Cooking canned meat? Corned beef, spam, chicken?

I always cook meat out of a can (except tuna, sometimes).

I cook corned beef with some extra home fries in a cast iron skillet and serve it with eggs for breakfast.

Spam is very versatile. I prefer to buy the "less sodium" version. Sometimes I just pan fry it and eat it straight or sometimes I add it to a grilled cheese. I have also made Spam Fried Rice, which is surprisingly good. I have also used Spam in Ramen and Potato Soup.

I use canned salmon or canned salmon to make fish cakes....

And corn beef for corn beef hash - its even better with betroot and cougette in the hash mix.

Oh I've got a super corned beef, red onion and sweetcorn hash recipe......all in one meal for around 420 cals per serving.

Serves 4 - works out at a cost of £1.15 per person.

500g Charlotte [waxy potatoes] halved
2tbsp olive oil
1 large red onion, finely chopped
340g can corned beef
330g can of sweetcorn, drained
1tbsp chilli sauce [I like using sweet chilli sauce]
chopped parsley

METHOD:
1. Cook potatoes in boiling water until just tender. Meanwhile heat half the oil in a frying pan, add onion and cook 5 mins until soft. Drain potatoes and when cool enough to handle cutthem in half again.

2. Mix potatoes, onion, corned beef, sweetcorn, parsley , chilli sauce and seasoning together in a mixing bowl. Heat remaining oil in large non-stick frying pan. Add corned beef mixture. Cook over medium heat until mixture starts to brown up.

3. Preheat grill. Squash mixture into pancake shape. Place the pan under the grill for 3-4 mins. to brown the top.

Lovely served with fine green beans

I'm cutting way back on sodium lately so no Spam for me (I'll need to figure out what to do with last year's hurricane supply....) but I used to slice it thin, rinse the slices a bit then pat dry and fry in a pan. It's good just like that on rice, or you can dice it up and use it in eggs or on salads like ham.

Sardines...I freakin love sardines but that could be a topic on its own. A lot depends on what kind of course since they come in so many different flavors can vary wildly by brand. King Oscar is pretty generally accepted as being the most consistently quality, sustainably caught brand that won't hurt your bank account much at usually under three dollars.

Cheaper sardines I'll treat just like tuna salad or toss in pasta, the good kind are excellent on toast with avocado, cilantro, and a squeeze of lime. Or even just to snack on with crackers. (Over the kitchen sink in your underwear if you want to cosplay a dad.)

If you object to the fishiness than a good dijon mustard or hot sauce help, but my favorite thing to do with them used to be frying potatoes and onions in the sardine oil in a pan, mixing in the sardines themselves once those were soft, then cracking a couple eggs on top and slapping down the lid to steam them.

The only thing objectional to my calorie budget now would be the oil, so I may have to experiment around sometime with making the same dish in other ways. It would cook just fine in the oven I'm sure, I believe that's how fisherman's eggs are traditionally made anyhow.

Oh and although I haven't been able to try it yet, I've always heard there's nothing quite like sardines in a good shakshuka.

midlomel1971 wrote: »

I make yummy salmon cakes using canned salmon. They are perfect for lunch, either with a bun as a sammie or on top of a bed of greens. There are plenty of good recipes out there to look for. I don't deep fry mine...I pan fry them in a bit of olive oil.

Ooh, these were a staple in our home when I was growing up. Still the only thing I know how to do with canned salmon but I always keep one or two on hand just in case I get nostalgic. My mom would just mix in salt, pepper, garlic powder and diced onions, sometimes (cooked) diced potatoes too if she was trying to stretch it farther. Then roll in crushed saltines and fry. I've seen recipes pouring on cheese or tartar sauce for some reason but we always just use lemon slices.
Spinach with sliced boiled eggs on it was always the side for some reason, sometimes paired with mac n cheese. (Something to get excited about when I was a kid, although I'd skip it now...)

i take tinned salmon and put it with tinned sweetcorn, tinned kidney beans and chopped red pepper... then mix some paprika and a pinch or cayenne pepper or some mild chilli in some passata or even some ketchup.. and mix the lot together to make a sort of cold mexican salmon salad....delicious.

alternatively mix 50/50 mayo and ketchup and add curry powder.....trust me it makes a delicous cold curry sauce to mix with canned meat of all types.

Spam i use to make a sandwich

Spam fried in a dry pan, best camping food ever, and also Hormel’s canned corned beef hash. Very bad for you, but scrummy!
I eat canned tuna frequently.
I hate canned salmon and have since I was a child.