Saturday, May 31, 2014
Product Evaluation - Great Value Canned Roast Beef
.jpg "Great VAlue Canned Roast Beef from Walmart")
.jpg "Pieces of roast beef in beef broth")
The first thing we noticed when we opened the can was there
is a lot of packing liquid, the beef broth. There was about ¾ cup of liquid in
the can. At about 4 or 5-ounces of water, in the 12-ounce can, leaves about
8-ounces or less of beef (these are all rule of thumb guesses, I only measured
the ¾ cup of liquid) and that would make the price per pound for the beef
portion at a bit more than $5 per pound. In the end, the beef in the can is
about the same price per pound as the fresh meat in the supermarket butcher’s
case.
.jpg "Beef and mushroom gravy over rice with steamed vegetables.")
Being a canned product, it doesn’t require refrigeration and
has a reasonably long shelf life; important assets for emergency food. The
price per pound for the meat itself is about the same as the cost per pound for
lower end fresh cuts of meat at the butcher counter; you don’t have to pay a
premium. It has a good flavor and a pleasing texture, not a food you have to
train yourself to like. It certainly has a place in the emergency larder or on
camping trips especially since it seems to be about the sole source of canned
plain beef. It will serve well in both roles. I will be picking up a couple
more cans for the emergency shelf on my next shopping trip to Walmart. Running
late? In a hurry? It will serve well there as well. This meal was done while
the rice cooked. All was done and ready to eat in 20 minutes. As for day-to-day
use I don’t think it will serve all that well. As good as it can be, why settle
for canned meat when, for the same price per pound of meat, you can have fresh meat
from the butcher or frozen meat stored in your freezer.
Product Evaluation: Great Value Canned Roast Beef
We dropped the dog off at the vets and had an hour or so to
wait. Just across the parking lot was the local Walmart. The wife and I wiled
away the time with a little shopping. Since it was just killing time, we paced
slowly through the aisles and that made it the perfect opportunity to watch for
new or unusual products. My eye fell upon Great Value canned Roast Beef, a
12-ounce can for $2.50. The label indicated fully cooked roast beef in beef
broth, caramel color added. No country of origin was listed but there was a
USDA Inspection logo so I assume the product is packed in the USA.
Coastal Florida, hurricane central, is one of those places
where it is prudent to have a few days’ supply of food and water on hand for
those emergencies that can isolate you, cut you off from your normal sources of
food and water, often for a lengthy period of time. Having food and water on
the shelf can do much to lower your stress levels in periods of crisis.
Canned and bags of tuna, canned salmon, corned beef, corned
and roast beef hash, SPAM and various brands of beef stew are available in the supermarket.
But plain beef, beef to use in cooking a meal are rare indeed, enough so that I
can’t right now think of an all–beef product that I have seen lately. With that
in mind I tossed one can into the basket to try out at home, to see if it was
worth putting on the emergency food shelf (and since it is wise to rotate food
stocks, another underlying question would be is it good enough for a regular,
day-to-day meal?). Local supermarket beef prices are $5 to $9 a pound. At $2.50
for 12-ounces (about $3.30 a pound) it seemed an inexpensive meat source – or so
we thought.
We decided to try it out tonight making a simple meal much
like we would make if it were a disaster time. We have rice, of course and
packaged gravy mix. From the freezer we had some mixed vegetables and there
were some cherry tomatoes fresh from the vine. Oh, yes! Don’t forget the mushrooms.
Most everything goes well with mushrooms.
The first thing we noticed when we opened the can was there
is a lot of packing liquid, the beef broth. There was about ¾ cup of liquid in
the can. At about 4 or 5-ounces of water, in the 12-ounce can, leaves about
8-ounces or less of beef (these are all rule of thumb guesses, I only measured
the ¾ cup of liquid) and that would make the price per pound for the beef
portion at a bit more than $5 per pound. In the end, the beef in the can is
about the same price per pound as the fresh meat in the supermarket butcher’s
case.
