[HazzaGrazza]

Why is it so expensive?

I for one love corned beef and just bought some to make a corned beef hash. I paid about £2 for 340g though? I know loads of people that hate it, and personally consider it a cheap meal, but to be honest it is becoming more of a luxury. Especially when you can get 4 chicken breasts for £3 when on offer?

So why is it so expensive?

[Syntax Error]

Do you buy tinned corned beef or sliced in packet?

You should try shops like Home Bargains or Aldi.

They're much cheaper than the traditional supermarkets & you can get tinned corned beef for less than the price you paid.

[HazzaGrazza]

I buy the tinned as it's for corned beef hash. I do tend to go in Lidl sometimes when at my mums, but the only shop near me is Tesco unfortunately.

Thanks for the advice though, I think next time I will stock up on a few tins and keep in the cupboard.

[phepia]

I love corned beef and branston pickle/piccalilli sandwiches.
Or in a hash with melted cheese on the top, and served with tinned baked beans, or frozen peas .
It used to be known as poor mans food, or students bought it as it was cheap and filling
But corned beef is seen as processed and nasty nowadays sadly.

Not a fan of princes as its too fatty for me, and a pain to get out of the tin. Personally I only but Sainsburies own brand, the combination of salt added and beef texture is perfect for my taste buds

[skunkboy69]

Used to love it and ate sarnies daily.then about 15 years my company got a contract to repaint a factory where it was processed.I've never touched it since that day.

[Uncle Quentin]

I love corned beef but agree that it has become quite pricey for what it is.
I've long noticed this too.

In Tesco, you can buy a large bag of frozen chicken drumsticks & thigh pieces, about fifteen pieces in all, for roughly a quid more than what a decent tin of corned beef costs.

The amount of meals you can make from the former compared to the latter is no contest.

So as much as I Iike my corned dog, I buy less & less of it these days, it just isn't value for money anymore sadly.

[diablo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by skunkboy69

Used to love it and ate sarnies daily.then about 15 years my company got a contract to repaint a factory where it was processed.I've never touched it since that day.

Contract was in South America? Long way to go for a job unless you actually live there.

Fray Bentos has been absolute rubbish for years, I prefer Princess and some cheaper brands but they cost a lot more than they used to.

I found a very old can at mother's house a while ago and I was amazed at how salty it was compared to what they sell today.

I only use it to make corned beef hash every now and then.

[degsyhufc]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HazzaGrazza

Why is it so expensive?

I for one love corned beef and just bought some to make a corned beef hash. I paid about £2 for 340g though? I know loads of people that hate it, and personally consider it a cheap meal, but to be honest it is becoming more of a luxury. Especially when you can get 4 chicken breasts for £3 when on offer?

So why is it so expensive?

Just as an alternative have you tried making your hash with roast/braised beef instead of corned beef?

[walterwhite]

Quote:

Originally Posted by diablo

Contract was in South America? Long way to go for a job unless you actually live there.

Fray Bentos has been absolute rubbish for years, I prefer Princess and some cheaper brands but they cost a lot more than they used to.

I found a very old can at mother's house a while ago and I was amazed at how salty it was compared to what they sell today.

I only use it to make corned beef hash every now and then.

I don't get the South America comment, care to explain?

[Tiggergirl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Syntax Error

Do you buy tinned corned beef or sliced in packet?

You should try shops like Home Bargains or Aldi.
They're much cheaper than the traditional supermarkets & you can get tinned corned beef for less than the price you paid.

I wouldn't be too sure about that the prices of Corned Beef in places like Home Bargains and Aldis are creeping up too I was in Home Bargains the other day and a smallish tin was £1.59 and even in Aldis it was about £1.89 so it's still even a luxury in the cheaper shops too.

[swingaleg]

Quote:

Originally Posted by phepia

Personally I only but Sainsburies own brand, the combination of salt added and beef texture is perfect for my taste buds

I get sainsbury own brand as well............bit cheaper than Fray bentos but easily as good

I've got a tin in the fridge now but can't remember how much it was , just over two quid ?

With an onion, couple of big carrots and a few spuds it'd make hash for 3 or 3 helpings for one person.............for about £3-50

That's not bad, that's not too expensive, just over a quid for a main meal.............

[jaymmu]

How do you all make corned beef hash? My mum used to make it when I was young, but it was basically just mash with corned beef in. I've seen ready meal versions which I'd never buy, but they look different.

[mrs_buckley]

I use it to make corned beef and sweet potato pies. One can does my husband, me and my toddler a big enough pie for 2 meals when combined with potato so its not bad value.

[fizzycat]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jaymmu

How do you all make corned beef hash? My mum used to make it when I was young, but it was basically just mash with corned beef in. I've seen ready meal versions which I'd never buy, but they look different.

Sometimes I do a mash version - a bit like a corned beef fish cake.

