Quorn - who gets on with it?

[PoppyWoods]

Really trying to eat less meat so invested in a bag of frozen quorn mince. So far I've tried spag bol, slow cooker chilli and keema curry.

Each time it has the consistency of soggy cardboard and not like beef mince whatsoever. What am I doing wrong? I really want to love it and eat less meat.

Grateful for ideas, pointers, advice.
Will try all (sensible) suggestions.
Thanks x

I boil it first then drain liquid and fry it off a little. My husband loves meat but doesn't mind the mince. He doesn't like the quorn pieces though

I love it, I’ve never used it in a recipe though. I just buy the ready meals

I used to cook it exactly the same as beef mince and used stock cubes to add the flavour or I must admit it wasn't very nice , it does need a lot of flavours adding to it as it's not good in its own

Ah it’s absolutely ‘angin
For mince I go for a mix of red and green lentils and some mushrooms wizzed in a blender

I always crumble a beef oxo cube into mine.

The thing with Quorn is that cooking is a bit trial and error ime and the instructions on the pack aren’t great. If it’s like soggy cardboard you’re overcooking it - it doesn’t need anything like the amount of time you’d leave a beef ragu simmering away.

Concentrate on your sauce for the flavour, don’t add the Quorn mince too soon. I’ll usually have the sauce bubbling away and in a separate pot I’d lightly cook the mince. When I say lightly cook I suppose I really just mean defrost it/slightly brown it, maybe with some onions, garlic etc. Then combine with sauce and let it simmer away for @ 12 to 15 mins.

IMO it will always be a bit “sloppy” because it doesn’t absorb the sauce they way meat does yet it still needs a decent amount of sauce to cook in.

It is a different texture from meat... because it’s not meat... there’s not really much you can do about that tbh.

Though - you’re probably cooking it for too long as well, it doesn’t do well in the slow cooker for instance.

There are fake minced that are meatier in texture, I can’t offhand remember any brands though as I avoid those ones.

Quorn mince is horrible but I enjoy the meatless farm company mince. It's consistency is a lot better and has a lot more flavour. More expensive but worth it.

I think it works well in lasagna. Otherwise I find it similar. I use quorn “chicken” more.

Quorn mince is rather mushy, but I echo above that it probably needs less cooking time. Better yet try vivera soya mince, which has a firmer texture, especially if fried with plenty of oil (to, you know, make it less healthy and more like the fat content of actual meat).
Quorn products we do like are the bacon, ham, and pepperoni, although the pepperoni seems to have been discontinued which is a real shame.
Things like shepherds pie work very well with lentils, although I can't convince the kids on that one.

It's awful stuff in my opinion - I much prefer lentils and aubergines , mushrooms etc for a slightly 'meatier' texture if that's what you need.

Mince is the one thing quorn is crap at. Soy mince is much nicer, it's got a more meaty, chewy texture. Most supermarkets seem to do their own version.

But quorn is good at chicken - fillets, nuggets, sandwich-type slices.

And their sausages are pretty decent too.

We have recently switched from using Quorn mince to Asda's own plant based mince, we both prefer it - cheaper and much tastier.

Gives me stomach cramps.

Much prefer lentils / mushrooms.

I prefer other veg minces. I just tend to get Sainsbury’s own brand.

I like quorn chicken style fillets though, the non breadcrumbed ones that you can cook
In a. Sauce.

@SmiledWithTheRisingSun

Gives me stomach cramps.

Me too - worse than labour or appendicitis! Was nearly hospitalised the last time I ate it - never again!

We eat loads of It and I don’t cook it off at all. If I’m making bolognese I’ll do the sauce and then a few minutes before the end I’ll throw in the quorum mince. If making something like a curry with the chunks I do the same. It’s a bit softer than beef mince but we like it and it’s far healthier.

Another vote for the meatless farm mince, it’s much nicer texture

I used to like the mince fried up with onion and green chillis. The mince gives me terrible stomach cramps now and any of the Quorn items that have been ‘veganised’ taste like crap.

Gives me stomach cramps.

Me too. Like a sprout, bean, parsnip wind from hell.

Last time I cooked with it poor old DS was in the loo all night and was in bed the next day. I looked it up online and there was a running magazine article which said that this isn’t all that uncommon. The sausages are fine though.

@Wizzbangfizz

I always crumble a beef oxo cube into mine.

Please don’t do this if cooking for vegetarians as this oxo has beef in. Obviously if you’re just cutting down that’s your choice.

I find quorn mince is fine if you don’t over cook it. The fresh one even more so. I find the fresh one gets more appreciation from the meat eaters in terms of familiarity/texture but you can’t slow cook it. The frozen one works better in the slow cooker.

You also have to just accept it doesn’t have the same richness meat has, in the same way reduced fat butter or cheese is lacking in the same sort of thing.

I do use it but I add a handful of lentils, or a hand full of soy mince (most supermarket own brand frozen mince is made from this) and loads of chopped veg. I process up small chopped e mushroom, courgette, celery, onion etc. Tesco used to do a fab ‘base vegetable’ finely chopped frozen mix of onion carrot and celery but it’s sadly discontinued. A slug of red wine, a teaspoon of marmite, a tablespoon of red gravy granules (most of which are veggie) all help depending on the dish. You just need to add flavour in other ways.

I also tend to bulk it out with a tonne of veg for flavour and consistency. Grated carrot, chopped squash, leeks, peppers, mushrooms, fresh chillies.

We prefer ready-marinated tofu (in stir fry not bolognese).

@Mykittensmittens don't worry I don't do
It if catering for veggies it's just to try and cut down meat for us