forgotten it.

Mince successfully defrosted over a low heat. Lush smelling lasagne now in oven.

I think it breaks up and cooks better from frozen anyway.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/1240924-MN-Jury-please-say-I-am-not-bu

Here it is. Just in case anyone's interested. It also covers freezing cheese and dicing rice

Sorry OP x

@Doorhandleghost

Defrost it in the microwave first for best results

If you don’t have a microwave please see below:

😱😱😱😱 HOW do you LIVE without a MICROWAVE??? It must surely be the kitchen equivalent of “I don’t drive”?

I don't drive

And what?

I’ve often done this. Scape off the cooked side, flip and cook - so on so forth until done.

Prefer fresh but makes an easy meal at a pinch!

As long as there's no red bits left when you fry it it's fine

Don’t own a microwave- never needed one. Nothing special just what you’re used to. But I do drive!

Havent had a microwave in years. Reluctantly gave in to pressure from dcs and bought one. It takes up worktop space and is rarely used. Waste of space.

@FoxesAtDawn

I’ve often done this. Scape off the cooked side, flip and cook - so on so forth until done.

Prefer fresh but makes an easy meal at a pinch!

This is what I do! Dh and I have been known to do an Express chilli/bolognese into the slow cooker before a day out. One of us does the fry and scrap of the meat, the other adds all the other crap into the SC. Takes about 5mins.

I also do flip and scrape and don't own a microwave.
I do have a lovely car though if that helps?

I cook mince from frozen quite often as I am not good at planning meals ahead. It's perfectly safe just a pain. Sometimes I add a bit of water and put the lid on for a bit. Otherwise just keep flipping it and scraping the cooked bits off until it is all thawed. Then cook so all the pink is gone.