Corned Beef is the meat that dare not speak its name to foodies. They;re missing out though and now with  Helen Browning’s Organic brand new Corned Beef it’s time to reexamine this legend.

My father hated corned beef, he said he’d eaten little else onboard ship in WW2 and could never eat it again. For him it held more horror than the memory of U-Boats and arctic seas.

He’d tell me this as he watched me make myself yet another massive doorstep sandwich of corned beef, heavy on the butter, and Branston’s pickle.

I loved it then and I still do. I was never a fan of the Fray Bentos tins it came in though, which were a Health & Safety nightmare and could easily sever an artery in a moment of inattention. We used to hammer the empty tins flat,  as otherwise they remained lethal in the bin.

Corned beef is salt-cured brisket of beef. The corn bit  comes from the rock salt used , once called “corns” of salt. It has immense longevity once made, hence its use on dad’s destroyer.

Most of it came from Uruguay via Fray Bentos. Fun fact, about  80% of the global canned corned beef supply comes from Brazil.

But not this one Helen Browning’s meat comes from organic, free range, British grass-fed beef. The meat is a by-product of the farm’s existing dairy cows and so has a lower carbon footprint compared to traditionally reared beef.

The product has just earned 2 stars at the Great Taste Awards 2020 (the highest score of a Corned Beef product this year) and a Silver Medal at the British Charcuterie Live Awards.

So celebrate a Great British product – slam it in a sarny, toss it in a hash, stick it in a pasty or pie.

Just don’t tell my dad.

The Corned Beef costs £5.00 per 150g and can be purchased from Abel and Cole, Farm Drop and Whole Food Markets.

You can also buy from Helen Browning’s Organic directly in-store or from their online farm shop, available for national delivery.