Canned and Frozen Meat

Stock up on canned and frozen meat to keep your commercial kitchen running smoothly
By Niki Hampton, Freelance Journalist Self Employed Canned and frozen meat can be used to cut the time it takes to make complex dishes, soups, stews and even salads. By using high-quality prepped canned meat and frozen meat, you can offer the very best to your patrons at a better price and with faster service than making everything from scratch.

Frozen meat comes in all varieties from reputable frozen meat manufacturers, from ham, chicken and fish to various cuts of beef. Top canned food labels can fill your shelves to make it easier to make a chicken salad, pot pie or other dishes. Many restaurants and food services use frozen and canned meat of some kind in their recipes. When considering what canned and frozen meats to use in your business, you should:

1. Decide on the canned and frozen meat products you would most like to have on hand as ingredients to enhance dishes you make most or that you wouldn't use often enough to keep the ingredients fresh on hand.

2. Find reputable canned and frozen meat processors and suppliers to keep your kitchen stocked.

3. Purchase specialty canned and frozen meat products to offer ethnic menu items to your patrons.

Decide on the canned and frozen meat products you will stock in your kitchen

There are many types of canned and frozen meats from which to choose in stocking your commercial kitchen. Consider the recipes you use most, the type of menu you are offering and the changes you can make in the way you buy and use ingredients. Contact other restaurants in your area that have similar menus to ask about the quantities they order and what suppliers they recommend.
Try:  SYSCO is one of the largest and most well-known marketers and distributors of both canned and frozen foods for restaurants and other food service businesses. SYSCO will deliver frozen meat products like chicken breasts, fish fillets, pork roasts and high-quality cuts of beef. They also distribute their own label canned meats, or those by top canned food brands like Campbell's and frozen brands like Tyson. Foodservice.com offers canned and frozen food reports detailing what canned and frozen meats are selling best and which are not selling as quickly.

Find reputable canned and frozen meat distributors

Working with a reputable canned meats and frozen meats company can save you time and money, especially if you have contacts with a frozen seafood wholesale supplier. The more items you can get with one frozen meat company the better.
Try:  Though meat in a can sounds a little unnerving, one of the top canned meat manufacturers, Hormel Foods, has been producing quality and much-loved products for over 50 years. Among Hormel's top products is the infamous Spam, as well as canned hams and canned beef products. Maid-Rite Steak Company offers a large variety of frozen meats including lamb, beef, and veal in a selection of forms--bulk, patties and others.

Purchase specialty canned and frozen meat products

By offering specialty varieties of meat in a can or frozen to your customers, you can expand your customer base and be known for thinking outside the box of the restaurants in your neighborhood and city. When thinking of the specialty items to offer on a menu, include the culture of the neighborhood and city you live or do business in.
Try:  Vanee Foods has a selection of canned meat products, including boned chicken, canned beef crumbles and ham shanks in natural juices. This variety allows you to order in bulk the items you use most. Ember Farms offers a variety of pre-cooked, frozen meat products, including sausage crumbles and links that are ready to use in a variety of foods.

• Watch your canned and frozen meat inventory closely the first couple of weeks. By immediately noticing trends and adjusting orders accordingly, you can save money and reduce spoilage.
• Always remember the "last in, last out" theory of food inventory management. Buy an industrial sized can organizer (like the kind canned food companies use to stock soup on store shelves) that allows canned goods to roll out toward the front from the back where you will load them. Also put newly received frozen food behind older food to encourage you and your staff to always be pulling the oldest food out for use.