Fray Bentos Steak & Kidney Pie - Revisited - with MORE & BETTER Meat - Weird Stuff in a Can # 198

[@lyndseybeaumont7301]

Back in the late 60s and early 70s, when convenience food took off, my mother embraced it whole heartedly. She really hated cooking, so it was a dream come true in her eyes. No one worried about ingredients doing harm, as no one knew the consequences of too much fat or sugar in those days. Most of us were pretty thin. The first time my mum brought these home, I think it was the mince pie, she served up half a pie to each of us on toast. Lo and behold, we loved it! They aren’t the same as they used to be, but even at 64, to this day, every so often I enjoy these on toast. Sadly I have to eat the whole pie, as I’m alone. It’s a dirty job but someone has to do it! Can you believe that some people call me a food snob? I do love good food, but these pies on toast bring back a simpler time with my family, who have virtually all gone. Perhaps it’s the nostalgia I can taste. I think I’ll start calling them nostalgia pies hahaha. xxxx

[@AmelieAnthrax]

pie on toast???!! toast?????!!!!!!! madness!!

[@werborg1]

​@@AmelieAnthraxnever tried pie on toast but I often used to eat pie sandwiches.

[@mikekuppen6256]

@@AmelieAnthrax Anything can go on toast.

[@lyndseybeaumont7301]

My mother put anything on toast. Her style of cordon bleu lmao.

[@markenetube]

Never had that before. I suppose the toast "padded" the meal out. I remember eating a lot of bread in the 70's. We were not well off, but not really poor. I remember sugar sandwiches.

[@mistertestsubject]

This is the inane wittering channel I go to listen to inane wittering. It's a feature. We enjoy the inane wittering, very much.

[@gillianmeehan3206]

Yes indeed, has someone complained about inane wittering? shame on them 😀

[@AtomicShrimp]

Sometimes people complain, but this wasn't really because of that - I was just conscious that there were some extra things to say before we got the can open

[@mistertestsubject]

@@AtomicShrimp Fair enough. I can't imagine that anybody familiar with the contents of your channel would complain about that, must be people popping in from their recommended videos.

[@jonathanrichards593]

@@AtomicShrimp Certainly, there was freeze-frame so that I could do the arithmetic to work out whether the % meat increase claim was correct, gratifyingly confirmed later! Top review: I only ever buy these when I think that I ought to have something in the cupboard that I can eat if I'm locked in and can't find my door keys. Again.

[@artistknownaslisa2850]

​@@jonathanrichards593Again. Lol😂

[@MrLeekicker]

Just a quick message Mr. Shrimp, about the Random Stuff vids. The longer, the better...They really help me get through an intensely boring, tedious and monotonous Saturday morning! Love you dude!!! xxxx

[@pressetoascend]

Fully agreed! I love seeing a big 2 hour video in my feed, especially one as varied as the random stuff videos

[@applegal3058]

@@pressetoascend yes! I find Mike's way of speaking very relaxing and comforting. Like an old friend popping by to chat. That and I share a lot of interest in what's being shared in his videos. Very eclectic and sometimes odd but I find it all interesting lol

[@TimeToSlashZoom]

Anything that can convince my gf to eat these works for me!!!😊

[@Clarence_13x]

I get it. It’s like bitter flavour cancelling out another bitter flavour.

[@andymerrett]

I can't always dedicate a single chunk of time to the longer videos but it means I can watch different sections throughout the week. :)

[@JOBdOut]

Idea for April Fools. A review of another fray bentos pie but with better inane wittering and 33% more of it

[@PaulTumeltyMisc]

I’ve got a better idea. Combine the meat of four pies into a single pie, re-apply the crust, to provide the greatest fray bentos pie of all time!

[@Styphon]

Give the viewers a choice, Mr. Shrimp: "Weird Stuff in a Can - Now with more Wittering" Or ""Weird Stuff in a Can - New and Improved Wittering" Setting yourself up for a Grand Finale: "Now with More Improved Wittering" 🎉

[@Kowyn]

I'm in Canada, I was at a UK import store and bought a Fray Bentos as a curiosity. I had it one evening when I was hungry and it was amazingly disappointing, I did keep the can to use in the shop though, it's a great shape for putting lose screws in when fixing something. Food 2/10 Can 9/10

[@ellisgarbutt1925]

Cans are useful as someone from brit I agree nothing better than a homemade pie

[@CricketEngland]

The trouble is it’s not really a pie in my view, it’s more a steak and kidney stew with a pie crust rather than a pie fully in crust in pastry and you can buy in supermarkets better pies although these won’t have such a long shelf life as this one.

[@4_am]

They are cheap food. Not overly great but not totally terrible. The chicken pie is the only one I like.