Other times I mix chunks of corned beef with similar-sized pieces of boiled potato and seasoning, then bake it.

For a really quick meal when I've worked a late shift I mix half a can of corned beef (in chunks) with a packet of those slice potatoes they sell in Lidl - either the pan-fried ones and give then a quick dry-fry or the ones in sauce and microwave them.

[swingaleg]

I just make it like a stew in a pan..........cut up the onion, carrot and potatoes and simmer them with the corned beef

The corned beef will dissolve into a thick corn beefy gravy.........but if you time it right there'll still be corned beef lumps

If you can arrange to burn it so you get black bits that's good, then leave it overnight to steep and for the flavours to merge, warm up the next day................

The most difficult thing to get right is the amount of potato because you don't want to end up with mashed potato and on the other hand you don't want it to end up as soup.........you need a happy medium of thickness

[CBFreak]

I fancy some now. Not had any for ages. Used to have corn beef with mash and pickles. (Pickled onions, Pickled red cabbage, Branston Pickle )

[Ginger Nut]

Quote:

Originally Posted by walterwhite

I don't get the South America comment, care to explain?

Fray Bentos is a place synonymous for corned beef production

[Ginger Nut]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jaymmu

How do you all make corned beef hash? My mum used to make it when I was young, but it was basically just mash with corned beef in. I've seen ready meal versions which I'd never buy, but they look different.

Yep add a bit of onion and have some pickled beetroot on the side.

[swingaleg]

We usually had pickled red cabbage as an accompaniment........it's ages since I've had that...........

the pickle juice used to flow in to the hash.............

[LarryHillington]

Smells like cat food.

[diablo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by walterwhite

I don't get the South America comment, care to explain?

There are no factories in Britain producing corned beef, we don't have the vast plains to supply the cattle. Every can of corned beef I've even seen has had an inspection stamp on the bottom saying Uraguay, Brasil etc.

http://www.meatinfo.co.uk/news/fulls...rned_beef.html

"Since 1866, corned beef has been produced in South America, using primarily forequarter beef. However, the price of corned beef soared last year, with producers struggling with a shortage of beef and increasing costs. The effect was seen on the UK high street, with product prices up by 20% and many retailers seeing reduced stock on the shelf.

Until now only a handful of artisan producers have created British corned beef. In September 2011, butcher’s McCartney’s of Moira from Northern Ireland took the Supreme Champion title at the Great Taste Awards for its traditional handmade corned beef, while O’Doherty’s Fine Meats revived a 600-year-old recipe to launch luxury corned beef, Fermanagh Black Corned Beef, with beef sourced from local suppliers."

So whatever factory you were painting it is extremely unlikely it was making corned beef - meat pies perhaps?

Although I do know someone who was a traveller who said he'd seen the inside of a corned beef factory in South America and that put him off the stuff.

I hear horror tales about every food factory though.

[LostFool]

Quote:

Originally Posted by swingaleg

I just make it like a stew in a pan..........cut up the onion, carrot and potatoes and simmer them with the corned beef

The corned beef will dissolve into a thick corn beefy gravy.........but if you time it right there'll still be corned beef lumps

Fantastic! That sounds very much like the traditional North East recipe of Panaculty (or Pan Haggity depending on locale) though every family has their own variation. My gran used to make it with minced beef and corned beef and served with lashings of brown sauce and lots of bread to mop up the gravy.

I'm also a corned beef fan but I'd agree that it's become expensive for what used to be considered a cheap meat. For sandwiches, the Tesco Value version is OK and doesn't taste that much different to the more expensive versions. For tin I just keep an eye open for when it is on promotion and then stock up.

[SherbetLemon]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HazzaGrazza

So why is it so expensive?

Don't know, but it's only been the last year or so. Up until then, Morrisons used to do a packet of value range sliced corned beef that was delicious, for a little over £1. Around the same time they stopped selling it, I noticed sliced corned beef going up in price at other supermarkets too. I usually get 350g (or 12 slices) for £3 at Asda now, which is about twice as much for around three times the price of what I used to pay at Morrisons. Morrisons will only usually have 6 slices for just under £2 now.

Edit: thinking about it, I'm sure I heard on some food-related programme that the price of beef had shot up (something to do with rising production costs and cattle shortages IIRC), but I don't see any real difference in the price of minced beef - just corned beef.

[doom&gloom]

Corned Beef and Stewed Steak have shot up in price in recent years.

[gadwall]

I gave up meat about 20 years ago and the thing I miss most is corned beef. Corned beef and Branston sandwiches and the hash my Mum used to make (she called it "Corned Beef Do"
150gm corned beef cubed
200gm carrots cubed
4 tomatoes
2 onions cut up
250gm potatoes cubed
Half a cup of water
1 oxo cube
Small tin baked beans
In oven at 190 degrees for 1.5 to 2 hours.
Mmmmm..................