Stupid question re frozen mince .. do you really only fry from frozen in 5 mins ???

[yaddayah]

Stupidly sent dh to supermarket with generic list.. for extra lean mince he came back with frozen

Never used it before but the instructions say fry for 5 mins until well browned, if desired add further ingredients and cook through

Can this be right ?
For spag bol/cottage pie i usually cook for at least 45 mins normally at least an hour

5 mins sounds mad to me

Sorry for such a dull question !

I think you need to defrost it dont you? (not sure though) if i freeze mince Ive bought then I defrost it and then cook it til brown (usually about 5 minutes) but then simmer with whatever Im cooking it for (eg bolognaise) for about 35 mins

it says fry from frozen !!

I cook mince from frozen. It probably takes a bit longer than 5 minutes as I go by the look of the mince, but it works ok.

You can definitely cook it from frozen but I usually simmer for at least 30 mins. I think 5 mins may just be to brown it but I'm not sure.

I'm not an expert on frozen mince but if the instructions say

" fry for 5 mins until well browned, if desired add further ingredients and cook through "

that to me would suggest that you cook for 5 minutes just to brown it, then add your onions etc and then keep cooking until cooked through (i.e. cooked properly)

crikey that was quick (and i don't mean the mince!)

Thanks i wasn't sure it was a misprint.. and i'd send the whole family down with food posoning,think i'll make a spag bol and simmer for my usual while

mama g .. i hadn't read it like that at all .. makes sense though

cheers

Yes, its fine to cook from frozen.

This is because it is not frozen in a solid block.

The problem with cooking things from frozen is the risk that the centre of the food you are heating does not get hot enough.

With the mince, it is done in a fashion where it is lots of small chunks - so it is fine.

Even if you had frozen a pack of fresh mince and then chucked the block in the frying pan - as long as you broke up the block as it cooked, and by the end it was all separated and well browned then it would be fine.

this is why i love mn

I think you should treat it as you would normal mince, i.e. brown it off, then add other ingredients and cook as you would fresh.

You could eat it after simply browning it off, but, why would anyone do that with mince anyway - fresh or frozen? It's always made into a sauce or ragu of some description, which requires cooking for 15-45 minutes.