Keystone Groundbeef Review

[mommato3boys]

Under the threat Cyberattack on Beef processing plant we discussed Keystone meat. I have bought two cans. One was the beef, it has the consistency of other beef chunck meat and was good.

 

HOWEVER, the ground beef was a little shocking when I opened the can. There was a lot of fat that congealed. I thought I had gotten it all and dumped it into my chili. I freaked out because there was a lot more than I first thought. I won't be dumping the can straight into the pot any more, first into a bowl to scrap away the fat then into the pot. It was gross. OK I am spoied, I mean really spoiled, because it is just the two of us I splurge and buy 97/3 ground beef...no fat. If I ever buy 80/20 I cook, drain rinse and then proceed to make my dish. I have forgotten just have greasy ground beef can be. 

 

Defintely canning my own groud beef. That was just to much grease for me.

 

Watch for an updated on this for taste and texture.... not sure if I will give it a good review or not. All I can see in my mind is the congealed blob.UPDATED

 

 

 

UPDATED: TASTESLESS!!!! Literally I could not taste the ground beef. Hubby wasn't a fan either.

 

Edited September 15, 2021 by mommato3boys

[Jeepers]

You sound like me when it comes to fat. I hate the texture of it. If I eat Vienna Sausages I dump them out and run them under water to rinse all of that gel stuff off and pat dry. I search around a can of baked beans until I find that little tiny piece of pork/fat in there and discard it out of sight. I have found vegetarian style now and it tastes the same without the meat. Woot. Chicken? I can't eat it off of the bone. I have to skin it and remove the meat from the bone before I can sit down to eat it. Makes it nice for dipping though. I just can't stand fat in my mouth. I rinse my hamburger before I can it too. Even then there is a tiny bit of grease in the jar.  Guess I'm spoiled too huh? I know the fat contains the most flavor but what good is that when it sets off the gag reflex. 

 

I have heard that the Keystone Canned beef is really good. Will wait for your review. 

 

The only good fat is from a bacon.  

[Mother]

Keystone used to come from the same processor that produced the Lehman’s canned meat.  Less expensive and I found no difference between quality or taste.  That was years ago.  Does anyone have recent cans of both to check?  I didn’t care for the ground beef not just because of excessive fat but the texture was too soft.  Though used in sauces and casseroles it was not noticeable and I wouldn’t be picky in an emergency for sure.  We liked the beef, turkey, chicken, and pork.  I’m looking forward to a review as i have been thinking of stocking some canned meat.  

[mommato3boys]

3 minutes ago, Mother said:

Keystone used to come from the same processor that produced the Lehman’s canned meat.  Less expensive and I found no difference between quality or taste.  That was years ago.  Does anyone have recent cans of both to check?  I didn’t care for the ground beef not just because of excessive fat but the texture was too soft.  Though used in sauces and casseroles it was not noticeable and I wouldn’t be picky in an emergency for sure.  We liked the beef, turkey, chicken, and pork.  I’m looking forward to a review as i have been thinking of stocking some canned meat.  

Mother, it was tasteless. The beef chunks I bought was actually good but this was tasteless.  No sure I will spend the money on it again.

[Jeepers]

Even home canned hamburger has a little bit of a texture issue for most people. Some say it reminds them of canned dog food. I wouldn't go quite that far but it does take some getting used to. The next batch I can I think I'll use beef broth in the jar. I've heard it's good with beef broth. Or maybe onion stock? 

 

I can tell canned hamburger from freshly cooked even in a pot of soupy chili. It's still good and I eat it a lot in the winter. Not bad. Just different. The meat seems 'finer' and not as chunky. That might user error when I'm canning it. Maybe I shouldn't chop it up so fine when I'm cooking it. 

 

Next time I can beef I want to shred it and use it for open face beef sandwiches with brown gravy. That would probably flavor up the Keystone beef too. 

 

 

[snapshotmiki]

I add taco seasoning (homemade) to ground beef when pressure canning.  I can add that to most anything.

[Littlesister]

I have a case of the keystone ground beef, turkey, and chicken. Though I have not tried it yet. I will drain and rinse the ground beef first. I am used to the 93% hamburger as that is what I have always bought. I have canned a lot of hamburger, chicken, turkey, beef and pork. I will use the keystone as prices go higher in meats. And right now it is not looking good at all on beef. Really high prices there. 

[mommato3boys]

Littlesister, even her in ranchland where there is nothing but beef prices are horrible.

 

[covop3]

I have been noticing a huge shift in quality for keystone ground beef. I complained about it to them but they don't seem to want to do anything. More veins and gristle and the meat is clearly cooked different. Texture was much different and I checked at least 15 cans. the last batch that was good quality was jan 2026. And that had more veins but was still same texture.The quality was amazing until the 2026 dated batches started coming out. they got progressively worse. I have had to switch to yoder canned meats. At least I get a better quality that way. Until I know that keystone has improved I will not be buying any more on that fact. They need to care about their product and not try to squeeze so much profit out of it that it sucks and loses its actual quality. Too many companies reducing quality and shrinking quantities and size. Needs to go back in the other direction.