Canned MEAT-Canned MEAT-Commercial Packed "Canned MEAT"

[Hardcalibres]

I have always considered canned corned beef and chunk tuna in oil to be the two premium canned foods for survivalists. You can use the meat from a one pound can of either to provide the protein/fat for a few meals from each can. The salt and oil in the cans can be hard to find in nature and/or the home garden - so that makes them a valuable dietary supplement for any homestead based food plan.

The shelf life of most canned meats seems to be very long - there are examples of canned meats being found in base camps for expeditions and then being assessed to be safe/edible after several decades. There are similar reports about cans found in very old C ration packs. For many of us, and assuming they are stored in a suitable environment (low humidity and 40-65 degrees) our stock of canned meats may well outlive us.

My stock of canned meats is (in order from most numerous to least):

• Corned beef
• Chunk tuna in oil
• Spam (wide range of flavors)
• Ham
• Sardines
• Mackerel in oil
• Keystone pork
• Keystone beef
• Corned mutton
• Crab
• Asian style luncheon meat

I also store some meat-rich cans like Chili, Stews, Savory beef and veg, Spaghetti sauce with beef - but they have a shorter shelf life of 7-10 years - mostly due to tomato among the contents and consequent low pH (ie acidity).

A couple of people have mentioned Yoders Bacon. Those cans are expensive.....you could buy a lot of Spam bacon for the cost of a flat of Yoders Bacon cans.

 

[Hardcalibres]

Here is a bit of prepper porn.......

A couple of years ago, I was in an Asian foods specialty store and found these cans of New Zealand made "Palm" brand corned beef. Each can holds 3 lbs of Beef!

They had about thirty or so cans reduced to about $6 per can (presumably because most people can't think what they would do with that much corned beef) - so I loaded up a trolley with their stock and proceeded to the check out.

Another good thing about Asian stores, is that there were no stupid comments at the register - lots of asian people buy in bulk (when stuff is cheap) and all they cared about was that I had enough money to pay for my purchases.

 

[Aerindel]

I have some canned chicken....I just don't know how to use it in normal meals.

Spam on the other hand, is part of a balanced breakfast, lunch and dinner.

 

[Tank-Girl]

I have sardines, tuna, corned beef and tinned ham.
I use the small tins (about the size of a normal can of corned beef) of ham to make pea and ham soup.
A bag of dried green split peas, a small tin of ham diced small, small diced potatoes and chopped carrots makes a huge pot of rib sticking soup in cold weather.
It's a good way to stretch a little into a lot.

 

[joel]

Salmon
Tuna in water
Mackerel
Sardines
Good until 2023.

 

[hiwall]

We used canned chicken tonight. I made funeral potatoes and added a couple 12 oz cans of chicken to it. Turned out fine according to my wife.

 

[joel]

We used canned chicken tonight. I made funeral potatoes and added a couple 12 oz cans of chicken to it. Turned out fine according to my wife.

Now that you say canned chicken, my DW sometimes buy it, if it is a good price, but we do not store it.

 

[Spikedriver]

I have some canned chicken....I just don't know how to use it in normal meals.

Spam on the other hand, is part of a balanced breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Canned chicken works real well in rice dishes. Get yourself a box of Zatarain's Jambalaya mix and a couple cans of Great Value chunk canned chicken breast. That is a good, quick, easy, and filling meal. Barring that, canned chicken and wild rice in the crockpot makes a fine meal too.

I don't keep much canned meat but I generally have a couple canned hams (essentially big cans of spam) and several cans of chicken. I'm a big fan of canned ham and eggs for breakfast, or for any meal actually. Plus canned ham ain't bad on a sandwich either. For something really off the wall, cut it a quarter inch thick and put it on a grilled burger patty with cheese and an egg fried over hard. That makes a fantastic burger!

 

[Bacpacker]

Canned chicken works real well in rice dishes. Get yourself a box of Zatarain's Jambalaya mix and a couple cans of Great Value chunk canned chicken breast. That is a good, quick, easy, and filling meal. Barring that, canned chicken and wild rice in the crockpot makes a fine meal too.

