How do I cook mince properly?

Getting browned, flavourful mince instead of grey boiled crumbs, which comes down to the pan and not stirring.

Difficulty: beginner
Time: 20 min
Read: 2 min
Safety: caution

Short answer

Use a hot pan, add the mince in a thin layer, and leave it alone for several minutes before breaking it up. Grey mince means it was crowded, cold, or stirred immediately — it boiled in its own liquid instead of browning.

Mince releases a lot of water. In a crowded or cool pan that water cannot evaporate, so the meat simmers rather than browns and you lose the flavour that browning creates. Everything else follows from that.

Safety

Minced meat must be cooked through — 75°C in the centre with no pink. Mincing distributes surface bacteria throughout the meat, which is why mince cannot be served rare in the way a whole cut can.

What you'll need

Wide heavy pan
Wooden spoon (optional)
Kitchen paper (optional)

Step by step

Use the widest pan you have and get it properly hot.Surface area lets water evaporate. A narrow deep pan guarantees grey boiled mince.
Cook in batches if you have more than about 500g.Two batches of browned mince is far better than one batch of steamed. This is the most important decision.
Spread it in a thin layer and leave it alone.Three or four minutes without touching it. It needs sustained contact to brown, and immediate stirring prevents that entirely.
Then break it up and turn it.Once one side has colour, break it apart and let the other surfaces brown. Do not mash it into fine crumbs immediately.
Drain excess fat if there is a lot.Tip it off, or spoon it out. Very fatty mince in a sauce leaves a greasy layer on top.
Season during cooking, not only at the end.Salt at the start of browning draws out moisture, so add it after the initial sear rather than before.
Deglaze the pan before adding other ingredients.A splash of stock, wine or water lifts the browned residue. That residue is the flavour you worked for.
Cook it fully, to 75°C with no pink.Mince cannot be served pink the way a steak can, because mincing distributes surface bacteria throughout.

Tips

If the mince has released a lot of water, tip it off and let the pan get hot again rather than continuing to cook in it.
Higher-fat mince browns better and tastes better in sauces. Very lean mince is drier and browns less readily.
Frozen mince should be fully defrosted before browning. Water from ice crystals guarantees steaming.

Common mistakes

Stirring immediately and continuously — It prevents any surface staying in contact long enough to brown, so the mince greys and boils.
Filling the pan — Released water cannot evaporate, the temperature crashes, and the mince simmers instead of browning.
Adding mince to a cold or barely warm pan — It heats slowly, releases water before browning can begin, and never recovers.

Questions people ask

Why is my mince grey instead of brown?

It was crowded, the pan was not hot enough, or it was stirred straight away. Use a wide hot pan, cook in batches, and leave it undisturbed for a few minutes.

Should I drain the fat from mince?

If there is a lot pooling, yes — otherwise it separates as a greasy layer in the finished sauce. A little fat carries flavour and is worth keeping.