[@CricketEngland]

@ not that cheap £3 a pop (425g) at Sainsbury’s or £3.50 for the steak and kidney puddings, where as Sainsbury’s do they own steak pies (700g) £3.25

[@iandeare1]

​@4_am : I can't remember if it was Fray Bentos, or a competitor, but there was a limited edition chicken tika masala curry one, during a football world cup season - it was absolutely delicious; but never seen again!!!! PS the ability to guesstimate the correct amount of soggy pastry was always a benefit - I like soggy pastry 😉

[@notsurt]

Just looked up Fray Bentos Steak & Kidney Pies in local Australian stores and the ingredients list the meat content as 27.5% beef and 13.5% kidney. I believe we have a law that requires meat pies to contain at least 25% meat.

[@janeteholmes]

We’re very keen on our meat pies.

[@jonathanr72]

I was disappointed on returning from the UK after many years away that we only get the steak and kidney ones here, not the just steak or chicken ones.

[@MrMarko4]

Send one to Shrimp for a review!

[@SilverDragonJay]

You know, laws are not inherently moral or ethical...but I feel I can say with confidence that this law is _the_ most moral and ethical law there is.

[@davefuss]

Fray Bentos pies in Australian supermarkets are manufactured in Australia by Campbells Soups Australia, 60% Australian Ingredients. No palm oil listed, but margarine(soy) in the pastry ingredients instead. Suppose there is more dead cow in Australia. Doesn't say who donated the kidneys (pork, cow, lamb, chicken, goat, roo, emu) but lamb or cow is more common is AUS. But excessively overpriced here. $10.50AUD (5.40GBP).

[@markmcdowell2733]

I used to love these. I really, really liked the soggy pastry under the hard crust. And the gravy. I might have to buy one.

[@malcolmabram2957]

Don't bother, victim of big time shrinkflation. They used to be good and value for money. Bought a couple for the family last year, and it was a case of looking for the bits of meat in a gravy slop in puffed pastry. Like so many other long established products, now permanently of my radar.

[@clarksonbarry]

@@malcolmabram2957 Agree. They used to be great. Now they're rubbish.

[@applegal3058]

I love your little chit chatting in your videos. Its like listening to a friend talk about something they're interested in. It's all good.

[@splendidcolors]

Exactly!

[@nickweb1000]

can't believe i'm spending my friday night watching a fray bentos pie rising in an oven...absolute carnage.

[@JamesWorkshopMFA]

Just found myself bopping my head along to stock music while watching a Fray Bentos pie cook at high speeds. This channel truly is about new experiences

[@joerobins6069]

Done the same myself 😂 just realised I’m watching someone cook a fray bentos

[@davidlove1944]

tried to cook one after an afternoon session forgot to cut the lid off

[@workaholica]

Any product that has water listed first on the ingredient list is a beverage in my books ;)

[@rolfs2165]

Or soup.

[@marcpearson2913]

@@rolfs2165 A good soup should get most of its liquid from the ingredients not from adding it.

[@Kowyn]

​@@marcpearson2913 otherwise it's a stew.

[@AngieDeAguirre]

Huh... Sounds like you don't know how to cook.

[@snackbracket]

Are you a beverage?

[@Fintastically]

The inane wittering is what I'm here for, Mr Shrimp!

[@carllibre]

i second this!

[@caramba10]

Do you remember back in the olden days when Birds Eye produced Chicken and Vegetable Pies? They ran a 'New Improved' marketing campaign "Now with more chicken pieces". Well someone took one apart and the amount (weight) of chicken was unchanged all they had done was to cut what was there was into smaller pieces, so technically they weren't lying. I've never trusted any marketing BS since. As a child the pies were quite tasty, shortcrust pastry and the veg to the best of my memory was just a few peas and pieces of carrot in a chicken gravy along with the now smaller chicken pieces.

[@barneylaurance1865]

Are you sure that isn't a myth? Do you know what date? I can't seem to find details online, but I'd expect regulators to consider it to be a lie if it happened as you said.

[@patrickwalker2509]

I loved those earlier pies but: now they are dreadful!

[@TheWonkster]

Marie Callender used to have a steak and rice cardboard tray frozen meal which had a good handful of thin pieces of steak. Now it's a tiny bit of ground beef chunks. Everything is going to shit and voting with your wallet doesn't work because there will always be people who just don't really have any other option for whatever reason and will continue to buy it.

[@tosspot1305]

When any product says new improved recipe it always been they're switching ingredients to cheaper ones or reducing the contents. It's a con

[@punkypete1074]

​@@patrickwalker2509 and expensive!

[@watersloth288]

your oven has to be one of the coolest ovens I've seen EVEN THE BUTTONS PRESS IN LIKE THAT so cool

[@rogink]

Impressively clean oven door!

