Canned chicken ... spew-tastic or yum?

Ok, so there's this new "phenomenon" in Australia and it's known as Heinz Canned Chicken.

Alright, it's hardly a phenomenon - I'd actually go as far to say it's more of an eek-omenon. A lot of people I have chatted to about canned chicken have all been quite revolted by the idea.

While I too was initially revolted by the idea of chicken in a can, the other day I found myself pondering about what it actually tasted like and whether or not it's actually any good. Apparently it's been a part of everyday USA life for some time now, and I am a fan of canned salmon and tuna and eat these regularly. I also really like canned sardines and I also have a thing for canned smoked oysters. I thought to myself, if I could love canned seafood so much (and when you think about the concept of canned seafood, it sounds far worse than the concept of canned chicken!), then surely I can bring myself to try the canned chicken.

So a couple of nights ago I found myself standing in Coles (I would have preferred to be in Woolworths, but you know, it meant more driving - Coles was closer), staring at a wall of Heinz Canned Chicken.

It comes in heaps of flavours; smoked chicken, mayo, tomato & onion, red curry, mustard mayo ... and more I can't remember, but like the tuna before it, it's there waiting, ready for you to eat it.

And so I bought a can. I ended up with tomato & onion - I did actually mean to buy just the plain smoked chicken, however I picked the tomato & onion up by mistake. Anyhow, I still opened it up and I tasted it. And I have to admit, it tasted good. I couldn't fault it. It was pretty much the same as canned tuna, except of course the texture was different (the chicken comes shredded by the way), and it didn't have the much hated fishy smell. The side of the can makes for some amusing reading (apparently there may be traces of fish in the product - mmm, maybe that's why it reminded me of tuna so much?); but once you get past that the actual taste is decent and it makes for a good snack.


Will I buy it again? Most likely - just like tuna it is a good pantry filler. However I have to try the plain "flavour" before I go out and buy too much ... it could be possible that the tomato & onion masked the real taste, so I must get myself the "original" chicken. When I try that I will post and update you all.

Until then, happy chickening!