Tag Archives: canned food

Keystone Beef II

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As you may recall, I earlier mentioned that my local WallyWorld had started carrying some Keystone meats. I’m not a huge fan of canned meats, but I’m even less a fan of going through any type of prolonged crisis having to forego meat.

I had tried the diced beef and found it quite good. Todays adventure is the ground beef. The biggest drawback I’ve heard regarding canned ground beef is that, since it is pressure cooked, the meat gets quite tender. So much so, in fact, that some people have mentioned the consistency of the ground beef as ‘mushy’…similar to the beef youd get at a Taco Bell.

One way to find out…..

I would definitely remove as much of the fat as possible before cooking. I went ahead and cooked it as-is out of the can and it created a lot of liquid.

I understand that in a survival situation ( a la ‘The Mandibles‘) you’d want that energy-rich fat, but it sure takes a while to cook off.

Consistency-wise I would not say it was ‘mushy’. It just wasnt firm and crumbly like most ground beef. What I did notice was that it had a much beefier flavor than normal ground beef. That can be good or bad depending on what youre planning on doing with this stuff, but for something like tacos (or taco sald) this would be a fine choice. Probably a go-to for sloppy joes as well. Didnt try it in a spaghetti sauce but the strong flavor might require you to adjust your seasoning in that particular entree.

For my needs, I’d combinethis with some salsa and cooked rice with maybe a lttle taco seasoning thrown in for a fast purely ‘storage food’ meal. Might also add some crushed tomatoes, peppers, onions, spices, rice, and go that route. Up to you, man…ground beef is just a sort of ‘basic building block’ to create a meal around. Sure, I can get protein from beans and rice just like the rest of the Third World, but why Third World it if you don’t have to?

As I’m sure someone will mention in comments, yes I know I can pressure can my own ground beef and save some money. Absolutely no doubt there….I have the skill and equipment. But there are times I prefer the resilience and durability of a can rather than the fragility of glass jars. Also, and this is a very -low-on-the-totem-pole consideration, if I ever need to trade or sell these to someone in Mad Max world the commercial product will be more attractive than the home-canned version.

 

Keystone Beef

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My relationship with canned meats is akin to the experience of dating a fat chick: if youre not deterred by the appearance and smell, you might find that, if you give it a chance, you  actually like it.

To me, all canned meats, regardless of what they are (turkey, beef, pork, etc.) all smell exactly the same when you open them – like wet cat food. In fact, I have to hold my breath when opening a can of meat. But, as a survivalist, I know there are going to be times where shelf-stable meats that can go long-term are gonna be rather handy.

I discovered that the local WalMart is selling Keystone meats (chicken, beef, and ground beef) a few weeks back. Normally my canned meat needs are met by the Kirkland roast beef at CostCo, which I have been quite pleased with. Although, to be fair, the availability of the Kirkland beef has waned over the years with stretches of time where it was unavailable.

I had seen a good bit of information about the Keystone product on the internet, and reviews I’d seen on YouTube were pretty uniform in that it was a rather good product. Well, before I go and drop a buncha money on a case of this stuff, lets check it out.

This looks like what the investigator sees when he opens a 55-gallon drum that had a mob informant stuffed in it before being tossed into the lake. The white stuff is congealed fat and the liquid is the juices from the meat, since no water is added to this product. The meat is pressure cooked in the sealed can so any liquid in there came outta meat.

Dumped into a frying pan it still looks like an organ transplant that went horribly awry. But, let’s put some heat to the meat and see what happens.

As things melt, plenty of liquid ensues. So, we keep simmering until we get something a bit less soupy.

My standard practice for a fast, cheap, filling meal is to then mix in a buncha salsa and then mix with hot rice. The result:

Gotta say…it was good. And the meat was of very high quality. I recall trying some canned meat a few years back that had tremendous amounts of silverskin to the point it was like trying to chew gum. I think there was one small thumbnail size piece of silverskin in this, which  I plucked out, and the rest was all good striated muscle tissue. So, whats my story…recommend or no? It’s a recommend. At least for me it is. I can see this as being an excellent candidate for anything where tender cunks of beef are called for or where shredded beef is needed. Tacos, enchiladas, and that sort of thing seem like a natural for this. If youre a beef-with-noodles kinda guy this might be handy for a goulash or stroganoff. Shelf life is a couple years so it’s definitely a candidate for the long-term pantry.

Price was about $9 a can which isnt bad since theres definitely several days of meat in there. Obviously if you shop around you might do better than that. Overall, I’d say if you were on the fence about buying this stuff go ahead and purchase with confidence.