[@SomePeopleCallMeWulfman]

I don't care much about kidney pie, but that sliding oven door @7:08 is amazing!

[@computersales]

Yeah that is pretty wild.

[@janeteholmes]

That was what I noticed! Seems it’s a Neff brand feature available in wall ovens but not freestanding ones.

[@michaelhobson1557]

@@computersaleswild? 😂

[@Mister-Gee-9999]

@@janeteholmes I have Neff also but you can't get auto clean with sliding door.

[@GaryHerberson]

I had a freestanding Neff oven with the sliding handle. Beautiful overkill engineering

[@ErwinPommel]

I'm disappointed that the inane wittering didn't last longer than the actual pie content in a sort of meta commentary critique of the ratio of meat to gravy in a Fray Bentos pie.

[@whatr0]

we just have to wait for the Classic Weird Stuff in a Can recipe now with even more inane wittering

[@edtuckerartist]

@@whatr0 Waiting for the "more wittering than ever" episode.

[@AngieDeAguirre]

Oh, as a savoury pie aficionado, I can say that the soggy pastry is to kill AND die for. My favourite is zucchini, onions and cheese. I always eat the veggies first and the shell I eat it last. So good!!!

[@elizabethhayward8238]

Me to love the pastry best.

[@caramelldansen2204]

That "shrinkflation" graph was very satisfying, thank you for not falling for it!

[@AProperNoun]

“It’s toasted” - Fray Bentos’ next marketing ploy, probably

[@theprebuiltdave7423]

Shrimp you need to show us how you would make this pie! As close to fray bentos but better quality! 😊

[@danlynch3885]

The music around 08:00 reminds me of 90's racing game soundtracks. Blast from the past! Cheers

[@richarddye9170]

A fireman I knew said they were called to university student accommodation on a number of occasions after calls reporting an explosion. He wondered how someone who had passed university acceptance could put one of those tins in an oven without taking the lid off.

[@stevenmannion7479]

Fray Bentos pies used to be really nice when I was a kid (About 40 years ago). Today they are little more than gravy with a pastry lid.

[@kam9989]

I bought one for the tin. Ideal for a small cake size; good size for airfryer too.

[@artistknownaslisa2850]

I buy stuff mainly for the containers all the time! Lol

[@splendidcolors]

@@artistknownaslisa2850 Classico is my brand of pasta sauce because they use standard lid Mason jars. Great for airtight storage AND for canning! Just get some new Ball or Kerr lids at the store and there you go.

[@artistknownaslisa2850]

@@splendidcolors Thanks for the tip!

[@william_marshal]

Where I live a cake tin costs £1 but a Fray Bentos tin costs £3, you're not very economical, are you !!!

[@iannorton2253]

40 years ago, when I first moved into my own place, I always had a couple of these pies in my cupboard. They were comforting and dependable for a cheap, easy and convenient meal.

[@BigShrimpin_]

We can assure you that our pies do include meat, from exactly the kind of animals you would expect!

[@Boogie_the_cat]

Frogs are what I'm expecting.

[@planescaped]

Gotta do _something_ with all those horses...

[@edwardkantowicz4707]

Sugarfoot & Ale

[@raynicholl4446]

Yes,but really miserable

[@oojimmyflip]

Horses then?

[@dummatube]

Very Interesting! I am a Brit in Australia and I used to love the taste of these UK pies but a couple of years ago I realised they had just become a gravy soup in slimy pastry! Ir was a challenge to find the mysterious piece of beef with a sliver of kidney being a gold medal event! Your video just inspired me to order another one with tomorrows Woolies delivery. I just checked the picture on the order and the front is old fashioned label but the info on the back lists, "27.5" beef, kidneys 13.5%". Ill let you know what it is like!

[@alanmexico01]

It's not so much that the pie has changed over the years; it is more down to us becoming more discerning as we grow older, and being better (??) informed via social media who love this kind of 'exposure'.

[@kathimorrical9912]

There was a lawsuit in USA when a woman was using catsup ( ketchup?) in a recipe and she used to be able to just pour the catsup into recipe withoutmeasuring, but it didnt look right. She measured it and the amount did not add up to what was on bottle or what the recipe called for. The company agreed to add more to bottle AT THE SAME PRICE, for a number of years so they wouldnt have pay the huge fines, and everyone that bought the product now got several more ounces of catsup for free. Just thought I'd throw that shrinkflation story your way. Thanks for being entertaining and informative at all times.

[@HMSTR1995]

UNACKNOWLEDGED TOUCAN SPECIAL!

[@AbdulMunimKazia]

Not really, he didn't open the second one

[@HMSTR1995]

@ I knew this comment was coming 😂

[@SebastianDingleswitch]

​@@AbdulMunimKazia A Toucan Teaser then. Cheeky.

