Friday, July 27, 2007

Satan Bug

This is wonderful news for a nice summer, there's been a botulism outbreak at a cannery in Atlanta. They've put out a recall for canned chili. The best part is, they manufacture chili for various companies and store brands, so if you eat that stuff, you need to look at the recall notice.

Interestingly, they ship chili as far north as Canada and as far west as San Diego.

I found the story at CBC before I saw it on an American site. There were a couple memorable quotes:
In states like North Carolina, more than one in three stores checked by state officials in recent days were still offering recalled products for sale. Officials there pulled 5,500 cans and pledged to keep searching


Health Canada on Sunday issued a warning to avoid consuming Great Value brand Original Chili with Beans and Hot Chili with Beans, made by Castleberry in the U.S. and sold in 425-gram cans exclusively at Wal-Mart stores across Canada. No illnesses have been reported in Canada.


As anyone knows who's lived in the South, Southerners like their burgers with chili, slaw, and mustard. Consequently, we frequently have a can of chili from some store or another lying around. And eating a hot dog without chili is just plain barbaric.

Of course, eating a hot dog is arguably uncivilized, regardless of whether slaw's involved...

So check your cupboards, people!

13 comments:

Chuck Hicks said...

Hebrew National, boy. Them's kosher.

Mustard, slaw & chili is "Carolina style." They really don't eat 'em thataway in Tennessee. Over there it's a burger in one fist and whole, fresh garden onion in the other. And somewhere they like pimento cheese on it, but I can't recollect where I saw it.

The Family Jewels said...

Bad canned Chili...just another reason to not eat processed foods or meat.

Hot dogs here are pretty much ketchup, mustard and pickle relish.

clumsy ox said...

chuck, you're quite right: I should have said "Carolina style".

And the only true accompaniment to a Hebrew National dog is a He-Brew beer. I like Messiah Bold the best. As it says on the label: "The One you've been waiting for".

I've seen the pimento cheese before too, and can't for the life of me remember where. I want to say it was at someone's house.

clumsy ox said...

tfj, you've certainly put me in me place re: processed meats. They are a guilty pleasure of mine.

I dislike mustard, ketchup, slaw, and relish. So while I liberally bathe dogs and burgers in cheap chili, I can't complete the Carolina Trinity.

My Canadian heritage comes out in my burgers too: my favourite combination on a burger is fried egg, a hot dog, cheese, lettuce, mayo, onion. I think the egg is actually an American thing, but the hot dog is certainly something I've only ever seen north of the 49th.

There was a pub at home that served the "Shameless Burger", which had a kielbasa on it. The kielbasa was sliced every 1/2" or so---not all the way through, just far enough to make it easy to bend---and wrapped in a circle atop the patty. That burger was easily the best burger I've ever eaten. And every time you ordered it, you'd effectively reduce your lifespan by 2 years.

Chuck Hicks said...

Ox -- you're making me thirst for a delicious Dixie Blackened Voodoo Lager.

Incidentally, Garden Gal prepared a Low Country boil Wednesday evening. Goodness gracious, it was good...

Ames said...

Chuck, is a "boil" the same thing as a "bog"? They do Chicken Bogs in my hometown.

Chuck Hicks said...

Taters, corn on the cob, shrimp, chicken, keilbasa (sp?) and Cajun seasoning...all boiled in a big pot, then thrown out a table covered in newspaper.

Ames said...

My family will boil down chicken and rice, preferably over an open fire. They call it Bog. I think chicken is the most common, but they cook anything that will stay still long enough to find its way into a pot. My mom told me she'll cook me a country supper tomorrow. I can barely wait. There will be fried chicken and some of the following: chicken and pastry, field peas, fried cornbread, collards, etc.

The Family Jewels said...

You know, I had an excellent salad last night with free range lemon chicken, organic spring mix greens, dried cranberries, almonds, mediterranian mix cheeses, onion and garlic whole wheat organic crackers and a yummy organic vidalia onion vinegarette dressing.

clumsy ox said...

tfj, I've been teaching myself to eat salad, but I just can't get into salad with meat in it. I'm not adverse to meat, but I have trouble putting it into salad.

Chuck, I've been thinking about a low country boil, but I might need to replace the pot on my turkey fryer: I've never fried a turkey, but I've fried enough chicken, hushpuppies, and potatoes that my pot is permanently coated in burnt-on oil. I tried to clean it the other week, and realized it was a lost cause when I was actually rubbing Fast Orange on it to break up the oil. So I refilled it with oil and decided to get a new pot.

Chuck Hicks said...

The boil is really good. What was especially fun was standing around the picnic table and eating with our hands like a bunch of un-kosher....disciples.

clumsy ox said...

As long as you didn't wash your hands first...

The Family Jewels said...

I don't like warm chicken on my salads...it melts the cheeses and wilts the greens. It also helps to have the darker more flavorful greens to compliment the meat. The other HUGE difference is that we don't eat anything that has pesticides, hormones or sterroids...only natural and organic. The flavor difference is amazing without all of the yucky stuff.

Running mouth...stopping. Try organic ingredients and chilled chicken and let me know what you think.