Corned beef

Corned beef (bully beef, canned corned beef) is chopped, cured boneless beef sealed in a can and heated until it keeps without a fridge. That is the definition in Codex Alimentarius standard CXS 88-1981. In the US the same name also covers raw brisket cured in brine, but that is a different product and lives in the fridge.

What does corn have to do with it? Nothing. USDA FSIS explains that the name goes back to Anglo-Saxon times, when meat was packed in coarse grains of salt called «corns». The British gave the name; the can came much later.

The FAO meat-processing manual tells where the can came from. Classic corned beef was a by-product of meat extract. Before refrigeration, surplus beef from Latin America and other parts of the Southern Hemisphere reached Europe as extract, and the cooked meat left over was packed into cans and sterilised.

Under Codex, the can holds carcass meat of cattle, which may include head meat, heart and skirt. It is cured with salt and sodium or potassium nitrite, with optional sugar. The beef is precooked and coarsely cut, with no more than 5 % raw beef added. It is cured before or after filling and heated after sealing: according to FAO, at 118–121 °C to F 4–5.5. The finished product must contain at least 21 % protein.

What should it be like? Codex asks for an even, thorough cure and enough body to slice when chilled. The pink colour comes from nitrite, which, says USDA FSIS, fixes the pigment.

Luncheon meat only looks similar. It can be pork or poultry, finely comminuted, with water and binders, and 80–90 % meat. Corned beef is beef only, and coarser. In the UK the tin is often called bully beef, while in the US «corned beef» also means raw brisket cured in brine, which keeps only 5–7 days unopened in the fridge.

The can must say «Corned Beef» and give a minimum durability date by year. Codex requires a qualifying statement on products of different composition. In the UK and US the tins sit in the tinned-meat aisle of supermarkets, next to the luncheon meat; the fresh brisket is in the chiller.

How long does it keep? USDA FSIS gives canned meat 2–5 years on the shelf and says to eat an opened can within 3–4 days from the fridge. Chilled corned beef is easier to cut into neat slices. If you cook fresh brisket, bring it to 145 °F (63 °C), let it rest and slice across the grain.

Why this matters to you: 100 g of canned corned beef has 250 kcal, 27.1 g of protein and 897 mg of sodium, according to USDA. It is a dense protein store, but a salty one. For other cans see Canned meat.