I don't keep much canned meat but I generally have a couple canned hams (essentially big cans of spam) and several cans of chicken. I'm a big fan of canned ham and eggs for breakfast, or for any meal actually. Plus canned ham ain't bad on a sandwich either. For something really off the wall, cut it a quarter inch thick and put it on a grilled burger patty with cheese and an egg fried over hard. That makes a fantastic burger!

We used smoked sausage in the Jambalya when we make it. Also add Kidney beans, tomatos, onions, Good meal that goes a long ways

 

[Spikedriver]

We used smoked sausage in the Jambalya when we make it. Also add Kidney beans, tomatos, onions, Good meal that goes a long ways

Last time I made it, I used both canned chicken and andoullie sausage. It was good, but I'm a Yankee not a Cajun. I prefer the chicken with a little seasoning...

 

[Bacpacker]

Well I'm a hillbilly, not a caun either. But I love their cooking

 

[SoJer]

..Yoders Bacon. Those cans are expensive.....

Well... 5-6 yrs ago they weren't bad.. But yeah, Now, they Are pretty pricey.. Still, it's a Great product (for what it is..) We've also been Very pleased with their Canned Pork, Chicken, Turkey, and Ital Sausage.. Lots of good options out there for Canned Tuna / Salmon (..and both, Essential, for the reasons you mentioned, also..)

..canned chicken....I just don't know how to use it in normal meals.

Well.. Chicken Salad, with a bit of mayo and/or horseradish mustard, coarse pepper / sea salt, celery, crushed almonds - and a few Red Grapes sliced up - in a Pita, with romaine is Always a crowd pleaser around here..

..There's also 'Mac & Cheese Bake w/ Broccoli + (usually Tuna, but I find canned chicken kinda tastes 'tuna-ey', so it Also works.. or Chicken / Cream Cheese Enchiladas / Chicken 'Street Tacos' / Seasoned Soft Tacos, etc, etc - Lots of ideas, really..

..I'll be over later, and we can whip something up.. You handle dessert, cool?

.02
jd

 

[joel]

Bacon will last 2 week in refrigerator & 8 month in the freezer.

 

[Hardcalibres]

Bacon will last 2 week in refrigerator & 8 month in the freezer.

Some of us crazy survivalists want to know we can still eat bacon ten years after the last pig on earth died.

 

[Spikedriver]

Some of us crazy survivalists want to know we can still eat bacon ten years after the last pig on earth died.

You can eat it. I'm not sure I want to be around you the next day though...

 

[Hardcalibres]

You can eat it. I'm not sure I want to be around you the next day though...

Hey...the beans are the real challenge on that front.

Most of us have got lot's of beans.......

 

[joel]

Some of us crazy survivalists want to know we can still eat bacon ten years after the last pig on earth died.

With all due respect, the pigs are roaming the country side at will & will live off roaches & other insects long after the last human has died of GAMMA poisoning. The corpses will be eaten by the hogs & with in one thousand years they will be flying ships into space.

 

[Hardcalibres]

With all due respect, the pigs are roaming the country side at will & will live off roaches & other insects long after the last human has died of GAMMA poisoning. The corpses will be eaten by the hogs & with in one thousand years they will be flying ships into space.

Apparently we don't have to wait a thousand years to see what that will look like:



My post about the bacon and beans were humor.......

 

[jazzy]

Some of us crazy survivalists want to know we can still eat bacon ten years after the last pig on earth died.

i know this is about store canned meats and i apologize for a drift but its not hard at all to can up pints of bacon. i chop it up, cook it down a bit to lose some water, pressure can up in pints according to my altitude.

 

[Sparky_D]

I've never figured out what the purpose of canned chicken is.

We use it for Chicken, Rice, and Broccoli Casserole (Mix cooked rice and steamed broccoli with one can of Cream of Chicken soup and 1 can of chicken with juices. Stir and bake in casserole pan in a 350° F oven for 20-30 minutes) as well as Chicken Enchilada Shells (Mix chicken with taco seasoning, spoon into large cooked pasta shells laid out in a parchment lined 9x13 pan, pour enchilada sauce over shells, add cheese and crumbled corn tortilla chips {chips optional} and bake in 350° F oven for 20-25 minutes or until cheese is melted).