Article – How Long Does Canned Food Last? Here’s What You Need to Know

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Here’s the good news: Canned goods actually last indefinitely if they’re kept in good condition, according to the USDA. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that they’ll still taste optimal ten years from now! There are actually several factors that limit the shelf life of canned goods, but in general, foods that are more acidic will expire sooner, while low-acid canned foods will actually last for longer. If you’re wondering about specific canned foods, though, here’s how long they’ll last on your shelf, as well as in the refrigerator after you open them.

Anyone who has been into preparedness/survivalism knows that canned goods last well beyond their ‘best by’ or expiration date. The internet is replete with stories of people eating canned goods that are five, ten, fifteen years old. Some things, like high-acid foods (pineapple, tomatoes, etc) don’t last long but most other stuff does. I’ve had canned meats that were several years past their dates and I’m still here.

Canned food, for me, is the first line of long(ish) term food. Canned vegetables, meats, sauces, etc. all are part of my layered food storage. Canned food is heavy to transport, but for a static situation it’s an excellent first choice.

Sadly, I know survivalists who have family members that will, under no circumstances, eat anything that is beyond that somewhat arbitrary ‘best by’ date (which is not the same thing as an expiration date, BTW.) Look, when the apocalypse gets here, in whatever form the destroyer chooses, and you havent had a real meal in days, you’re not really gonna care that the can of Hormel or Dinty Moore ‘expired’ six months ago. Crack it open, heat it up, and eat….you’ll be fine.

Canned meats

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I usually avoid being in WalMart on weekends (and especially at the end/beginning of the month…the EBT crowd is pretty sketch.) but I wanted to restock a few things. Specifically, I was looking for the smaller cans of Hormel corned beef hash. Found them, but what caught my eye was that also on the shelf were these:Keystone is a brand that you see fairly often in preparedness circles. Their reputation, as far as I can tell, is pretty good and I’d probably take them over any canned meats from other countries. But, I’d never seen them for sale locally. Being in #2.5 cans is a bonus over the smaller cans that I get from CostCo. The CostCo is $0.375 per ounce. This stuff comes out to, for the beef, is $0.32~ per ounce. A material savings if your going to be buying cases of this stuff. On the other hand, the price savings is irrelevant if you wouldn’t eat the stuff on a dare. So, it’ll be food experimentation time later this evening. I’m quite pleased with the CostCo Kirkland beef, so this stuff will have to be pretty good to make me switch from the Kirkland for beef. The ground beef, on the other hand, will be interesting because there is no CostCo version. My experience with packaged ground beef has been that its a bit mushy. I’ll take half a can of this, fry it up to remove moisture, and try it with spaghetti sauce. Other half I’ll do the same with but go to taco town with it.

Whats your experience been with this brand?

Lotsa lids locally

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A few months back it seemed like you could not find canning lids for love nor money. As it turned out, from what I’ve read, US made canning lids are basically made at only one or two facilities and then sold to the major canning suppliers to be rebranded. Much like how, I am told, there are only a half dozen outfits that actually make AR lowers for all the various brands you see out there.

I was tooling around in the supermarket the other day and, interestingly, there was no shortage of canning lids and other canning supplies. Did the supply chain get caught up? Did the ‘panic’ die down? Probably a combination of both. But much like the Great Primer Scare of the 90’s, it’s a good lesson of how something can go from plentiful to unobtainium in the blink of a news report.

I have no doubt people will populate the comments section with tales of how theyve reused canning lids dozens of times, or that they use the reusable brand of lids and have had barely a hiccup.

This may be true. But its not ideal. As far as I’m concerned, when it comes to jar lids for canning the first choice, by a large margin, are brand new US-made lids from a reputable manufacturer. And I don’t mind spending the money to do that. “But what will you do when you run out of lids?” Well, my first order of business is to have enough of them on hand that this sort of thing is pushed down the ranks of statistical likelihood. The same question could be asked about the guy with the reusable lids….what will you do when they finally get damaged or worn enough that they arent safe to use? Their response will, no doubt, be “that’ll take years”. Well, guess what, I’m buying an equivalent amount of years worth of lids.

I actually don’t can very much at all. Its only in the last year that I’ve started canning some of the meat purchases rather thatn tuck them in the freezer. Prior to that the only things I canned were the occasional gumbo or soup. However, there is an undeniable convenience to having jars of food ready-to-go when you’re hungry. Nothing to thaw and in a pinch you can always eat the room temperature contents without heating.

As Bidenflation continues to screw with food prices (Thanks Brandon!) it makes more sense to, when you find a good deal, capitalize on it and preserve it for that later day when its either unavailable or priced out of your range (either due to job loss or wild inflation). And to do that…lids.

If you’re that rare survivalist who isn’t knowledgeable or informed on the how-to’s of canning, or you’ve just been too intimidated by the process, you really should invest a few bucks and take a swing at it. It’s a marvelous way to preserve food long term without the expense of a freeze dryer or the liability of a blackout-vulnerable freezer.