[@whatr0]

this may be a first for this series where a Fray Bentos didnt have a giant hole in the top

[@GaryKlipp]

Hello! Just visiting your channel from Canada. Came for the food, got distracted by the oven at 7:08 with the slide & hide door. That’s amazing! The great N’ almighty Google tells me it’s a NEFF brand and my closet dealer is located in the UK 5,632km away from me. That sucker was on and off my Christmas wishlist so fast even Santa’s sleigh couldn’t keep up. 😁 Oh well, back to the video, at least I know where to get the pie here if the review says it’s worth a go.

[@thoughtful_criticiser]

Frey Bentos connoisseurs know that the pastry is probably the best part of the pie. FB used to make the individual puddings in army ration packs, they were just the thing to warm you up and the water it boiled in made the Smash.

[@pittypolyphonic]

i enjoy the drum and bass for the cooking timelapse

[@ArchieBlacke]

Love the "review commences" bar that (at least for my screen) is accurate! Not sure I've seen anyone else do that on KZbin.

[@gravic48]

It's because of you I upgraded my basic butterfly can opener to a Brabantia, and I haven't looked back, even got one for the campervan. And every time I use them I smile and imagine you chatting to me in the kitchen.

[@linaboutin5569]

But do you also have a toucan can opener as a back up option? 😉

[@oojimmyflip]

Ours fell apart completely.

[@YYZed]

Just so you know, I'm mostly here for the inane wittering.

[@SaxonSuccess]

Inane, not insane...

[@YYZed]

@@SaxonSuccess I am ever the victim of autocorrect.

[@YYZed]

@@SaxonSuccess it's fixed now I hope it didn't upset you too much

[@Smooshes786]

@@YYZed has this exchange now become inanely insane? I mean, you could have been correct the first time. 😂

[@strayling1]

"Accidental" on "Purpose". Nice one:)

[@MaterLacrymarum]

These pies were sent from heaven. They shouldn't taste very good, but instead are some of the best food on the supermarket shelves. Of course, we're all turned into pansies arranging food on a plate like it's part of an art installation - but come on. These are better than all that. Perfection. I knew something was going wrong as soon as the guy failed to eat it right from the can. Who puts this on a plate?!?! Madness.

[@bobrussell3602]

Also one eats pastry & meat together. you are not meant to dissect it. I must try one. Haven't had one for ages.

[@ChibiCirno]

Imma wittle some niceness towards these. You know, FBs were a godsend at my university. I used to meal prep with a big bowl of slop that I then would divide into tubed segments for the week. We only had 1 fridge for 4 rooms, some of which had multiple people in (not allowed but w/e) and freezer space was a fight. We did however get a cupboard each. FBs were often in poundland and it was a hella useful safety meal to keep in the cupboard, that did include meat. I'm disabled and my wheels would take up like 20% of the kitchen, but FBs were the quick and easy way to get meat and filling without getting in the way of everyone and a nice change from the big ol' bowls of mincemeat + veg + sauce of the week mealprep. The ovens were often very bad and really really struggle to keep temperatures consistent / match the dial for any sort of big meat meals would either come out raw or take triple the amount of time. Not to mention the FOUR times over my three years that the firdges broke/defrosted everything or leaked because nothing would get replaced untill it was done. FBs were just....useful. Didn't have to fight with humidity or the smokers, or space. They were done quckly and unobtrusively and if the guy who kept smoking his damn bong set off the firealarm for the 3rd time at the week, grabbing it and running across to a different resi building or someone elses kitchen you could still eat. And you know what, we had 2 actual full kitchen fires because of pizzas, and never one from a pie! Wittling over. Stay comfy and happy.

[@dj1NM3]

I'm in Sydney (Australia), I bought a FB S&K pie in early 2024 and it has no special markings on the can. The ingredients list starts with "beef 27.7%, pastry 28%" and the balance made up of the sauce ingredients. Maybe Frey Bentos is deliberately ripping off the UK market? It seems that our tinned pies are "Made in Australia from at least 60% Australian ingredients".

[@splendidcolors]

I found some frozen Australian "beef & cheddar hand pies" at Grocery Outlet and they were so much heartier for their size than, say, a US Hot Pocket. Very filling!

[@steveosshenanigans]

Really i will have to check again next time I’m in Coles 👍

[@Boogie_the_cat]

"Enchiladitos - they make you wanna eat 'em" I enjoy the oven cam.

[@aquamanfish1984]

Top tip, cook to where you did then slice the pastry lid off and put aside. Return to oven for 10 mins gas mark 9 to form a 2nd crust, remove from oven add the original crust and behold the "Doubke Cruster"

[@oojimmyflip]

Thought that was the method to put the first crust on the bottom.