Both are staples in our regular meal rotation.

I've also used it in a pinch for chicken salad for sandwiches.

 

[Amish Heart]

We had a picnic today and had chicken salad sandwiches with canned chicken. Drain, add mayo, chopped red onion and chopped celery. Salt and pepper.

 

[Caribou]

Remember when Buba was telling Forest Gump how to prepare shrimp? Like that except chicken.

 

[CalicoKatie]

These are the canned meats I currently have.

With the price of corned beef so high, I buy the hash. Stuff bell peppers with it or make fried patties
Spam - Fried, of course, or cube it and drop into a pot of potato soup. My kids loved this with cornbread.
Chicken - casseroles, fried rice, chicken salad sandwiches, croquettes
Tuna - casseroles, croquettes, tuna salad sandwiches
Yoder's bacon - what's not to like?
Chunk ham canned in water
I have several cans of the Keystone beef but haven't used any of it yet. I'm thinking of a beef noodle casserole kind of thing. Ideas?

Also have cans of chicken ala king, sausage gravy, chili and beef stew.

Question - is there any real difference between Spam and Treet? Besides the price?

 

[Morgan101]

We have canned ham and chicken, and tuna by the case, I will put the chicken in with other things, but my wife doesn't care for it. I like all of the Zatarains products, but have never added chicken. I will have to try it. I usually add some type of sausage, or shrimp.

Aerindel, you can use canned chicken with chicken flavored Ramen noodles and Cream of Chicken soup to whip up a quick chicken casserole. Put it in a microwave, and it is ready in about 5 minutes. Fast, easy, cheap, and doesn't taste too bad.

 

[Curmudgeon]

For this thread.......What store bought commercially canned Meats are you purchasing......????

We store whatever we can find on sale, it might be canned chicken one week, spam another, tuna etc etc. what ever we can grab multiple cans of while saving a buck.

For this thread "Not" interested in Meat preserved in any method accept "Canned" commercially.

Ironically, you posted this thread the same day I was exploring freeze dried canned meat.

Has anyone here tried this stuff or something similar?

 

[Spikedriver]

@CalicoKatie there's not much difference. If you really want to save money, Aldi's has their own version and Great Value has their generic brand which is ok.

 

[CalicoKatie]

@CalicoKatie there's not much difference. If you really want to save money, Aldi's has their own version and Great Value has their generic brand which is ok.

I figured it was pretty much the same thing but Spam has the name. Funny thing is the Great Value brand actually costs more than the Treet at my Walmart. This reminded me of an Alaska Prepper video from last year when he compared Spam with the GV brand. His conclusion was that he wasn't going to buy Spam anymore. He does a lot of good videos and reviews.

I Will No Longer Buy SPAM! - YouTube

After re-watching this video, I went to the grocery order I was making and replaced the Treet with the GV brand. Just comparing the ingredients was enough for me!

 

[Sparky_D]

Just comparing the ingredients was enough for me!

Honestly, since I started reading labels for health reasons, I have dropped many items that used to be staples in my pantry.

It's made shopping both easier and more difficult at the same time.
It's really easy to see what I don't want in my cart, far more difficult to find any options (let alone affordable options) that meet my new standards.

 

[UrbanHunter]

I'm glad you mentioned that @Sparky_D, we have been forced into a low salt diet because of medical conditions. It really limits us on some things, it also takes some of the canned meats and prepared foods off the table for daily use, I could see using them if nothing else is available but it is a restriction some of us have to live with.

Sugar is another big issue for some people......

 

[Neb]

The Princess has a budget for long term food storage and it always looking for deals. Mountain House and Sam's Club is what she has the most of ( I think). She has plenty of stuff to keep a small tribe fed but has turned to what would be luxury food items. That includes the Yodder bacon and freeze dried anything beef. She has started to fill a second room with her cache but here are images of what she has collected.

Disclaimer
I have been allowed to sample any because steak is cheaper but she set about sampling everything available at a prepper expo back in 2010 and chose Mountain House.

Ben