Cheap mince will be juicier and flavourful by adding 1 surprise ingredient to the pan

A simple cooking hack can make cheap mince more tender and juicy – and it only requires one ingredient you probably already have

Mince is a kitchen essential for countless families, owing to its adaptability. However, purchasing it from supermarkets can prove expensive, particularly when opting for leaner varieties of meat or poultry.

While it serves as the foundation for many dishes, ranging from homemade burgers to spaghetti bolognese, budget-friendly mince can occasionally fall short in terms of tenderness and flavour compared to premium cuts.

Fortunately, there’s a straightforward cooking technique that promises to revolutionise the texture of minced meat without requiring expensive additions or ingredients. The method, which has been circulated online, is said to produce a remarkable improvement in the final result.

Better still, it requires minimal preparation time, and the key ingredient is likely already in your cupboard.

How to make mince juicier

In a TikTok clip, America’s Test Kitchen revealed a “quick trick” to enhance the juiciness and taste of minced beef, reports the Express. The video, shared with their audience of nearly one million followers, demonstrated the simple steps needed to elevate cheaper mince.

The cook explained: “There is a quick trick to make any ground meat recipe more tender and more juicy, and it’s probably in your cabinet right now.

“Just add baking soda. This is a trick inspired by a technique in many classic Chinese stir-fry recipes. Baking soda raises the pH of the meat, which alters the charge in the muscle filaments so that they repel each other.

“As a result, they can’t contract as easily and squeeze out their water, so the meat is going to hold onto moisture better, which makes it more tender and juicy.”

However, there is another advantage: a higher pH level promotes better browning, which in turn delivers greater depth of flavour to the dish.

The cook explained that he incorporated a quarter teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda into a tablespoon of water, before working it through approximately one pound of mince.

Dissolving it in water first ensures even distribution throughout the meat. He added: “For the full benefit, let the mixture sit for 15 minutes, but it will start working as soon as five, and then you can continue your recipe as normal.

“We’ve done this trick with ground beef, chilli, turkey burgers, pork meatballs, shepherd’s pie and a load of stir fries.

“It’s just one easy step that really makes a delicious difference.”