At our local quiz last night, one of the questions was "What does the corned in corned beef refer to"? The answer to which turned out to be salt (Not fat).

However, this then sparked the question within the group as to where the term 'Bully Beef' originated. I've often heard servicemen from the 2nd World War use the term, but nobody could come up with anything apart from the Bull - Cow - Meat - Beef idea. Anyone have any suggestions?

At our local quiz last night, one of the questions was "What does the corned in corned beef refer to"? The answer to which turned out to be salt (Not fat).

I believe it's sodium nitrate and sodium nitrite that are used in proper corned beef, as they preserve colour better than sodium chloride which can turn the beef a bit grey. And the word "corned" comes from the corns, or granules of the coarse-textured salts traditionally used.
This has been a public service announcement and we now return to our scheduled broadcast. :8

I think Bully beef dates back to the 18th century and was coined from the old salt beef that the sailors were fed. This came to mean salted or tinned beef.

I know the bully beef that we used to get in the ratpacks was not anything like a nice tin of Fray Bentos corned beef!:bored:

Just working up an appetite.....

Corned beef is beef that is first pickled in brine and then cooked by simmering. Usually, cuts of meat are used that feature long muscle grain, such as the brisket.

The name corned beef is due to a coarse salt used in the pickling process. Corn originally meant grain, as in a small particle of something, and referred to the corns of salt.

In the United States and Canada
In the United States, corned beef is often purchased at delicatessens. Perhaps the most famous sandwich made with it is the Reuben sandwich, consisting of corned beef, Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, and Russian dressing on rye bread and then grilled on a flat griddle or cast iron pan. It is served hot. In certain regions, such as in Philadelphia, the Corned Beef Special is a popular offering. It is served cold. It is made by first steaming the corned beef and topping it with cole slaw, and then placing both between rye bread that is coated with Russian Dressing. The Corned Beef Special was first developed by Charles Weber at R&W Deli in Philadelphia in 1965.

It is also associated with Saint Patrick's Day when Irish Americans eat a traditional meal of corned beef and cabbage. According to the History Channel, while cabbage has long been a traditional food item for the Irish, corned beef serving as a substitute for Irish bacon first became traditional in the late 1800s. Irish immigrants living in New York City's Lower East Side sought an equivalent in taste and texture to their traditional Irish bacon (similar to Canadian bacon), and learned about this cheaper alternative to bacon from their Jewish neighbors.

The Saint Patrick's Day tradition has been cause of some controversy among American Catholic dioceses in 2000 and 2006, when the holiday fell on a Friday during Lent. Lenten custom dictates that no meat be consumed on Fridays during Lent. Controversy has arisen because some bishops have granted dispensations to their dioceses for eating corned beef on St Patrick's Day. [1]

Corned beef hash is commonly served as a breakfast food with eggs and hash browns.

Smoking corned beef, usually with the addition of extra spices such as black pepper, produces a cold cut known as pastrami, or, in Canada, smoked meat.

In other countries
In the United Kingdom corned beef is commonly found in the canned form, and when served "loose" at a counter is sliced from canned meat. It is usually regarded as a "cheap" foodstuff. Most of it is sourced from Brazil and Argentina. It is common in the United States in this form, as well. In the British Army and Royal Navy it has been a staple component of rations since before World War I, and is known as bully-beef.

In Denmark corned beef is alternatively known as either saltkød (lit. "cured meat") or sprængt oksebryst (lit. "lightly salted beef brisket"). Traditional uses of the two are distinctive. Saltkød is used as a cold cut (pålæg), and figures prominently in the famous Danish open sandwich, smørrebrød, called Dyrlægens natmad (lit, "Veterinarian's midnight snack")— On a piece of dark rye bread, a layer of liver paté (leverpostej) is topped with a slice of corned beef (salt kød) and a slice of meat aspic (sky). This is all decorated with raw onion rings and cress. Sprængt oksebryst, on the other hand, is often served warm, as well as cold. It is traditionally served warm with boiled potatoes, horseradish sauce and pickles, a mixture of chopped, pickled vegetables (cauliflower, carrots, onion) in a yellow gelatinous sauce.

I think the pub quiz and probably the pub would have closed by the time you finished giving this explanation! Thanks!

Hmmm,often wondered what corned beef and cabbage consisted of, well corned beef and cabbage obviously, but how does one go about preparing such a dish?
Sis in Law makes a splendid Corned beef Hash with onions bacon mushrooms tomatoes ect,oh yes and Corned beef of course.
:cool:

Corned beef and cabbage.
Boil the cabbage, keep the water because it's meant to be good for you.
Open a tin of corned beef, chop it up mix it with the cabbage also chopped and some onions. Season.
Reheat slightly.

Then give it to the dog because it's b00dly horrible.

