Since the packaging changed Sainsburys mince is awful

[Ifeelabnormal]

Just that really. Mince is now in these vacuum packs and it's horrid and lumpy - hard to get out the pack to start with, but doesn't break up properly while cooking so it ends up full of lumps and really disgusting.

I appreciate the new packaging is probably for environmental reasons but it's making the mince inedible! I think I will stop buying it even though it's one of my easy go-to meals.

Are other supermarkets using the same? I haven't checked.

It’s horrid. Tesco is the only supermarket I know that still does it ‘properly’ so I only get it there.

You all need to buy one of these!
Breaks it down easily as you cook it

Its grim as. I get mince from mns now. That vacuum pack stuff is rank !

Waitrose also sell non-vacuum packed mince (it comes in a plastic film not a plastic tray). Hate vacuum packed mince as it flattens the meat.

I prefer it. I like it in smaller bits (which I achieve by breaking it up then cooking it on the slow cook setting on my oven). I hate it when it’s wiggly.

It would be possible to use almost the same amount of packaging without vacuuming it into oblivion so it is mashed into sausage meat. Slightly looser bags like the Waitrose packaging are only a few mm larger. The new vacuum packs aren’t recyclable in most areas unless your council collects carrier bags.

I don't mind it.

Seems to keep much better and it does break up. Perhaps better to turn the heat down a little so it has a bit more time to separate before you browsing big lumps.

Made a decent cottage pie.

I really wonder what people who are objecting to this, are trying to do with it? Are you not frying it as normal? Breaking it up with a wooden spoon, as you would be normally?

And as for those of you who say it tastes different - really?!

Yes, we've swapped to Waitrose lamb mince because the Sainsbury's vacuum packed stuff is just nasty, like a big lump of slimy dog food.

But how/why? That's just nonsense! You open the packet, tip it into your saucepan/frying pan and break it up with a spoon, as you're frying it.

It's totally NOT like slimy dog food!

Honestly. I think some of you have no idea what actual food is really like, never mind how to cook it.

I agree I’ve stopped buying Sainsburys mince since they’ve been packing it like this. Its so unappealing and so squishy just horrible. I don’t understand why people are saying it’s the same it isn’t at all its mush!

I buy it from M&S now or the farm shop

and while we’re at it, I hate the fact that Sainsburys have got rid of so many tills and we have to check out our own stuff all the time

I wouldn't purchase mince so that I would have to go home and re"mince" it lol. Yes I agree I would stir it a little to break it but mashing it with a wooden spoon to recreate mince - thanks but no thanks.

I agree it looks awful and the texture is gross and yes hard to get lumps out.

It's appalling. I understand my family and I are autistic and sensitive to things but it just doesn't break up right.

I'm a massive economy nut so I feel crap for disliking it. But there's other ways to package it better without squeezing it into a mushy lump.

I agree OP .I have also started using the frozen mince. I've used several packs of the vacuumed mince and I've not be able to get it to break down despite attacking it with a knife and fork! .

Yeah I use Sainsburys for my weekly shop and have tried it multiple times but just don’t find it breaks up very well, especially not when I am cooking it in the slow cooker but even in a frying pan it isn’t great. As a result I don’t buy much beef mince unless I go to the butcher or a different supermarket. It used to be a staple item but I now tend to get pork or turkey mince instead.
My local council don’t recycle this kind of plastic anyway, they do however recycle the old style packaging.

I completely agree OP, I stopped buying mince from Sainsbury when they first started vacuum packaging. I prefer Aldi mince these days. However, last week, I needed mince and I didn’t have time to travel to the nearest Aldi so I got some Sainsbury’s mince. It looks awful in the packaging, didn’t look quite so bad once out of it but it took a lot of breaking down in the pan and I won’t be buying it again anytime soon.

I've started doing my own, I put the meat in the food processor frozen & pulse, I do a mixture of yellow label sirloin & rib eye steaks, it fries up exactly like when you have broken mince down from the minced worms you get from the supermarket.

Ocado & M & S still use the proper packaging.

I prefer the texture of the vacuum packed mince to the wormy strands you'd get in the old packaging. The texture of bolognese seems better and more like you'd get in a restaurant with the vacuum packed mince.

I also prefer cheap tinned tomatoes to Mutti, which everyone on MN seems to love.

Hello fresh and Gousto always provide mince in vacuum packaging and I think it tastes much nicer. Maybe it's better quality meat than Sainsbury's, but the texture is fine.
In fact I think the wormy mince looks less like meat and more unappealing.

I like it! It seems more meaty... no problem cooking it and it takes up less room in the fridge or freezer.

That’s exactly what I was trying to describe, I’ve seen these on lots of American TikTok type clips! I’ve just added it to my Amazon basket as it’s only £5.99 and I can pop it in my drawer of random gadgets that look good but rarely need to use!

I think a lot of people are not cooking the mince for long enough. I always do my bolognese and chilli in the pressure cooker. Never has lumps or clumps in it.

Tesco and M&S both still have the old style packaging.