Mince & Tatties Recipe: Traditional Scottish Comfort Food (2024)

FAQs

What are mince and tatties made of? ›

Mince and tatties is a Scottish dish which consists of ground beef and mashed potato. Other vegetables or thickening agents are sometimes added to the dish as well.

It is always served with mashed potatoes (called "tatties") and mashed turnips (called "neeps").

Add a little more oil if your mince is less than 75% lean. Fat = flavor and many seasonings are fat-soluble. Bloom / soften / sautee some aromatics in said oil before adding your mince. Onions , garlic, green onions, leeks, shallots, celery or celery seed are the usual suspects.

An economical dish, dating back to the 18th century, when the potato was first introduced to Scotland.

A stupid person or persons can be described as being as thick as mince, as Hardeep Singh Kohli writes: “Today's Tories, for all their privilege and erudite education, are arguably the least able coterie of Conservatives we have ever had in power. Basically, they are thick as mince” (Sunday Herald 6 December 2015).

Mincemeat is a combination of chopped dried fruits, spices, sugar, nuts, distilled spirits, a fat of some type and sometimes meat. The name is a carryover from 15th century England when mincemeat did indeed have meat in the mix; in fact, the whole point of mincemeat was to preserve meat with sugar and alcohol.

a Scot or dialect word for potato. Collins English Dictionary.

So, what is a full Scottish breakfast? Usually made up of bacon, link sausages, Lorne sausage (also known as square sausage or slice), black pudding, haggis, baked beans, fried mushrooms and tomatoes, toast, tattie scones and fried eggs, the full Scottish breakfast is a sight to behold.

Scotland's iconic national dish known as haggis consists of sausage meat made from the innards of the sheep mixed with onions, oatmeal, suet, stock, dried herbs and other seasonings. These ingredients are combined and then boiled inside the lining of a sheep's stomach.

The calcium-rich properties of milk react with enzymes in the meat to gently soften the proteins. Whole milk (not reduced fat), buttermilk, and yogurt all get the job done – with a special nod to buttermilk and yogurt for their optimal tenderizing acidity levels.

Why does my mincemeat taste bitter? ›

Mincemeat over time does deepen in colour but the bitter taste may be that you pressed too hard when the citrus zests were grated!

Minced chicken is a good low-fat choice. Venison mince is very lean. Lean minced pork is another healthy option and can be used in place of other mince.

Neeps are what Scots, Irish and a lot of Northern English people call turnips - ie the big orange veg. Others call those a swede. The wee white ones - whether you call those a turnip or not - are not part of a 'neeps and tatties' recipe.

1430, the dish is considered traditionally of Scottish origin. It is even the national dish, as a result of Scots poet Robert Burns' poem "Address to a Haggis" of 1786.

By the 18th century it was more likely to be tongue or even tripe, and in the 19th century it was minced beef. It was not until the late Victorian period and early 20th Century that mince pies dropped the meat and had all fruit fillings (albeit with suet). Even today there are traditions associated with mince pies.

Ground meat, called mince or minced meat outside North America, is meat finely chopped by a meat grinder or a chopping knife. A common type of ground meat is ground beef, but many other types of meats are prepared in a similar fashion, including pork, veal, lamb, goat meat, and poultry.

(Learn how and when to remove this message) Ground beef, minced beef or beef mince is beef that has been finely chopped with a knife, meat grinder (American English), mincer or mincing machine (British English). It is used in many recipes including hamburgers, bolognese sauce, meatloaf, meatballs, and kofta.

The definition of mince is to cut into very small pieces. This term means the smallest possible pieces; smaller than dice or chop, but not pureed.

Mince pies have been eaten as part of a traditional British Christmas since at least the 16th century. Then they were made of a spiced, sweet minced meat mixture (often lamb), but they are now commonly made with sweet mincemeat, a mixture of dried fruits, sugar, spices, and brandy.