Having recently started Maternity leave, my other half and I have been trying to keep our food shopping bills low but without compromising on the quality of the items that we bought. We recently decided to give the Tesco Value Beef Mince a try. It was then on offer for just 50p for a pack (however I believe it is now £1.21 for 500g... still a bargain though!).

I was expecting the meat to have a slightly higher fat content and so like my mother showed me when I was younger I fried the meat off on its own and drained it in a sieve, whilst pouring freshly boiled water over it. There was a little more fat than from the lean mince we normally buy, but much less than I had expected.

The meat itself cooked well and was as tender as the regular mince we buy. It is not full of gristle or bits of bone, which although sounds snobby I was a little anxious about. It cooks to a nice brown colour (not greyish like I was half expecting!lol!) and made a really nice bolognaise (well actually enough bolognaise for two meals! even more of a bargain lol!). I have since made a chilli con carne from a second pack and we cannot tell the difference. The mince itself is slightly smaller/thiner than than other type of mince we have used, however I think this actually improves the texture.

I will be buying this meat again for sure and would recommend other people to give it a go also. If you are willing to do a little extra work at the beginning of your cooking then you will be pleasantly surprised.