Can an ignorant American ask a question about a Scots dish please?

[Jom222]

Preface-My paternal grandparents who died long before I was born both came from Scotland, Glasgow area, in the 1920's I think.

Growing up in the 70's, my father frequently prepared a dish he said his parents made often, 'mince potatoes and beans'.

The ground beef was simmered with lots of water and sliced onions, basically forever. Then we used a slotted spoon to take the wet beef and it was ALWAYS served with mashed potatoes and canned baked beans (which I understand are very different in the states vs UK)

My brothers, being animals, also added tons of ketchup to it and stirred together it resembled a plate of vomit. Some of them still prepare it to this day! They enjoyed it. I hated it, maybe bc of the appearance, not sure but I remember eating a lot of mashed potatoes those days.

My questions are-

Is or was this actually a common dish?
If so, just Scotland, or all over UK?
Did you have to sit at the dinner table staring at it while being lectured about starving children in India/China?

I saw a thread about the worst meal ever eaten and it got me thinking about this food. I don't like to criticize what people eat, we're all different but that dish was so awful yet my father and brothers all loved it. I don't remember my mother ever making or eating it though. (her cooking wasn't great either but I'll spare you the description of her 1970's 'goulash' for now, those days I ate crackers w/margarine)

Primary Teacher in Scotland here. We teach this poem to our children in school around Burns night...
'I dinna like hail tatties, Pit on my plate o mince. For when I tak my denner, I eat them baith at yince. Sae mash and mix the tatties, Wi mince into the mashin, And sic a tasty denner Will aye be voted 'Smashin!'
Poem by JK Annand.

Mince and tatties is delicious. The mince is in gravy with onions abd carrots and maybe with peas. Its like deconstructed cottage pie I guess.

In Aberdeen its more done with corned beef, and mixed together and thats stovies 🤩

Yes we had mince and tatties but at no time did my mother (or anyone’s that I can remember) boil the minced beef with loads of water then fish it out with a slotted spoon! There would be a gravy - some thicker than others. My mum would just use a stock cube so her mince was runnier while dh’s mum would use gravy powder resulting in a thicker gravy. But neither boiled it for hours in water then used a slotted spoon to drain it. That sounds awful.

My Nan was Irish and she introduced this to us as a family, my son still eats it now. I long went off of it as I’m not a mash person…

Baked beans have no business being anywhere near a plate of mince and tatties. Optional veg in the mince, carrots, peas, onions, is fine and personal preference. Personally, I chuck a clove or two of minced Garlic in there, and real aficionados will knock up some suet dumplings.

But baked beans? No. That will be an ex-communication offence once I'm in charge.

We used to have mince and tatties in Manchester as a child. Ours had peas in it and sometimes dad would put curry powder in the mince - it was lush

Stovies in my part of the world was sliced tatties, corned beef, and beef dripping with beef gravy.

Not a million miles from Aberdeen, but distinctly different from mince and tatties.

My Dad is Glaswegian, my Mum Geordie. It’s very common in both areas. It’s actually my kids’ 2nd favourite dinner so we eat it often (their favourite is mince and dumplings lol). My mince and tatties never has and never will see baked beans with it though!

If it's done properly it's delicious. I used to visit my grandaunt regularly when I was in college in Dublin and we would have this for lunch. She used twice ground beef (really fine mince) and I think beans were involved too. It was really good and not watery at all.

It sounds like mince and tatties but made by someone who didn't know how to make gravy.
My Mum (who thankfully rarely cooked for us when I was growing up) would boil mince in too much water, skimming off the grey blood scum as it floated to the top. Fortunately she then poured off most/some of the liquid, made it into a tasty gravy and poured it back in.

@Jom222

(SE), but parents (& grandparent's) all from south shields. So Mince & Mash - yep.

BUT not cooked like that!! Veg not baked beans!!

I'm vegetarian now (35 years). I've lived overseas & travelled a lot. But cannot stress how much I loved my trip around Scotland eating Vegetarian Haggis with tatties.

No, plain water. Water and onion, simmered for a long time, also strangely always in an electric skillet for whatever reason

broth would’ve elevated it I think to possibly tasty.

Exactly so, just mince, an onion and water and boiled to death, none of this added carrots or peas other folk are mentioning, heaven forfend it should taste good! And sometimes with an egg stirred in, you knew this because she would say, by way of a warning, "mind, there's an egg in it". Served with mashed floury potatoes that came from the big sack that lived in the coal hole.

Ours only had the beef and onion, I’m starting to think it would’ve been nicer with the carrots in pics posted here. And broth! I’m sure a good broth would've made it taste great

we do have a little Scots store nearby, that likely has heinz baked beans, maybe I’ll get some and of course a pack of shortbread and/or scones. https://ackroydsbakery.com/

That sounds horrid and it’s actually a really delicious meal! Here you go:
Butcher’s best mince (squished in your hands so it doesn’t end up lumpy)
Add onions, finely chopped carrots, dried herbs, salt, lots of pepper, gravy browning and beef stock.
Bring to boil and simmer. For best results, make with suet dumplings and add cream to your mashed potatoes - comfort food heaven!

Well clearly something important was lost in the voyage over here and my dad learned a corrupted version

Unless the grandparents were insane? Did a Muir get run out of Scotland in the 1920’s lol

which reminds me of a totally unrelated time my cousin visited Scotland and proudly went to a pub and said he wanted to buy everyone a drink in honor of his grandpa, has anyone here ever known anyone by the name Muir? I think he said the pub all laughed and laughed at him. We Americans are…special sometimes.

I’d like to thank you all for being so nice in your responses! I hesitated before posting but am glad I did, I’ve learned a lot from this little discussion 😎

Never served with beans. Always with garden peas and yes gravy needs to be thick and not runny and watery. Loads of onions and carrot/swede cooked with the mince and served with creamy mash. I still make it regularly. If you want to be really indulgent butter a slice of white bread and have that on the side.

And can I throw a dash of worcestershire sauce into the mix. You can thank me later 😉

I think mince and potatoes is a British staple. My mother came from about as far south as you can get in the UK and cooked it regularly, usually with cabbage as the veg.

She was a good cook so it was very tasty.

Mince and potatoes with baked beans is the ultimate comfort food when I go home to my mums. She does it all cooked together in a casserole dish and I loved it on a cold night when I lived at home

Not watery at all in my experience

We have beans with ours. And carrots cooked in the mince. But it definitely needs some Bisto to stop it being watery and add some flavour

I used to work with 2 brothers with the surname ' Muir'. I don't think its that uncommon.

Love this poem!!!

I make amazing mince & tatties if I do say so myself, it's one of my favourite meals to this day! We'll usually have something green and occasionally Yorkshire puddings with ours. Growing up my dad would have beans and brown sauce with his and mix it all together, looked grim but he insisted it was tasty 😂.

Haggis, neeps and tatties are delicious but have nothing to do with mince and tatties.

I've bought the ingredients for mince and tatties and will make it some day soon. I used to eat it all the time as a kid and make it for my own DC but not had it in years. My mum always made it with doughballs which were brown on top and soggy underneath which was my favourite part of the meal.