The beef, cold from the can, has a good texture and it hasn’t
been overcooked in the canning process. However, it is very bland, light on
flavor. After cooking in the can and then cooling, some of the beef fat gels
into clumps. Heating the broth and beef together redistributes the beef fat and
the flavor is significantly enhanced. The pieces of meat are of the smaller
size; most were more like soup pieces although a few of the pieces would have
made small pieces for a stew.
Our meal was canned roast beef and gravy over rice along
with some steamed vegetables. It was a tasty and satisfying meal although a bit
short on the beef. (I had the rice cooking before I opened the can of beef. Had
I opened the beef first, I would have used much of the broth to cook the rice.)Being a canned product, it doesn’t require refrigeration and
has a reasonably long shelf life; important assets for emergency food. The
price per pound for the meat itself is about the same as the cost per pound for
lower end fresh cuts of meat at the butcher counter; you don’t have to pay a
premium. It has a good flavor and a pleasing texture, not a food you have to
train yourself to like. It certainly has a place in the emergency larder or on
camping trips especially since it seems to be about the sole source of canned
plain beef. It will serve well in both roles. I will be picking up a couple
more cans for the emergency shelf on my next shopping trip to Walmart. Running
late? In a hurry? It will serve well there as well. This meal was done while
the rice cooked. All was done and ready to eat in 20 minutes. As for day-to-day
use I don’t think it will serve all that well. As good as it can be, why settle
for canned meat when, for the same price per pound of meat, you can have fresh meat
from the butcher or frozen meat stored in your freezer. Labels: emergency, food, Great Value, larder, pantry, roast beef, supply, Walmart
¶ 4:31 PM
Comments:
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T.J. McFadden:I thought the flavor was almost nonexistent and the can is DEFINITELY light on the beef. 8 ounces of beef is being pretty kind and the stuff in the can I tried was very fatty. GV/Walmart went low quality on this item and I think it's a marginal value at best. If you're in ohio, I recommend instead the Keystone canned meats, or the canned beef at Aldi's.
Thanks TJ for looking. We pretty much have the same observations about this product; light on flavor and content at about the cost of fresh meat. The only assets are for the quickie meal when in a great rush and something to put on the emergency food shelf r for a camping trip where the great out-of-doors makes everything taste better. I'm in Florida or Tennessee. There are Aldi's around and I'll try your suggestion. Will also keep an eye open for Keystone. Thanks again.
I just went through a similar evaluation and ate a meal from the same Great Value canned Roast Beef. I thought it was ok on flavor & texture and noted all the gravy as opposed to beef but thought it was really funny when I read the nutrition facts on the can! It said the serving size was 2 ounces & 6 servings for the can! LOL! I would've guessed there was 6 ounces of beef & 6 ounces of gravy by net weight and I ate all 6 ounces of the beef with some rice! LOL!
Thanks for looking, mrjbigfoot. YRah, serving size for pixies to be sure. I do keep a can on hand, though. On day-long kike, that can wituh a cip of minute rice makes a quick and filling lunch on the trail. The weight of the can is nothing to oack oit. Thanks again for looking.
I bought a half dozen cans before going on a week long hunting/camping trip but we ended up hunting more, cooking less & eating at restaurants most nights because we hunted from before daylight till after dark. So anyways, I was happy to try it & find out it was good enough for back-up to!
Clover Valley fully cooked Roast Beef with Gravy from Family Dollar Store is delicious! 12oz can packed with succulent chunks of beef and tasty gravy! No USDA stamp, though. Brazil imspected.
You can't buy fully cooked beef for $5/lb. Factor in a 2hr cooking time and the Great Value Roast Beef becomes a bargain. I like to use it in my Black & Decker food steamer to cook Knorr Mushroom Rice Sides. Put entire package of rice in rice bowl, dump entire can of broth and beef in, stir, steam for 30 minutes. I find it delicious for a cheap meal. I will check Aldi's for that alternative though
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