[@DLC-sy7pp]

You're a braver man than me Mike!! Pro tip, once the pie looks done, remove the pastry lid, flip it over onto the baking tray and cook the lid alone for a further 10 minutes. Then place back on the now cooled filling and bake for a further 5 minutes, which cooks the pastry and reheats the filling. 👍

[@LordmonkeyTRM]

Yeah those gummy gelatanous under cooked layers are kind of weird(things in a can)

[@DLC-sy7pp]

@LordmonkeyTRM It resembles torn zombie flesh.

[@janeteholmes]

You’re obviously well practiced at cooking these pies!

[@DLC-sy7pp]

@@janeteholmes I had a few back in the day! Not for a very long time though. Similar to pot noodles.

[@EmeraldHill-vo1cs]

Too complicated, ny oven will have gone out twice already.

[@CarJul666]

Served as suggested. 🤣 Thanks for making me laugh out loud. I really enjoy weird stuff in a can videos.

[@mrelnoobo6855]

I find it pretty hilarious that the quality of these pies has gotten so bad that 'better meat' is now a selling point. Pathetic marketing.

[@pdubya4690]

I had to buy a second fb stake & kidney pie to check that the first was not a fluke. They were in fact almost exactly the same. In my younger days I had eaten them many times with great enjoyment. The modern variety which I purchased approximately a year ago was awful. The only solid piece of meat in the pie was attached to the toughest piece of cartilage I have ever met. The pie was almost devoid of kidney and the main ingredient was what I would describe as a gravy type slop. The second one I purchased confirmed my opinion that FB and their pies were but a shadow of their former selves.

[@LordmonkeyTRM]

New range coming soon Eyes and nostrils, Spleen and jowls and a relaunch of a classic heart valve and testicles

[@mollymillions6586]

It just seems a bit rude to kill an animal and then throw half of it out instead of eating it.

[@GeneFraxby]

I'd still try one

[@MrButtonpresser]

I thought that was the ingredients of hot dogs.

[@elizabethhayward8238]

Love this comment I have heard they do not waste anything!!

[@EmeraldHill-vo1cs]

More snouts more hooves.

[@jocktrucker1]

My grandparents in the 80's used to use the fray bentos empty tins as ashtrays.

[@oojimmyflip]

Aww the sweet smell of a fray bentos pie and cigarette smoke, it really takes me back 😂

[@EQINOX187]

Gotta love Fray Bentos.... The massively reduce the quantity of meat and massively reduce the quality of the ingredients and then charge more and then soon after wonder why sales have tanked and they are one pie away from going out of business, and the solution was to go back to the original recipe and add a little more meat and sell it as a feature

[@Trooper_Ish]

I'm glad you pointed out the "soggy" underside of the lid. It always put me off these simple emergency-larder food tins, because the soggy bottom really did turn me off. I'll give it a more balance view, and actually try one with an open mind... Thanks!

[@HelloMyNameisSol]

10:30 - Let's give that pastry a *tastry*. Come on, shrimp!

[@cliffordreynolds1835]

I just happened to be right at that part of the video as I read your comment. I loled.

[@momoha222]

Watching that pie rise with that strange drum&bass-like music was an absolutely amazing experience

[@stonecodfish2365]

Just like Hunger Breaks All Day Breakfast, no matter how many times people tell me they're not that good I still think they look delicious and would love to try some. For now eating vicariously will have to do.

[@ednammansfield8553]

I ate one of these pies only last week after finding it at the bottom of my food cupboard. It had passed well by its sell by date which was 2018. I opened the can up though and put it in the oven. It cooked perfectly and tasted really good.and I ended up eating it all without any issues. They certainly preserve well being in a tin.

[@oojimmyflip]

Which day last week did you spend on the loo? 🤣

[@juliantheapostate8295]

@@oojimmyflip Tinned food can last for over 50 years past the 'use by' date

[@el-xy]

Technology Connections had the same exact complaint about the OXO can opener.

[@Waffels_61465]

Love your take on the marketing here shrimp, simply fantastic! Bless your reviews! Could you just broil that crust for a min or 2 to brown more?

[@FixerUK]

I used to love them, but the last time I had one, it was the worst indigestion I've ever had and would most likely never touch one again. Probably for the best. Likely there's more meat in a tin of Chappie.

[@RG-tm7uq]

I’m a manic American and I relax with your chill videos

[@lwoods507]

The sheer misery examining a pie where Palm Oil is the fifth most abundant ingredient in it. Oh lord.

[@mikew1972]

Palm Oil is a tasty and healthy product (as plant oils go). It's bad press originates from the portion of it that is not sustainably and ethically sourced (deforestation, child labour etc.) But as time passes the media programmes us and the only part we remember is 'Palm Oil bad'

[@lwoods507]

@@mikew1972 I understand palm oil when considered as a simple foodstuff is not bad. However I do not think the palm oil in this pie is sustainably or ethically produced, I cannot see any claim on the product itself or their website. Also, pastry should be made with BUTTER (I love butter, butter is love, butter is life.)

