WWII British Corned Beef Stew

Canned corned beef stew served with military biscuits, boiled sweets, and WWII British Military Scones

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City/Region: British Army

Time Period: 1945

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The mainstays of rations for British troops in World War II were fairly similar to those of World War I: bully beef and biscuits. Bully beef, or canned corned beef, was often eaten as-is or only slightly warmed up, so this stew, meant to be prepared in large quantities using fresh vegetables, would have been a welcome alternative.

While rather unremarkable and really quite salty, this isn’t half bad. I can certainly see how a hot bowl of this would be nice after days or weeks of cold meals and emergency rations. The texture isn’t my favorite since it’s basically a mush, but if you like canned corned beef, I’d say give this a try.

“Corned Beef Stew
Preserved meat (12 oz. tins) . . . . 30 tins
Onions . . . . 6 lb.
Mixed vegetables . . . . 4 lb.
Salt and pepper
Stock . . . . 16 pts.
Dripping . . . . 1 1/2 lb.
Method
Chop the onions and vegetables and fry-on.
Cut the meat into small cubes.
Put the stock in camp kettle lids or baking dishes and add the rest of the ingredients.
Stir well, bring to the boil and skim; then simmer gently for 1 hour.”

— Manual of Army Catering Services, 1945

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Ingredients:

• 3, 12 oz (340 g) cans corned beef
• 5 tablespoons (70 g) fat*
• 2 cups (280 g) diced onion
• 6 1/2 oz (185 g) mixed vegetables**, chopped
• 1 quart (1 L) beef stock
• Pinch of salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper

*This would have varied depending on what was available. They would have had access to meat drippings, butter, margarine, Crisco, and lard. I used lard.

**This would have also varied. I used a carrot and some potatoes.

Instructions:

1. Open the cans of corned beef and chop it into small cubes. The size isn’t important as it will all kind of disintegrate later.
2. Melt the fat in a large pot over high heat. Add the onions and stir to coat them in the fat. Cook for about 5 minutes, or until the onions are translucent and just starting to brown.
3. Add the vegetables and cook for another 3 minutes or so.
4. Once the vegetables and onions have browned a bit, add in the corned beef. Give it a stir and cook for 1 minute, then stir in the beef stock, salt, and pepper.
5. Bring it to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and cover the pot. Simmer for 1 hour. For a full WWII British military ration meal, serve the stew forth with WWII British Military Ration Scones.

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