Then, order a pizza.

Fos:yuk:

Bully Beef: WWI slang, perhaps from the French bouilli, boiled meat, labeling on canned beef. (from the past participle of bouillir, to boil.)

Mmmmmmm, they do a lovely corned beef and cabbage meal in Left O'Douls Irish Bar just next to the Westin St Francis in San Francisco - one of their specialities and heartily commended.

Note that this is the proper corned beef sliced from the joint, not the tinned cr@<hidden> we get in the UK.

Corned beef and cabbage can be pretty awful especially if made with that standard cabbage that turns all rubbery when cooked. Try it with Savoy cabbage and real(non-tinned) corned beef.

Yers, but in what prortions is the cabbage corned beef and onion mixed? one is not one of these new age sissy men boys that uses recipees and such ,one normaly just flings things in a pan by instinct,but a hint would help.
Sounds a bit like bubble and squeek,and one is very fond of bubble an squeek
:rolleyes:

Typically 1 to 1 for the beef, cabbage ratio. There are many many recipies for CB&C with many different variations usually with lots of ingedients(other veggies, spices, herbs).

Thank you Mr T one shall purchase one of they tightly wound curly cabbages on the morrow and some corned beef,and experiment, one has onions.
:cool:

Proper corned beef, as has been said is a joint of beef that has been pickled in brine. To prepare corned beef and cabbage, the beef is simmered in water for a couple of hours and the veg can go in with it for the last hour or so, depending on how you like them cooked - large chunks of veg (cabbage, potatoes, carrots etc) cook slowly too so don't go too soft. The meat is served with a white sauce with small onions and is fantastic. Unfortunately hard to get corned beef in the UK. Know of a butcher in Carlisle who would do it - had to order a week or so in advance so he could get pickling.

Known by the 8th Army in North Africa as Desert Chicken.

Mr Thunder, why do you torture me like this? This vegetarian thang is not going to last....:rolleyes: :E

Used to have a couple of tins of bully beef last thing at night before sacking out in a beer induced stupor when still actively participating in skydiving. The trick was to find a car or aircraft with a still warm cowling or hood and empty the tins of beef out on this. Sprinkle liberally with Tabasco, combine with the flat of the palm or a couple of fingers and scoop up using a roll or a slice of fresh bread. Savour the lingering taste of dust and oil, good drink of water and so, to bed...:ok:

I've allways taken corned beef to be the stuff one gets out of tins and best used in sandwiches usually known in our house as a typhoid butty :E
It is very much more cooked than a joint, which is just boiled and still retains its meat like structure, and is called salt beef.

The only proper Corned Beef, like Salmon, comes in a tin. I particularly like the inclusion of your own key with which to open it. I like to leave the tin in the fridge for an hour or two. Open tin, cut thick slices, place on buttered white crusty bread and drown in Branston Pickle. Wash down with mug of sugary tea. Food fit for the gods I tell you.

Question, at Selfridges' on Oxford Street in London they sell what we in the US call 'cornbeef' sandwiches, however, they are called 'saltbeef' sandwiches at Selfridges.

So, what is 'saltbeef' as compared to 'cornbeef' and 'bullybeef'?



By the way, I love the sandwich at Selfridges no matter what the name.:ok:

I only ever eat corned beef which has "product of Argentina" on the label...but I've forgotten why?! :confused:

RAC/OPS has it right.:ok: Well, apart from the white sauce bit. :O

Around here, that meal is called a bouilli Canadienne or Jiggs dinner. The corned - salt - beef is usually pickled short ribs or trimmed navel beef. It's parboiled gently for an hour or so, then change the water to get rid of the excess salt. Add more water and bring to a boil again, cook for another couple of hours, then add the veggies - whole carrots, sliced turnips, potatos and a whole medium yellow onion. You may also add a couple of handfuls of fresh turnip greens or beet tops. Stagger the times you add the veggies so they are all cooked at the same time. Serve with a good English hot mustard.

RT there was a big controversy in Montreal the other day whether Ben's was the first to serve the smoked meat sandwich. It was eventually settled that yes, Ben's on St. Laurent was the first, back about 100 years ago. I personally prefer Smoked Meat Pete's on the 20 out in Pincourt. Just down the road from my late friend Lu's house, actually.

Oh for God's sake you heathens!

Traditional Corned Beef and Cabbage doesn't use tinned anything!

We go to the butcher and get a piece of corned beef, about the size of a small roast.
It is boiled slowly in water and then strained and left to rest on a grill.

Then you use proper dark green York cabbage which you boil in the water that you used to cook the beef.

Because York cabbage is so tough, we usually put a half teaspoon of bread-soda into the water to help soften it a little.

It is then served with the beef and nice boiled Irish potatoes and a BOTTLE of Guinness.

