Odd smell of beef mince when cooking?

[Sellingsunsets]

Took two small packs of beef mince out freezer this morning, it wasn't totally defrosted, whilst I was browning it with some onions I noticed it smelledd weird! I can't describe it but it didn't smell like it usually did, after I drained it the smell went away? Got my partner to sniff it and eat a bit and he said it smelled and tasted fine. I'm making a hot pot, I'm worrying the mince is spoiled. Any advice? Hotpot bubbling away in the oven but I'm worried the mince isn't good and we will get sick.

I find this is often the case after it’s been frozen - had similar earlier in the week making a bath of bolognese along with asking DH if it smelled a bit ‘too mincey’ - after it had simmered in the sauce for a while it wasn’t as bad

If it stews a bit in the pan instead of frying nicely over a high heat it can smell funny, when you said you drained it was that liquid that had come out of it? If so I'd say it was the stewing aspect of the frying that caused the smell.

Any chance you're pregnant? I found mince smelled super weird in the first few weeks of all my pregnancies.

It can smell a bit vinegary sometimes, if it's getting close to cough (one or two days past) use by date. But I think mince is one of those things you cook for so long that not much bad stuff survives.

It is pieces of a corpse, naturally it will smell ‘odd’ 🤷🏻‍♀️

I couldn't bring myself to eat much of it as I still felt like it smelled a bit weird but DP said it was fine and didn't think it smelled or tasted weird! It was the fat and water that I drained off it, I've just never really noticed this before.

I had this a couple of weeks ago. I made shepherds pie with it which tasted fine. I ate it all gradually over about 4 days with zero ill effects, and I've got a dodgy stomach at the best of times.

On occasions like this I remember that during WW2 they ate meat that had turned and just cooked it to a second death to kill everything.

I was thinking exactly the same!! Similar happened to me!!