I home canned some beef a year or two ago and its been sitting in my kitchen cabinets since. Its good for stews and soups, but theres gotta be more to it than that, right? I mix it with rice and and onions from time to time, but what else can we do?
I went out to breakfast the other day and had a ‘breakfast skillet’ of cubed potatoes, peppers, onions, melted cheese, bacon, ham, and sausage. Man, was it good.
No reason I can’t do that at home, I decided. I threw some bacon grease into my wok pan, cubed up some potatoes, onions, peppers, and went to work. When the potatoes were soft I threw in the peppers and onions, a couple grinds of salt and pepper, a generous bunch of butter, and dumped in the canned roast beef. Broke the beef up a little with my spatula, covered the pan, and let the heat and steam do the work. After a few minutes I threw some Mexican cheese blend on there, covered to melt., and then threw a couple eggs on top. One pepper, one onion, one potato, two eggs, one pint of meat made a lot of food.
About three bucks of ingredients, less the meat. And the beauty of using the home canned meat is that just about any cheap cut of meat, once hit with enough heat and pressure during the canning process, becomes fork tender morsels.
A home run, if I do say so myself.
Classic breakfast hash. Superior noms.
All my word – sounds really good. I do canned beef and the above recipe is now on my list (maybe add some garlic as well). Yummy.
One of my favorite meals is canned hamburger with eggs on top.
I like to use the canned beef, with gravy and cheese curds over fries for a poutine.
I miss the Costco 8-packs, but I still buy the store brands, even at $6/can, because they keep for years.
Beef & rice (teriyaki and/or worcestershire sauce are your friend) = 5-minute microwave meal
Beef and noodles, + a good mushroom sauce = stroganoff
cut potatoes and veggies in a crock pot, add the beef chunks for the last 15″ = great beef stew
the beef also works for carne asada tacos, burritos, etc.
If you aren’t making chili with it, you’re not trying.
The key is always the spices and sauces. Variety beats food fatigue.
And beef is what’s for dinner.
Hey Zero,
You have to respect a man that has the foresight to make sure the food is decent in the apocalypse. The fastest way to bring in the zombie babes is thru their taste buds.
Have you thought about a food supply that is a bit more permanent and locally sustaining? I am thinking goats for milk and chicken for eggs and meat. You will need some kind of dog to keep them safe, or better yet a pair. Also a greenhouse seems like it would be a necessity with your winters. Rice and wheat will store for a long time if taken care of and so will sugar, but veggies are tough unless you grow them, so garden and greenhouse. Herbs you put in a planter in your window.
I am good for six weeks right now as far as water and food go. I live in an apartment, so that is all I have room for, but I am hoping to move back home to the ozarks area if prices on real estate will just pop. My idea is that if there is a problem, most people will be out of food and water in 3 days once the electricity goes. So for two or three weeks, shit will get ugly. If you can hole up for that time, then you can come out once the worst has blown over.
My long term goal is a homestead with goats, chickens, gardens, greenhouses, root cellars, fields and orchards, and whatever else I have room for. Have saved up a decent nest egg, but property that was selling for $79k in 2019 is now in the $380k range. Once the everything bubble pops, it will probably be a year or two before residential real estate adjusts to the new market value. Hope I am not too late.
I love this blog. Your advise is that of a man that has a few years and sees reality for what it is and not some glory hound kid who thinks it is all sniper rifles and home made explosives. As a young soldier I was what they called young, dumb and full of cum ready to fight everyone everywhere. Now pushing 60, I just want a piece of land I can call home where I can raise my own food, for the most part, and live in peace. God bless you for the work you do.
It sounds like a great way to begin the day and slay dragons. Mixing veggies and meat together is a good meal extender. Sometimes, pasta and meat can become bland (but it still does punch for giving you a full stomach). THAT really requires some spicing for full flavor.
CZ, you ever can deer meat?
Nope.
Sorry, very late reply. If you decide to do it, it’s probably The way to eat deer. Bullion cubes and pack it in, pressure canner =shelf stable, easy and very very good meat for cheap. Lids are cheap, or you can use the reusable ones. I’ve personally had mixed results with the reusable lids but ymmv.
We have been canning our deer meat for a few years now and while it takes a minute the results are amazing. By canning we can somewhat eliminate our protein being in the freezer, we live in tornado country and power outages and if things got really sideways I don’t want to rely on fuel for generators or generators!
You don’t have to warm it up,just pop it open and eat,but do also like the CZ said and use it anything you like