[@mikew1972]

@@lwoods507 Indeed, butter is healthier than vegetable oil and tastier. 🙂

[@timowagner1329]

​@@lwoods507milk products in general are love and life in my eyes... And yes, palm oil deservedly has a bad reputation, but apparently its still not bad enough (because the manufacturers are using it more and more!)

[@noelwalterso2]

I tried one Fray Bentos pie in nineteen seventy something. I've never been tempted to try another.

[@jonathanfinan722]

I made a steak and kidney pudding in the pressure cooker yesterday. Glorious winter grub even when you realise that suet is 11 times the price of the flour.

[@MartinSteed]

Suet is crazy expensive right now. I like a suet pastry topping on pies I make - I like the crispy top and soft dumpling like undersides that have absorbed some of the gravy!

[@Molecutter]

​@@BromideBrideThat's inaccurate. Suet is specifically the loin fat around the kidneys and it has a different composition than muscle fat which affects how it renders and alters the melting point.

[@expathaggis]

Fray Bentos gets its name from the town in Uruguay where the Vestey family began their empire

[@bengoacher4455]

M&S do a puff pastry steak pie for £5.50 which serves 3 (Fray Bentos serves 2) and has 40% beef not 15%. I can attest to the quality of the M&S pie. Morrisons do a pair of chicken pies for £2.50 which is closer to the price of Fray Bentos. The pie filling is thickened with chemicals that I didn't like, but the puff pastry is far better than the pastry here and with a lot more meat. If you can avoid Fray Bentos, I highly recommend you do.

[@SaxonSuccess]

The Fray Bentos pie serves ONE. No arguments.

[@andymerrett]

@@SaxonSuccess And barely that. :)

[@capitalb5889]

But is it in a can?

[@InnerTurbulencia]

Thanks for taking one for the team, I see these all the time and I stay well clear! I'll have my diced cow freshly moo'd thanks.

[@aaroneidinger]

I've participated in a discussion on Reddit over what is the best can opener. I've found people can be quite stubborn in their thoughts on the matter. I'm not much of an exception. The best, most reliable, can opener I've used is a Swing-A-Way brand. It's a top cutter and I've never had one fail on me. Other brands and styles have eventually failed on me. I'm probably set on this brand as it's what we had in the home as I was growing up. We only had the one opener the whole time I lived with my parents. The only issue I've had with this opener has been in opening cans with pull-tab lids (yes, I'm a convert to doing this after watching you do so and have continued except for those cans which are constructed in such a way to make the use of an opener to be sub-optimal). I've observed the rims of these cans to be ever so slightly taller than the rim of a can meant to be opened with a separate device. I have an electric side cutter which looks like a toucan (it may even be the same brand as the toucan opener you tried using). It worked fairly well for a couple years before it started not working so well. My companion bought another model of side cutter which is working well so far, but I suspect it'll eventually fail as the one I bought did. The side cutters also do not work well on the cans with pull-tabs. Part of it is the size of the rims and also because these electric models use a magnet to stay on the top of the can which wouldn't be useful with a pull-tab in the way. I've not used a manual side cutter to determine if opening a pull-tab can is a viable use case.

[@rossbright1123]

Bet you’re fun at parties 🙄

[@ellaisplotting]

​@@rossbright1123detailed information is always more fun than pointlessly mean spirited comments! 😊

[@EmeraldHill-vo1cs]

Bought a swing-away early nineties, and still going fine.

[@johnnywood3092]

Watching a Fray Bentos rise was one of the most hypnotic things I have ever seen.

[@AndyJohnson-v9u]

Back in the 80's my Dad called these landmines, they were a quick meal with boiled spuds and a veg (carrots). Even then there was little meat, but enough to taste, the puff pastry was tasty and the soggy pastry was part of the pie.Still eat them today as a nostalgia meal (Always needed more meat and gravy).

[@Davetherave666]

absolutely great pie, 4 rounds of buttered bread and a full plate of triple fried chips

[@brianartillery]

'Bloke Food™' at it's finest. Along with tinned sardines, pilchards, corned beef, kippers, bags of Brazil nuts, and SPAM. I love the pastry on these pies, all of it, and have done so for as long as I can remember. Long may they still exist!

[@mistertestsubject]

Why are brazil nuts in particular 'bloke food'? Everything else you listed made sense, but I don't get the brazil nuts.

