However, as the day wore on the hunger pangs increased, and as I was not in the mood to fry bacon and eggs I ventured into the chilly Chicago afternoon to my neighborhood Aldi Supermarket with an ad-hoc grocery list in my mind. I entered the store, music blaring in my ears from the headphones attached to my phone. As I wandered the narrow aisles I remembered my weekly mission and I suddenly thought to myself, “I wonder if they just MIGHT have it in stock today…?” Deciding I had nothing to lose I went to the assigned area and checked if the object of my year-long quest was on the shelves this week.
And lo and behold – there they were. Cans and cans of tinned corned beef.
I stifled my gasp of delighted astonishment but couldn’t stop the tears from welling in my eyes. “OhmyGod!” I thought to myself. “They FINALLY have corned beef in stock!” It took me a few moments before I could reach for what I thought was a mirage and stow a couple of cans in my shopping cart.
Okay – by now some of you may be wondering if I’ve finally cracked. (Well, no more than usual…)
You see – there has been a shortage of tinned corned beef in the US since last year. Something to do with tainted beef from Brazil introduced into the canning process through a canning factory in Chicago. Some of the corned beef was tested and was found to contain a drug used to treat cows for parasites. As a precaution the U.S. Food, Safety and Inspection Services halted all imports of canned corned beef from Brazil until recently, and that led to a year-long shortage.
Tinned corned beef (or bully beef to use the British vernacular) is a staple in the Caribbean diet. Tinned corned beef is NOT to be confused with the Jewish or European deli-styled sliced corned beef. Tinned corned beef is boiled corned beef that is shredded with a small amount of gelatin, then canned. In Jamaica it is prepared with mayo, ketchup, hot pepper and sliced onions and served between slices of bread as a sandwich, or steamed with cabbage and onions seasoned with black pepper and served on top of white rice. In Puerto Rico they stew the corned beef in tomato paste with seasoning and also serve on white rice (the Bahamian dish is similar). In Trinidad they curry the damn thing. Actually, in Trinidad they curry EVERYTHING.......but I digress.
Tinned corned beef is a quick, tasty – and more important – cheap dish. (Though not so cheap anymore – due to demand it was $3.69 a can in Aldi.)
Since the ban was lifted and regular production (allegedly) resumed I have been scouring the aisles of all supermarkets but to no avail. I’m not the only one on the hunt - if you Google the phrase “corned beef shortage” you will see a barrage of results on this subject. Regular supplies have returned to some states but here in Illinois the shortage continued – although there was no shortage of canned corned beef hash…..go figure.
Until now.
*burp* I am writing to you after consuming three corned beef sandwiches with lots of onions.
Wickedly good. Corned beef is now back in my life.
And it was worth the wait.
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