Ingredient

Beef mince

Mince is sold by fat percentage and that number is the single most useful thing on the label. It decides whether a burger holds together, whether a bolognese tastes of anything, and whether a meatball is tender or dry. Buying the leanest available is usually a mistake.

Which percentage for what

British mince is usually sold at around five, twelve or twenty per cent fat.

5% lean

Dry and crumbly in almost everything. Useful only where fat comes from elsewhere — a rich sauce, a lot of oil.

12% standard

The general-purpose choice. Works for bolognese, cottage pie, chilli, meatballs.

20% or coarser

Burgers. Fat is what keeps a burger juicy and helps it hold together, and a lean burger is a dry burger however carefully cooked.

Coarse versus fine

Coarse-ground gives a better texture in a burger and a ragù. Fine mince suits meatballs and anything bound with egg.

Which cut

Chuck is the standard mincing cut and a good one. Ask a butcher to mince chuck or brisket coarsely for burgers and it is a different product from the supermarket tray.

Browning, and why most people do not

Most mince put in a pan does not brown. It steams. The meat releases water, the pan temperature falls below the point where the Maillard reaction runs, and the result is grey crumbs in a puddle.

Three things cause it: too much mince in the pan at once, a pan that was not hot enough to start, and stirring too early. Fixing all three is what produces the deep brown crust that makes a bolognese taste of beef rather than of tomato.

The other thing worth knowing is that browning is optional. Several excellent ragù recipes deliberately do not brown the meat, cooking it gently in milk or fat instead, and the result is softer and sweeter. What does not work is trying to brown and failing.

Getting a proper brown

1. Get a wide, heavy pan properly hot with a little oil. Non-stick is the wrong pan for this.
2. Add the mince in a single layer, in batches if necessary. Half a pack at a time is often right.
3. Leave it alone for three or four minutes. Do not stir, do not break it up. Let a crust form on the underside.
4. Turn it in large pieces, brown the other side, then break it up.
5. If liquid appears anyway, keep the heat high and cook until it has evaporated and the meat starts to sizzle again. Browning can only start after that.
6. Remove the meat, cook the aromatics in the fat and scrape up the browned bits from the base, then return the meat.

Making a better burger

• Use fat mince. Twenty per cent or coarser. This is the whole game.
• Handle it as little as possible. Compressed mince gives a dense, bouncy burger. Form the patty loosely.
• Season the outside only, just before cooking. Salt mixed through mince dissolves proteins and gives a sausage texture rather than a burger one.
• Make a dimple in the middle so it does not dome as it contracts.
• Very hot pan, do not press. Pressing squeezes out the fat and juice you paid for.
• No egg, no breadcrumbs. Those belong in a meatball. A burger needs nothing to bind it if the fat content is right.
• Rest it briefly before it goes in the bun.

Common questions