I am now off to try pigboat's version which sounds lovely.....

Like Ben's. Spent many an evening ingesting there. But it's on de Maisonneuve. Schwartz's (another fine contender) is on St. Laurent. Haven't tried Pete's...might do so next time in city.

Hmmmm there used to be a place called Dilallo's on Sherbrooke that made great loose meat burgers with hot peppers. Of course that was when Harvey's made decent burgers with mountains of fries. ;)

Schwartz's!! That's the bloody one I was trying to think of. Yeah yer right,
that's the one on St. Laurent. Pete is one of the Schwartz family in-laws that had a falling out and opened his own place on the West Island.

Any explaniation's why is some places corned beef is called silverside, may be that is just a 'local' term for said peice of meat. A good cooking method is soak in water and brown vinigar, with some sugar added-to taste, boil slowly with carrot's and onions for several hours depending on the weight. Served with parsley & white sauce, accompanied with the carrots and onions from the boiling along with potatoes. The cold beef is nice on its own. IMHO.:ok:

Sounds good 1946. Well, except for the white sauce. ;)
I always throw in extra veggies. The following day, chop up the leftover veggies, chuck 'em in a skillet with a little butter and make a nice hash. Goes well with the cold leftover beef.

We often make corned beef hash for Sunday breakfast but corned beef nowadays, or maybe it is just over here, is nothing like we used to get in the UK. Used to be dark with large flay chunks of meat, now is is all a grey sludgy mess, bit like soft spam.

Once went into the larder at stepfather's house and found an enormous can of corned beef, about 12" long by 8" square. This was about 1960. "Product of Argentina" Went five or six meals. Later found out from 'Granny' that it had been laid in at the beginning of the war. Don't make it like they used to.

Can remember Dad (dec) say in about 'Bully Beef Bombers" being used when he was in PNG during WWII. Turned out that they were Dakota/DC-3/C-47 aircraft on supply missions, as their (2/2 AIF) main rasion was Bully beef and dried biscuits dropped from a height of 60feet into a clearing in the jungle, while 'others' being supplied with turkey and fresh fruit.

In 1963 UK was afflicted with the great Corned Beef food poisoning episode. Starting in Scotland where an entire old folks home was wiped out with a generous helping of corned beef sarnies at Sunday tea-time, it soon spread to the four corners of the kingdom and everyone gave up eating corned beef and turned to Spam sarnies on a Sunday instead.

The upshot was that caterers could buy corned beef for thre'pence a ton. At the time Blacksheep was installed as a Trenchard Brat in The Rookery - No. 3 (Apprentice) Wing at Halton - where the mess caterer took advantage of this handy windfall. We had corned beef hash for breakfast, corned beef fitters/corned beef and potato pie/corned beef stew/corned cottage pie/corned every damned thing for several weeks. A nice bit of Spam would have been a nice change but they even substituted corned beef for that. :hmm:

Being in the band, one was privileged to "Fall Out" first after ascending the hill to Maitland Barracks at meal times so I was often first in the queue at dinner time. One fine day, there on the servery was a tray of Fish and Chips! I presented my plate and proudly took my place at the table with my fish in front of me. My room mates arrived soon after, just as I finished making the toast. "Where'd ya get the fish ya spawney brat!" came the cry from my jealous comreades in arms. I sliced into the fish with my knife and...

"...Holy Canned Cow, Batman!" What I had was a chunk of corned beef carefully cut into the shape of a cod fillet - battered, fried and served with chips. Damn! :ugh:

Corned beef? You can stick it! Give me a nice Spam fritter any day. :ok:

Opened a 2kg tin of liberated corned beef while on ops in an unnamed country. It smelt like dog food and still had bits of skin and hair as well as the odd bit of jawbone and tooth in it. Not having eaten for around five days we tucked in and as no ill effects were encountered, it must have been OK. Can't remember the country of origin but one gets the impression that an entire cow's head had been compressed into a tin and sent off.:ooh:

You don't like corned beef. But you go and get a tin anyway, then the key opening thing breaks. So you hunt the drawers for an old fashioned tin opener. Can't find one, get a Swiss army knife and spend ten frustrating minutes trying to get that sodding thing open. Fail.
Make a peanut butter and jam sarnie or a Pot Noodle.

Fos

There's a brand by name of Texan from Namibia. They make a chili corned beef which is particularly good sliced thickly and placed on fresh granary bread with a huge dollop of Coleman's Hot English Mustard.

One has heard that in the tropics you could punch a hole in a tin of corned beef and pour the contents out.

I never buy tinned corned beef that says "Made in Argentina", Something about some faraway islands that they tried to re-name.

I never buy tinned corned beef that says "Made in Argentina", Something about some faraway islands that they tried to re-name. Isn't that where pampers come from too?! ;)