Not bad. A tad disappointing in form, though.

I was at the LeeLee (giant Asian/world supermarket over on Dobson and
Warner in Chandler) the other day getting a honk o' eye round to make
chili, and I spotted a big yellow can marked "corned mutton" in a
couple of languages.

It's made in Australia.

And, well, you know me, you make corned mutton in Australia and ship it
to the Arizona desert and it just makes my challenge radar go off.

It sat on the counter since then, as I hadn't found a reason to want to
eat it yet (other stuff to go through, see), but this evening curiosity
made me reach for the can opener.

The good news is, the can was chock-full of it. A little jelly, but
only that which had come from the meat. No watery or empty space at
all. The bad news is, it wasn't a whole piece, or even chunky. It's
pretty much Spam. Only with a more elegant sort of high-end cat-food
flavor, and a lot less fat and salt.

Nothing magical about the taste. Potted meat is potted meat. But I
can see spreading this on a crusty roll and topping it with dijon and
lettuce and tomato and enjoying it well enough.

So it was worth the look, but it's probably not going to find its way
into the budget again.

--Blair

Blair P. Houghton wrote:
> Not bad. A tad disappointing in form, though.
>
> I was at the LeeLee (giant Asian/world supermarket over on Dobson and
> Warner in Chandler) the other day getting a honk o' eye round to make
> chili, and I spotted a big yellow can marked "corned mutton" in a
> couple of languages.
>
> It's made in Australia.
>
> And, well, you know me, you make corned mutton in Australia and ship it
> to the Arizona desert and it just makes my challenge radar go off.
>
> It sat on the counter since then, as I hadn't found a reason to want to
> eat it yet (other stuff to go through, see), but this evening curiosity
> made me reach for the can opener.
>
> The good news is, the can was chock-full of it. A little jelly, but
> only that which had come from the meat. No watery or empty space at
> all. The bad news is, it wasn't a whole piece, or even chunky. It's
> pretty much Spam. Only with a more elegant sort of high-end cat-food
> flavor, and a lot less fat and salt.
>
> Nothing magical about the taste. Potted meat is potted meat. But I
> can see spreading this on a crusty roll and topping it with dijon and
> lettuce and tomato and enjoying it well enough.
>
> So it was worth the look, but it's probably not going to find its way
> into the budget again.
>
> --Blair
>

And you're surprised? Has there ever been any kind of canned meat that
wasn't as horrid as you describe?

--
You wanna measure or you wanna cook?

On Sat, 07 Jan 2006 10:00:40 GMT, Bubba > wrote:
>>
>
>And you're surprised? Has there ever been any kind of canned meat that
>wasn't as horrid as you describe?

USDA Food Surplus program....
They gave out flour, rice, cheese, a horrible fake SPAM,

but every now and then
there'd be a big can of pork ( or beef ) chunks in gravy.
Mmmmmm.........
Now that was good stuff !

( wish I could buy it now )

<rj>

In article >,
"<RJ>" > wrote:

> On Sat, 07 Jan 2006 10:00:40 GMT, Bubba > wrote:
> >>
> >
> >And you're surprised? Has there ever been any kind of canned meat that
> >wasn't as horrid as you describe?
>
> USDA Food Surplus program....
> They gave out flour, rice, cheese, a horrible fake SPAM,
>
> but every now and then
> there'd be a big can of pork ( or beef ) chunks in gravy.
> Mmmmmm.........
> Now that was good stuff !
>
> ( wish I could buy it now )
>
> <rj>

MRE's????

http://theepicenter.com/mre_military...dy_to_eat.html
--
Om.

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a son-of-a-bitch." -Jack Nicholson

Blair P. Houghton wrote:

> Not bad. A tad disappointing in form, though.

I would't let it dissuade you from trying any more
"corned lamb" though. It can be quite good.

I make a form of it that is essentially a pastrami
recipe using lamb instead of beef. It's very good
and a nice change from the norm.

--
Reg email: RegForte (at) (that free MS email service) (dot) com

In article
>,
OmManiPadmeOmelet > wrote:

> > USDA Food Surplus program....
> > They gave out flour, rice, cheese, a horrible fake SPAM,
> >
> > but every now and then
> > there'd be a big can of pork ( or beef ) chunks in gravy.
> > Mmmmmm.........
> > Now that was good stuff !
> >
> > ( wish I could buy it now )
> >
> > <rj>
>
> MRE's????

The USDA maintains a program in which they specify and purchase
non-perishable foods for distribution to federal programs and to the
poor (via food shelves, etc.). I pack a lot of it when I work at
Second Harvest. There's canned meat, vegetables, fruit, and,
sometimes, pasta and beans. Occasionally, there are perishables, but
I don't work in that section of the food bank.

My ex-MIL was once given a five-pound block of the cheese by a
program participant who was milk-intolerant. It was much
better-tasting than I expected (I expected Velveeta and this was
much better than that). So apparently the government can commission
some decent eats if the materials used are worth anything....

sd

In article >,
me > wrote:

> In article
> >,
> OmManiPadmeOmelet > wrote:
>
> > > USDA Food Surplus program....
> > > They gave out flour, rice, cheese, a horrible fake SPAM,
> > >
> > > but every now and then
> > > there'd be a big can of pork ( or beef ) chunks in gravy.
> > > Mmmmmm.........
> > > Now that was good stuff !
> > >
> > > ( wish I could buy it now )
> > >
> > > <rj>
> >
> > MRE's????
>
> The USDA maintains a program in which they specify and purchase
> non-perishable foods for distribution to federal programs and to the
> poor (via food shelves, etc.). I pack a lot of it when I work at
> Second Harvest. There's canned meat, vegetables, fruit, and,
> sometimes, pasta and beans. Occasionally, there are perishables, but
> I don't work in that section of the food bank.
>
> My ex-MIL was once given a five-pound block of the cheese by a
> program participant who was milk-intolerant. It was much
> better-tasting than I expected (I expected Velveeta and this was
> much better than that). So apparently the government can commission
> some decent eats if the materials used are worth anything....
>
> sd

Sounds interesting. :-)

Around here, we just have a volunteer food bank. The local grocery
stores keep it well stocked. Mostly dented cans of veggies, and lots of
rice, beans and tortillas, as well as pasta. Not many perishibles,
unfortunately.

I never did cook those pig ears that lynda gave me that she got from the
food bank...... I'm sure they are freezer burned by now. I meant to, I
really did! I love trotters so I've no qualms about trying them. Just
never got around to it.

The Two lb. blocks of colby, mozarella and monterey jack cheeses I can
get from the store are really good and make excellent grilled cheese!
--
Om.

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a son-of-a-bitch." -Jack Nicholson

>I would't let it dissuade you from trying any more
>"corned lamb" though.

I wasn't going to let it. After finally making that sandwich, I've
decided the effect is closest to canned salmon, rather than spam. Not
nearly as fatty as it first appeared, and with a few good chunks in it.

--Blair
"Kinda like life, on second look."