Minced meat: what are the differences?

Minced meat is very popular with young and old – regardless of whether it’s meatballs, boulette or minced meat – and is ideal for a quick dish. Minced meat can be boiled, roasted, gratinated, grilled and eaten as a filling, warm or cold and also raw. Since minced meat and other chopped raw meat is very prone to spoilage, production and sale in Germany are subject to strict legal regulations (e.g. no rings may be worn when minced meat is being processed).

What is ground beef?

Minced meat (minced, weighed, mett) is heavily chopped meat that may only be made from fresh meat from cattle, pigs, sheep and goats. Parts that experience has shown to be contaminated with microorganisms (e.g. belly meat, bone trimmings) as well as poultry and game meat must not be processed into minced meat.

types of minced meat

• Shuckle meat (tartar, beefsteak mince)  is made from beef muscle meat that is low in tendons and fat tissue. With a maximum of 6 percent fat, it is the leanest minced meat. In the case of prepared shank meat, apart from seasoning ingredients, only egg yolk is used
• Minced pork (pork fat)  is made from coarsely defatted, minced pork. The fat content is a maximum of 35 percent
• Ground beef  consists of roughly desined beef with a maximum of 20 percent fat
• Mixed ground beef (half and half ground beef)  is half ground pork and half ground beef. Its fat content is a maximum of 30 percent
• Prepared minced meat  such as Hackepeter and Thuringian Mett contains   no other additives apart from table salt, onions and spices.

Properly store ground beef

Due to the mincing of the meat, the minced meat is very sensitive and does not keep for long. It may only be sold on the day of manufacture and must always be stored below 4 degrees.

For proper storage in the private sector, the minced meat must be stored in the refrigerator. It is best to consume it on the same day. Otherwise, it is advisable to fry the minced meat well on the day of purchase and then put it in the fridge. However, frying it will keep it for up to 2 days at most.

Preparation tips

As an ingredient in cooking, minced meat is particularly popular for the Spaghetti Bolognese dish. Minced meat is also used in other recipes. Minced meat is often combined with foods such as  aubergines ,  courgettes ,  savoy cabbage  or  mushrooms . Even the recipe for a stuffed pepper cannot do without minced meat.