[@brianartillery]

@mistertestsubject - I have never known any women who enjoyed Brazil nuts - and I meant raw, in shell nuts. My late father would get through a couple of pounds of assorted nuts over Christmas, and offer them about, and I cannot recall ever seeing mum, gran, assorted aunts, etc , ever eat any Brazils. I never had any girlfriend who would eat them, either. This was before a lot of people had nut allergies, which in itself sounds odd, but when I went to school, in the late 1960's and early to mid 1970's, it just wasn't common at all. I never knew any child who could have been killed by eating peanuts. It just wasn't a thing. I find that very odd. But I definitely class Brazils as 'Bloke Food™'.

[@timowagner1329]

​@@brianartillerymy mum loves them. But thats just anecdotal. I definitly agree with the SPAM though. Fried spam and baked beans 😩👌

[@stewartwebb5699]

Only ever ate these in caravan in Cornwall in the 1960s. Loved them then. Not so sure I could try again..but you know...I may just!

[@planescaped]

I love steak and kidney pie, can only get them in the states when I make my own... I also love tricking people into eating it and always bring them whenever I attend any event or gathering where I am expected to bring something. Every time they say how delicious it is, only then do I tell them there are kidneys in it. My favorite reaction is when they suddenly don't like it anymore. lol American's freak out at the notion of eating kidneys for some reason. Lamb kidneys are hard as hell to find sometimes too.

[@oojimmyflip]

My parents often fed me offel as a child, a piece of ox liver raw before it was Cooked was a real delacacy in our house hmm lovely.

[@jimmycburfield5997]

Recently I visited The Old Crown pub, Hesket New Market, in the North of the Lake District here in Cumbria. It’s a pub I love! It is famous for a brilliant Microbrewery. The ales are quality. The Old Crown won’t like this….but I enjoyed their Steak and ale pie. The highest compliment being that it tasted like a really meaty Fray Bentos pie….with even better pastry! I enjoy these; they do a job!

[@headerahelix]

god, much has changed in the UK since i moved away. the implication of "better meat" alone is terrifying.

[@andymerrett]

It's like the emergency services! Nicer ambulances, faster response times and better looking drivers...

[@will9703]

Don't listen to people complain about inane wittering. It's not a bug, it's a feature of the channel.

[@leerichmond9629]

Over the years I tried these when they were on offer and was dissapointed every time

[@Mister-Gee-9999]

I went to Port Fray Bentos in the 90s to find steak pies, Guano and the Admiral Graf Spee. I found two.

[@quantumbacon]

When it says steak and kidney, who else thought that both the steak and kidney would be from the same species of animal?

[@GIBBO4182]

It’s a good point I hadn’t even thought about! But yes, I certainly did think they’d be from the same species

[@MartinSteed]

When I make steak and kidney I usually use lambs kidney. I think i've seen beef kidney for sale maybe once in my life!

[@AtomicShrimp]

I think people mentioned that on the previous video. This combo probably is quite common in any kind of commercially-produced steak and kidney pie - the steak is always expected to be beef, but the kidney might be pork, ox or sometimes lamb

[@quantumbacon]

@@AtomicShrimp Perhaps their marketing team could celebrate the fact that it's a conglomeration of different animals from different farms and different regions. "50% more livestock than 80% of people imagined, from the largest varieties of countries than ever before"

[@lizg5574]

When we can occasionally get our hands on a Fray Bentos pie, we have a very strict way of serving it. I take the crisp part of the pastry off and it goes on hubby's plate. The soggy stuff goes on mine. He gets 85% of the meat/filling, I get the rest and whatever gravy is left. Served with masses of green, leafy vegetables, it satisfies our craving for something many refuse! Stodge, but sometimes stodge is all we need!

[@ahjus7604]

What a depressing existence

[@lizg5574]

@ahjus7604 Why? We have a pie maybe every two YEARS! Not every day!

[@EmeraldHill-vo1cs]

I'm with hubby.

[@stonent]

"Now 15% of our meat is actual meat!"

[@robiow]

It's 0820 on a Sunday morning, I'm on my treadmill listening to drum and base and watch a Fray Bentos pie bake in an oven. What a time to be alive

[@kortexsirvasil]

If anything, the wittering isn't inane enough

[@michaeltb1358]

I use an OXO can opener which is also recommended. No problems with sharp edges.

[@snackbracket]

Do you figure your earlier criticism of Fray Bentos Steak & Kidney Pie in a can had anything to do with their attempt at contrite reversion? After all, they don't call you Influencer for nothing!

[@AtomicShrimp]

Gosh no. I very much doubt they've even heard of me

[@snowflakemelter1172]

More meat in a Fray Bentos pie can only mean somewhere a cat has died .

[@TimboCalrissian]

You mean you're not supposed to eat the entire pie out of the tin like an animal?

