I’ve mentioned the Costco/Kirkland canned roast beef before. It’s really good stuff and although food preferences are subjective, I recommend the stuff highly. Last time i went to buy some at CostCo they no longer had it and I was told it was only available through the website. Bummer. But, apparently, it’s back on the shelf at my particular CostCo. As I was picking some up, I noticed that they also had cans of pulled pork. The thing that really caught my eye was that the pulled pork was quite a bit cheaper than the beef. Well, for my end-of-the-world planning, protein is protein. So lets pick up a roll of four 12 oz. cans for $6.99 which comes out to…uhm.. lets see….$2.33/#, which is actually pretty good.
I figured I’d try one of the recipes on the can and see how it turns out. In this particular case, a form of chili. Now, lets get this part out of the way – I’m from the school of thought that says chili doesn’t have beans. I’m not going to argue it with you, I’m just puttin’ it out there. Moving on, now.
- 1 can of pulled pork
- 1 diced green pepper
- 1 diced onion
- 1 small can of chiles
- 1 can of diced tomatoes
And we’ll toss that in the cast iron, cover it, and simmer it for an hour to give everything time to mix.
Turns out, it was actually pretty good. The pork isn’t really ‘pulled’ as we recognize it from, say, a good BBQ joint. It’s more ‘flaked’, like tuna fish. But, even though like all meats it smelled like cat food when the can was opened, it was good. For the price, this is an excellent product to have on the shelf…cheaper than the roast beef and quite useful in a variety of dishes.
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Hey! Paratus is this coming Friday! Tell your friends!
I’ve been looking for the CostCo canned beef, too. Just out of curiosity, what is the price on a 4-pack of canned beef at your CostCo?
Dont remember offhand but I wanna say around $14.
Cool. I’m a fan of the Wal-Mart canned chunked chicken. The Roast Beef to me is good but a little light on the meat – too much gravy. Otherwise – lots to recommend.
Thanks for the review.
FWIW, I survived quite nicely on the canned chicken and canned beef, for several weeks. A single can was two nights’ dinner in the meat dept., or one dinner for two, for planning purposes. (I had potatoes, veggies, rice, corn, fruit, etc. as well.)
And I didn’t do anything fancier with mine than heat it, and season.
(The chicken loves teriyaki, and the beef with added Worcestershire was just fine.) I’m thinking that, like DAK hams and Hormel ham chunks, the pork would love some brown sugar, and the occasional applesauce or pineapple slices/chunks.
But for 3-5 yr shelf life non-exotic food that stores and travels well, and can be readily rotated in and out of your weekly menu, you can’t beat the Costco canned stuff for price/quantity/simplicity.
60 cans (15 stacks of 4) would be about $210, and that’s enough protein for four months of dinners for one. Add equivalent chicken and pork, and you’ve got the basis for the menu for a solid year of food. If you knock off (and replace) a couple of cans a month, you’re eating at prices from 2 years ago, and you always have a year’s food sitting in the pantry.
After finding out how much I despise Vienna sausages and Underwood deviled meat products in the same test, I can’t recommend eating what you’re storing highly enough.
Or, you could can your own. If you pick up a pork shoulder at 1-1.25/#, your cost will be half or less than Costco, and in glass Mason jars, probably has as long or longer shelf-life plus you can re-use your jars. When it comes to savings, canning meat, not green beans or applesauce, is where the money is.
I bought a case (24 cans) each of beef and pork for $150. Not cheap, but it doesn’t turn into garbage after the power goes out. Too bad picking it up at the warehouse isn’t an option in order to forego shipping cost. A can each of: beef, pork, diced tomato, dice tomato ‘n green chilies with a package of Shore Lunch Chili fixin’s made an edible meal. Not great, but edible. Oh, and a splash of cheap vodka to put fat-soluble stuff into suspension.