Recommended reading: Ball Book on Canning

Recommended canner: Anything from All American

Those All-Americans, by the way, are not cheap but it is a buy-once-cry-once sort of thing. Yes, you can buy a Presto or Mirro cheaper but the sheer ruggedness of the AA, and its gasketless design, will pay dividends down the road.

But you know what? Even if you don’t can, pick up a buncha lids because its one of those rare consumer products like matches and .22 rimfire that are cheap to buy, cheap to store, and have virtually no real adequate substitutes that you can make at home.

CostCo canned beef…from pre-Trump days

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On todays episode of “Will It Digest” we have some of the Kirkland canned roast beef from CostCo. As far as canned meats go, I’m a big fan of this stuff and recommend it highly. Todays test subject was ‘Best By’ back when MAGA hats were just being introduced:

So…’Best By’ was six years ago. Shall we crack it open and see what happens? Well, the first thing that happens is that no matter what it is..beef, chicken, turkey, whatever…it always smells like cat food the minute you pierce that can. But, I know from experience that once you put the heat to the meat the smells start changing drastically.

Looks unappetizing, smells worse, but….as we bring it to temperature, the fats melt and mix with the meat, and after about ten minutes…..

Dumped it back in the pan with some spices, grabed some onion, cilantro, taco sauce, sour cream, outta the fridge, and…..

The point of this post isn’t to point out my half-assed attempts at cooking. But rather that some canned goods, especially a low-acid product like meat, kept in the classic ‘cool, dry place’, can be quite satisfactory long after the ‘Best By’ date. Ok, sure, it’s early and I really should wait eight hours and then make this post, but I’ve done this sort of thing before and I can tell you with empirical first-hand evidence that quality canned meats (meaning not something from some cannery in Samoa or Venezuela) can be useful a number of years after the date stamped on them.

And as far as the CostCo brand goes, if you have it in stock at your local CostCo (because it does tend to come and go) it is very much an excellent choice for stocking up. I normally find canned meats a bit repulsive, but I have to admit that once you get this thing in a pan and get some heat under it, it’s quite good.

The return of canning supplies

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A trip to WinCo this evening shows that, at least at this location, the supply of canning jar lids and related materials has returned to normal. (Or, I suppose, normal-ish.)

Much like how the Great Primer Scare of the ’90s turned many of us into primer hoarders, this recent experience in being unable to locate canning lids has made me quite certain that my future plans include keeping several hundred lids on hand at all times. You know….just in case.

I don’t enjoy canning. I have better things to do with my time than stand around and babysit what is basically a potential boiler explosion for 70 minutes. I dont dislike canning, but, dang it, I’ve got better things to do.

However..I do enjoy eating. And I’m a huge fan of saving money and not starving to death. So….canning.

And that canning requires one critical component: jar lids.

So, I havent inventoried them but I should be sitting somewhere near a thousand or so lids at the moment. At one pint of canned meat or other food per day, that would be about three years of canned food. Of course, keeping a thousand pint jars on hand is unlikely but I do have a hundred or so, which should, I think, see me though most tough times.

But the lids…..like primers they are the one critical and expendable component that bottlenecks the whole process if you can’t find them.

Glad to see theyre back in stock. For now.

SafeCrate

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You know, if I were the president of a country that is in the midst of record inflation, shortages of basic foods and medicines, simmering with political and racial division, and on the verge of civil unrest….I’d probably be pushing for disarming the populace too. It’s about protecting themselves, not kids.
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Was up at Murdoch’s the other day looking for a 15-gallon blue  barrel to store another 100# of wheat in, when I noticed that they had a rather extensive amount of canning supplies on the shelf. Unsurprisingly, no lids. But, I did see these:

“SafeCrate” protective containers for canning jars. I’ve seen similar products but hadn’t seen them available locally before. Oddly, I figured some Made In China product would be all over Amazon. Nope. Didn’t see them there. Looks like the only online offering is off their website.

Regardless, this seemed like something I may have to pick up a few of. Once you go through the hassle and headache of canning a bunch of stuff, the last thing you want is unprotected jars rattling against each other as you transport them in an empty copier paper box.

Canning stuff

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I have all the things necessary for home canning, and I do occasionally engage in the practice. I don’t do it often because I don’t really have much need to…after all, I can always buy commercially canned vegetables and meats at pretty much any grocery. However, just because I can do something today doesn’t mean I’ll be able to do it tomorrow. Also, sometimes I cook stuff that I rather like (bunker gumbo ) and like to have some of it sitting on the shelf for a quick meal.  And, of course, when the wheels really fly off civilization and the electricity becomes a pleasant memory, I’ll have a whole freezerfull of meat that needs to suddenly be repackaged in a shelf stable manner. Canning lets me do that. And, if you’re the type with a big garden and good hunting skills, canning lets you put a lot of food away at very reasonable prices.