[@accountnamewithheld]

They're so small eating an entire one doesn't even seem gluttonous

[@Boogie_the_cat]

When I'm eating animal, I get to act like an animal. I have 5 forks on each hand and when a product comes in a dish, that is one less dish I have to wash and I'm saving the world's supply of water too. I'm lazy Captain Planet.

[@brianartillery]

That's how my dad used to do it - Fray Bentos pie, and mug of tea on a tray, and midweek sports special on the telly. In some places, I think to deviate from that, was illegal, possibly tantamount to treason. 😆😆😆

[@samhenwood5746]

I would love to see, if you could make you own Fray Bento’s pie 🥧🤔Great honest review & thanks Atomic shrimp 🦐😊👍

[@takubear88]

Fray Bentos is completely ruined as a brand ever since ashens did a video on inedible stuff. It's been living rent free in my head ever since, it was too funny at the time.

[@EmeraldHill-vo1cs]

What about the 'canned chicken'.

[@Bola-zu5ie]

Picked up a Cheese and onion one of these a few days ago in Morrisons. Never seen one before so don’t know if they’re new out or I’ve just missed them , haven’t tried it yet but love the minced beef ones . They also cook up brilliant in the Air fryer.

[@cherylyates9845]

Pardon me for being an American (well, technically a Californian who has never been East of the I-5) , but why do your ovens have fans in them? If this is a bit of a derail, please ignore and I shall continue to happily watch this lovely channel.

[@AtomicShrimp]

Convection(fan) ovens cook the food more effectively by ensuring an even temperature and continually bringing warmed air to the surface of the food.

[@peterlarwood8331]

Why does an air fryer have a fan in it.

[@dozzy-ze3du]

Technology Connections goes into fan ovens in detail on his recent video on air fryers.

[@MartinSteed]

@@AtomicShrimp Also, if you look at things, the temperature to cook at using a fan oven is often 20C less than for a non-fan oven, so the effectiveness also has a degree of energy saving with it too.

[@Christi-Ann.Pierantoni]

​@@peterlarwood8331because air fryers are really just mini convection ovens.

[@CandideSchmyles]

Fray Bentos pies are made by Baxters at Fochabers in the NE of Scotland.

[@Erdie5]

It's the Coca-Cola classic situation. Went to "New Coke" in the mid 80's and nobody liked it, so they went back and labeled it "classic". And I agree completely with the "safety" can openers. I had the same experience; thankfully the shard was several inches long and easily detected. But that would have been horrific if ingested. A little surprised those are still on the market.

[@gingganggoolie]

In my experience using the "safety" can openers (is there a better term? Single handle perhaps?) I can always feel when I've made a full circle. Maybe that's why I've never had any shards. Do others not feel when they've reached the end?

[@latetotheparty1662]

I've been eating these pies since the 70s and absolutely love them, one pie makes a lovely tea with some mash and veg. One thing you didn't touch on is how expensive they are now compared to years ago when they were sold cheap as a loss leader in many stores. Sadly I can only afford to buy them these days when on special offer somewhere.

[@ednammansfield8553]

Yes totally agree that they are expensive today. I also only get them when they are on offers.

[@gwenmorse8059]

I developed a sneaking fondness for these pies in 2022/2023, when I didn't have a refrigerator for around eight or nine months (long story). At that time I watched your old Weird Stuff in a Can episode and then found out they were available locally (Australia). I keep a few pies in my pantry in case of emergencies now that I replaced my old fridge.

[@EmeraldHill-vo1cs]

I've been lucky, my others never like kidneys. They love pate'.

[@notsurt]

Have you done a dedicated video about the different types of can openers and their respective advantages and disadvantages yet?

[@GeneFraxby]

I'm sure my mum used to buy them in the early 80:s as "Tyne Brand" I kind of want one now.

[@AtomicShrimp]

Ohhh, Tyne Brand! Thank you for unlocking that memory! My mum is from the North East so I remember that brand.

[@jameskolar9655]

I have to admit, I’m a Fray Bentos pie fan and the Snake n’ Pygmy, in particular. I love em’. There’s a pudding shape available now and I feel that one has an even better pastry.

[@cosmicblu4726]

8:21 I wonder if you could turn on the top element of the oven for the last few minutes to help the top brown quicker.

[@ianworley8169]

My flatmate and I pretty much lived on Frey Bentos pies as students in the 80s, especially getting back from the pub. God only knows what damage we did to our health during that time. Thankfully I met my wife at Uni, moved in with her and she's a fabulous cook. She taught me how to cook healthily and I've never eaten one since.

[@Nerm_co_uk]

I wasn’t expecting the Jazzy Drum & Bass while the pie was cooking! Salute! 🫡

[@ByHerHand]

My grandma used to have these as a staple in her kitchen in the 1970s here in Australia. I do remember eating some as a child and being vastly disappointed by the stringy meat, gloopy filling and flaccid pastry.