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.
Why did you ruin a perfectly good can of cat food with an onion?
Cats are too picky. Dogs will eat most anything.
BTDTGTTS.
When this stuff is actually in stock, it’s 1/3 of my storage food. 1 can is two meals worth of food, it mixes well with rice, beans noodles, etc.
Throw some teriyaki sauce on it, mix 1/2 can in with a cup of quick rice, micro the rice in water for 4 minutes out of 5, throw the meat and sauce in for the last 1 minute, and you have a very palatable 5 minute meal.
And canned meat lasts for up to decades, if it was canned properly, and stored correctly.
Napoleon himself awarded a cash prize and a medal to the gentleman who invented the innovation.
I and thousands of other troops were eating C-rats in the 1980s that were canned in the 1960s, and it wasn’t considered any great marvel at the time.
We have a shelf in the pantry with past date items, we call “must go”. We’ve never had a problem with any of it. With some items it just requires a little bit of creativity on how to prepare it.
For years, we have pressure-canned eye of round roasts, boneless chicken breasts, boned, smoked hams. We use the cold pack method…prep is stupidly simple, 90 minutes in the canner, overnight cooling. For soups and stews, you can hardly go wrong. The oldest batch we have opened recently was 2016…we made beef barley soup. Add some fresh bread, pretty darn good.
I’m eating cans from 2014 and ebola
scarewake up call…The brazillian exception, and argentina as well, are well founded. I’ve commented before that my canned beef failed only a short time after the date, despite the material of the can being much heavier than domestic cans.
My storage conditions suck, hot, cold, damp, rusty, p!ssed on by rats, so YMMV.
My costco also carried pulled pork and buffalo wing flavored chicken in cans for a while. The pulled pork was excellent.
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I don’t know Commander, those tacos look pretty decent to me. I would grab one now and the zombies haven’t even come over the hill yet.
Correct. Thank you for sharing the lab mice/test dummy experience. I am always eating past date canned foods and dry rations. Never have an issue, and not squeamish to turn down post date items. An important element is having high fat and protein meats to accompany whatever bunker rations you can muster up in those tight spot scenarios. It adds to bland foods but will provide the needed energy fuel for your body for tasks at hand and recovery. One cannot forgo feeding the machine well and fully when in stressful and sporty times. Being able to sleep well on a full stomach while enjoying pleasant dreams is a bonus too.
Stay frosty and well fed.
I haven’t ever gotten the Costco canned roast beef, but I have gotten the Wally World version. The pictures and description match completely, so who knows if it is the same stuff, different label. I won’t rule it out. It’s not fancy eating without doctoring it up, but it is edible and filling.
I have tried both. Both were excellent once they were heated. I prefer the Kirkland from Costco due to the size can. The Walmart brand is in a larger can. Both do well if you want to make a beef stew or added to vegetable soup.
given the current state of affairs in Ukraine, I’ll bet there are some cold hungry people that would be very grateful for a can of meat about now.
So, a buddy moved back to PA. Did not want to take his Y2K stash with him. Just opened dehydrated onions, potatoes and apples. Stuff is good. Amazed. Wife made apple bread and apple French toast. Living large though it is not all rosy. The eggs cooked up sort of brown. Not inviting. Half a dozen varmints made short work of it out in the compost pit over night so may be we were rash.
i pressure can my deer kills just finished the 2009case and starting the 2010 case i trust my canning abilities more than someone who hates their job at a cannery