Canned meats are great in all sorts of recipes, not just as sandwich fillers. Using my canned meat tips, almost any recipe can be adapted to use canned meat. The main difference is that you don’t want to brown the canned meat, and you need to alter the way you prepare the dish so that you add the canned meat as late in the preparation as possible. Use the list below to stir your imagination:
Ham:
- Pasta alfredo or pesto
- Ham cakes (basically, crab cakes made with ham)
- Scrambled eggs with ham (good with onions, green peppers, cheese, tomatoes, etc., too)
- Ham loaf
- Ham salad sandwiches
- Pasta primavera
- Jambalaya
- Hobo dinner
- Rice or pasta salad
Chicken or turkey:
- Enchiladas
- Chicken paella
- Stir fry
- Hobo dinner (sauteed with potatoes, carrots and onions)
- Pesto pasta with mushrooms
- Soup
- Pasta primavera
- Chicken or turkey salad sandwiches
- Mexican Chicken Casserole
Tuna:
- Tuna cakes (variation on fish cakes)
- Pasta alfredo
- Rice or pasta salad
- Tuna casserole
- Tuna salad sandwiches
Crab:
- Crab cakes
- Pasta alfredo (particularly if you get lump meat)
- Stuffed tomatoes
- Crab Rangoon
- Crab dip
Shrimp:
- Pasta alfredo
- Shrimp cakes (like crab cakes but made with tiny shrimp)
- Stir fry
- Pasta primavera
- Stuffed tomatoes
- Shrimp paella
- Rice or pasta salad
Corned Beef:
- Meat cakes
- Sandwiches (if you can’t refrigerate it and slice it, try mashing it up with some diced onion and ketchup)
Roast Beef:
- Chili
- Goulash
- Spanish rice
- Beef enchiladas
- Hobo dinner (saute carrots, potatoes and onions, add roast beef)
- Stew or soup
- Meat pie
- Sandwiches — hot or cold
- Also good just heated up!
Clams:
- Clam chowder
- Linguine with clam sauce
- Paella
Oysters:
- Jambalaya
- Oyster stuffing
- Paella
- Pasta with oysters
- Oyster stew
If you have other favorite ways to use canned meats, please leave a note in the comments below.
If you’re interested in more canned meat recipes, The Boat Galley Cookbook has a full chapter devoted to canned meat. And the recipes are good, not just making do!
by Carolyn Shearlock and Jan Irons
The one comprehensive galley reference needed aboard every boat
Thanks for the ideas! I really like using Kirkland canned chicken, even though it is not as widely available as I would like. Try the “Oh-so-good Chicken” recipe from allrecipes.com, it’s delicious and can make several servings for a cruising couple:
Ingredients
4 teaspoons olive oil
6 tablespoons sour cream
4 ounces shredded Cheddar cheese
2 cups fresh sliced mushrooms
1 (16 ounce) jar salsa
2 cups cooked white rice
8 ounces boneless chicken breast halves, cooked and diced
Directions
1.In a skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Saute mushrooms.
2.Combine mushrooms, sour cream, cheese, salsa, rice, and chicken. Place in a greased casserole dish.
3.Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 25 to 35 minutes.
What could cruisers use in place of sour cream? Plain yogurt? Or is there a way to “make your own” sour cream from milk?
The recipe looks great. Thanks for adding it! I used the Kirkland chicken a lot in Mexico — several stores there carried it — and also liked it.
I’ve just added a recipe for Making Your Own Sour Cream — it’s very simple, the ingredients are easy to find, and they’ll last almost forever.
Hi Carolyn, We’re new to your web site and love it. Just read your canned meat article and just want to make sure you know about “Yoder’s Meat and Cheese Co.” We were introduced to these products last year as we were leaving Florida. An Amish Menonite company, no fillers, preservitaves etc. The best taste and texture of any we have tried. So Far we’ve used the canned chicken and beef only, but based on that we will try other things from them as well this year.
Keep up the good work!
David Schachter
S/V Cloud Messenger
P.S. we didn’t order from them on line, found their products in an Amish deli (didn’t even know such things existed) near Coco, FL.
I’d never heard of them, but I did check out Yoder’s website after reading your comment. Unfortunately, they don’t sell online and don’t list retail outlets other than their own store in Shipshewana, IN. But I did find a couple of places that sell their canned goods online (warning: they’re not cheap):
Camping Survival — they also have canned cheese and butter on the same page
Amazon also lists the Yoder Canned Beef, Chicken and Bacon but they are all listed as “unavailable” as I write this.
I’m not sure if you’re familiar with the food website Food52, but they recently ran a contest for recipes using canned fish. Not all of them are boat appropriate, but I thought it might help provide some extra inspiration:
http://www.food52.com/contests/279_your_best_canned_fish_recipe
Thanks — I’ll look at them! Always looking for more ideas . . .
too much sodium in can meat. there are other ways beside canned meat……
Please share other solutions. I just looked at my cans of tuna and salmon, and they have 10% or less than RDA for sodium. That seems very reasonable to me. The canned mushrooms next to them have much more. Not everyone needs to watch their sodium. Personally, as an endurance athlete, I need extra sodium intake. I appreciate these inspirational articles. Also, having made dinner last night with no power due to hurricane, the thought of having canned meat as a backup if it lasted more than a day was comforting.
I keep canned meats on the boat as backup. However, I don’t use canned meats on a regular basis due to the high salt content. Instead, I use fresh or frozen meats since we have a freezer onboard.
We just tried the canned beef from Costco tonight. Stroganof using 1 can of beef (plus juice), 1 can of beef broth, about 2 tablespoons of corn starch, 2 4-oz cans of mushrooms, and 1 cup of sour cream. Serve over noodles. We couldn’t believe how good it was. I wouldn’t be at all embarassed to serve it to company!
I like to make corned beef hash from canned corned beef, Thinly slice potatoes and onions. Put in a skillet with some oil. Slowly cook until potatoes start to soften. Keep an eye on it as the potatoes will want to stick to the bottom of the pan. Use the turner to roughly chop up the potatoes. Add on can of corned beef. Mix into the potatoes and onions and heat through. Season with a little salt and pepper the serve. It’s a favorite here and I think it would adjust easily to the galley!
I am so happy I bought your boat galley cookbook
Thanks Sue! I’m really glad you’re liking it!!