Keystone Meats All Natural Canned Beef, Ground, 14 Ounce

I'm hesitant to review this; I don't want to give away the great secret: this stuff is fantastic. When I opened the can, there is that bit of canned meat smell that all canned beef products have. To freshen the flavor and texture, I heated it really hot in a frying pan. Once hot there was no unsavory odor and the taste was good. I added a bit of salt and crushed garlic and then it was fantastic. Throw in a can of canned spaghetti sauce and it was every bit as good as it would have been with fresh hamburger. You can't make a hamburger patty out of it but it would be great in any recipe that requires ground beef crumbled. Besides the spaghetti sauce, we're planning tacos, burritos, quesadillas (and many other Mexican style recipes), chili, sloppy joes, and more. There is a pretty fair amount of fat in this product - but then so would there be in any 73/27 or 70/30 hamburger from the grocery store. And if you're in a survival situation after any natural disaster that might require you to eat your food storage, the extra fat will be a necessity. It's energy food and brain food (just watched Brain Changes on public TV - an interesting show about how important fat is for the brain and how multi-grain or whole-grain bread is worse than even white bread). In any case, fat is an important nutrient. I simply drained this on a couple paper towels after heating it and the fat was not noticeable at all in my spaghetti sauce. This is not just food storage quality ground beef; this is eating quality ground beef. But don't believe me; that will save more for me to order. November 2 2014 update - I just received another order for 24 cans. This is something that, in all likelihood, arrives at Amazon in 12 or 24 can cases. I ordered 24 cans, thinking they would simply ship 1 or 2 cases, depending on the original packaging but, instead, I get four different date codes and 24 cans thrown loosely with no additional packaging materials. The cans roll around loosely and, even though it was heavily taped, the box was ripped up. Two cans were dented so badly that I'll have to use them right away - which is not terrible since we use it regularly anyway. I think I'm lucky; it seems many others get even worse bent can damage than I got. There's just no excuse for the poor packaging. I'll be leaving a packaging review as well but it is an important consideration in buying this product. I've seen Amazon pull items from their catalog because they don't ship well but the problem is not that these don't ship well, it's just that they're not packaged well. How can you hope to deliver by quadcopter drone when you can't design a packaging system for a #2 can?

I had never tried Keystone meats before, but several people in a group I belong to had recommended them. We seem to have a hard time getting decent hamburger where we live, and it either cooks up rubbery, or dies way too quickly. If you freeze it and thaw it out, it just makes it worse. So I was looking for a better way to keep ground beef on hand. We tried this tonight for the first time. I had read reviews and expected all kinds of nasty. But the truth is, there was nothing wrong with it. These are packaged with only beef and sea salt. No extra water, no extra spices, just ground beef, cooked in the can at the processing plant. So when people say it is bland, it is - they leave it up to YOU as to how you want it seasoned. Yes, there is fat in the can. It is beef, cooked in the can. It will have naturally occuring fat. No fat is added. What we did was put the entire contents of the can in a glass dish (easier to clean greasy stuff off glass) and microwaved it o power level 7 until it was reheated. It was a little more soupy than I wanted, so - hold on - we drained it in a metal colander. Easy peasy. We were making tacos, so tried the meat as is first. Yes, it is plain. I added some cumin, and boom - taco meat. (I could have added a little chili powder too, but couldn't find it.) We had delicious, filling tacos. The can has a lot of meat in it. One can made 8 tacos for us. I will DEFINITELY be buying this again. I look forward to trying all the Keystone products.

Not too bad, the taste was good although not like the ground beef bought in the grocery store. This works if no other option is available at the time. Mix it in with veggies for a soup or with gravy to serve over baked potatoes.

When I opened the can, I groaned. It looked like and kinda smelled like pet food. No way. Then I remembered what other reviewers had said and pressed on. The hamburger was densely packed into the can with visible waxy fat and water. I didn’t know how I was going to pull a meal off. I’m so glad I didn’t throw it out. I cooked it in a frying pan straight out of the can...fat, water and all. Then I drained it, put it back in the pan and added my sauce and spices like I would have added to regular, fresh hamburger. It was delicious. Really. No one knew it was canned meat. Wow. I’m sold. I’m a fan. You can’t make patties or a meatloaf with it but you can use it in any recipe that calls for crumbled cooked hamburger....tacos, sloppy joes, spaghetti sauce, nachos. Like I said, I’m now a fan. Shelf stable for years. I’m very happy I found this product. Three ingredients: beef, water and salt. That’s it. Great for emergencies and/or food storage. Just remember to rotate it out. Good luck.

This is a great way to have ground beef ready for a last-minute meal. Three things I like about this product are the convenience, the price, and the taste. Coming out of the can it looks a bit unappetizing, but don't let that fool you. The key to preparing it is not to cook it again, just gently heat it up and be sure to use all of the can's contents. You can make a quick taco, sloppy joe, or pasta meal in minutes with this. Great for camping and long-term storage too. I always have a few cans on hand in the pantry. The larger size is great too if your feeding more than two-three people.