Anyway, I was in the local independent supermarket getting my lunch at work the other day and as I walked by the aisle where they keep the home canning stuff I saw these:

A couple cases of wide-mouth lids. And not that cheap Chinese-made crap that has been showing up on the market:

Seriously…if you’re willing to purchase this crap because it’s $2 cheaper than Ball or Kerr, you deserve the problems that are going to come from these things. From what I’ve read they don’t seal well, don’t hold seal well, are spotty in the application of adhesive, and tend to buckle. Sure, their availability may be better than Ball or Kerr, but if you have to throw away the food, or make three attempts to get a good seal, or worst of all, go into your pantry six months from now and find a jar of what looks like vomit, was it really worth the ‘savings’?

Being a good survivalist, I spoke to a few LMI and asked if they needed any lids. Why not? If the world is going to sink into another World War or Great Depression then I want those people to have every advantage possible. Short version: I want a world with more of them and less of everyone else. Brutal, but true.

One person mentioned that they hadn’t ‘gotten into’ canning yet. Picked a hell of a time to start, I told him. He said he was waiting for a course at the continuing education facility to be offered. Dude, it ain’t rocket science and time may 9or may not) be of the essence. So, for those of you who haven’t experienced the joy of filling your kitchen with heat and steam, here’s youre shopping list:

Information…don’t start a trip without a map. There are plenty of good books on the subject, the one I use and recommend is:

Read it, read it again, and then flip through it another time. Nothing magical about canning…anyone can do it. But spoiled food is dangerous ‘food’ and you really want to pay attention to what you’re doing,. It’s no different than reloading ammo in that regard…it isn’t difficult, but you do want to pay attention.

I like the pressure canning, which is necessary to can meat or any food that contains meat (sauces, stews, etc.). This is gonna be the most expensive part of the process. Just resign yourself to spending the money and know that this thing will literally last you the rest of your life. It doesn’t use a gasket so if you’re concerned about replacement part availability, this is a great choice. I use this particular model:

Yes, not cheap. But I’ve had mine for a long time and haven’t had a lick of trouble from it. This particular package comes with tools that you’ll want….lid lifter, jar lifter, spatula, food funnel, etc.  One-stop shopping. But this baby will let you can everything and in large quantities. Its big and heavy, so no glasstop ranges for this monster.

After that, its time for lids, jars, and bands. Most any hardware store (during normal times) will have them. You can’t have too many. Jars are reusable as long as they aren’t chipped at the mouth. Bands are reusable. Lids are not. Yes, some people reuse them. I don’t. Food poisoning is not worth trying to save $1 by reusing a lid or two. I don’t have the time to investigate every brand out there so I usually just stick to Ball as my first choice and then Kerr. Lots of people ‘inherit’ jars from grandma or some great aunt’s estate…thats fine but inspect them thoroughly for chips or damage.

All this stuff will fit in a large plastic tote that can sit on your basement shelving when you’re not using the canner. Find a great deal on meat? Can it. Neighbors had a bumper crop of tomatoes or something? Can ’em. Made a huge batch of vegetable beef soup and want the convenience of just heat-n-eat out of a jar? Fire up the canner.

As I said, I don’t do much gardening these days but I do hunt for bargains on meat. And when I do find a deal on meat canning it saves me freezer space, is convenient, and allows me to store a good bit of animal protein against whatever is coming. And if nothing happens? Well, it’ll still taste just fine and I’ll have saved a buncha cash.

Return of the CostCo canned beef

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I had been lamenting CostCo no longer carrying the Kirkland Roast Beef for a while now. There was a brief reprieve of sorts when they started carrying another brand of canned roast beef, which was pretty good, but even that brand seems to no longer be available in-store.

Today, while on my regularly schedules Co visits I happened across this:

It appears that, for whatever reason, my local CostCo has the Kirkland Roast Beef again. Hmm. No idea how long they’ll be carrying it but I made a point to pick some up. Here’s the interesting thing..I canned some beef the other week so i have the numbers fresh in my head: the meat I got at the CostCo meat counter was $6.99/#. These four cans are 12 oz each, which is three pounds. Since the cost is $18, thats about $6 per pound. What this means is that even without factoring in the cost of jars, lids, processing time and fuel, this product appears to be a better value than DIY. Granted, you may use a different cut, or a different type of animal, but for the most part it appears this is a case of it not being cheaper to do it yourself. And there’s the durability and storage ‘footprint’ of the cans versus the glass jars.

I actually kinda like the canning process and enjoy taking advantage of the infrequent sale on beef to get my costs down further but this is an excellent supplemental or turn-key choice for getting some dead animal flesh tucked away for the mid-term.