At The Beginning Of The Pandemic When Food Stores Were Being Emptied - I Bought Some Spam.....

[global1]

Instead of continuing to take up space in my pantry - I decided to cook it up and use it. Now I haven't had span since my Boy Scout days back in the 60's when we went camping.

Here's what I made:

1. I cooked up 1 lb of angel hair pasta in salted water.
2. I diced the whole piece/can of Spam and put it in a pan with 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter and 1 teaspoonful of minced garlic.
3. I fried it up until it started to brown turning it with a wooden spoon to make sure diced meat was browned on both sides.
4. I added two 14.5oz cans of Margaret Holmes - Tomatoes, Okra & Corn to the pan with the Spam and heated til a mild boiling.
5. I added about 1/3 cup of reserved pasta water and turned the heat down to a simmer.
6. Simmered it for about 10 minutes.
7. Added the angel hair to the pan and tossed it till covered.
8. Plated and served it up.

I was floored. It turned out to be a very enjoyable and tasty dish. As I didn't know what to expect - I was pleasantly surprised and satisfied with my concoction.

I will make this again and I actually will look forward to eating and enjoying it.

[magicarpet]

1. Spam,... spam,... spam,... spam.....

Having stuff like that in the pantry is good in case you don't want to travel,... feeling ill,... or the weather keeps you in.

[Guilded Lilly]

3. That is exactly what was going through my head while reading the op! Ha!! N/t

[rsdsharp]

2. The only way I can eat Spam is to slice it thin and fry it crisp.

Last edited Mon Apr 12, 2021, 03:11 PM - Edit history (1)

Then eat the slices as a sandwich (1-2 slices per sandwich) with ketchup and mustard.

Growing up my mother would occasionally, score it, put cloves where the marks met, and bake it like a ham. Never, ever, do this.

[MuseRider]

12. Never, ever do this...

I agree. We did not have a lot growing up and my mother was not a terrific or brave cook but boy could she spam.


My big never, ever do this was she would take some nasty white bread top it with a thick slice of Spam with a thick piece of Velveeta and a thick slice of onion on top and broil it until the Velveeta starts to melt. I would almost choose liver and onions over this. Ungodly stuff.

[forgotmylogin]

4. Spam is actually great as a stir-fry protein ingredient also.

I've also added diced cubes of it to dirty rice or red beans and rice box mixes.

[TlalocW]

5. I just had Spam for the first time in my 49 years of life

Got take out from a Hawaiian place that included a thin slice of Spam on a rectangle of rice wrapped in a ribbon of seaweed.

It was okay.

TlalocW

[zeusdogmom]

6. Spam is good food

Maybe not the healthiest choice but it sure adds flavor to otherwise bland items. One little container can flavor a huge pan of scalloped potatoes or fried cabbage to feed a table full of hungry people. I know people knock it all the time but not a bad item to have stashed in the pantry. Sliced thin and fried not too bad either with eggs and toast

[2naSalit]

7. I dunno...

I had to eat it as a kid and I swore to never touch it when I decided what I would eat. I have been successful in my on my own life to rarely encounter it let alone find myself in a place where it would enter my mouth.

Glad you found an acceptable use for it.

[Permanut]

8. I was a cook in the Navy..

Spam was one of the favorite foods of the 400 guys I fed on the destroyer. Thing is, we didn't get those little wimpy cans like at the grocery store, we got 5 pound cans.

[Midnight Writer]

9. I have a brother who buys it by the case. He loves it.

We grew up on it, along with mac and cheese, because we were a low income family.

I still enjoy mac and cheese on occasion, but I have not had Spam in 50 years.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

10. I am not sure I have ever had Spam.

I know my mother never bought it when we were growing up. And I certainly haven't.

[CentralMass]

11. I don't eat it that often but I am an unabashed Spam lover.

[Dave in VA]

14. Me too

Eat it right out of the can. Slice it about quarter inch. Yummy!

[Mr.Bill]

13. I like it diced and browned in an omelet. Good on Pizza, too.

With every can of Spam they should give you a coupon you can trade in someday for bypass surgery.

[CentralMass]

15. Spam Musubi recipe

https://www.favfamilyrecipes.com/musubi/

[The Polack MSgt]

16. Soft salty ham. It was a frequent ingredient in my family of bad cooks

So, I'm neutral on it.

But I know Korea and Hawaii have embraced Spam and use it in many dishes

[Warpy]

18. My mother hated cooking and it showed

so I was mostly a Spam hater growing up. I say "mstly" because it was pretty good sliced thin and fried crisp and put into sandwiches as a spam, lettuce and tomato sandwicyh, same condiments as BLT. I ate that with some enthusiasm.

I buy a can of the stuff every 10 years or so. I'm about due. I've been craving it in clean out the fridge fried rice.

[trof]

17. I LOVE SPAM!

We get it at Sam's in a 5-pak.
Keeps forever in the pantry.
Fried SPAM and egg sandwich.
Yum.

[RicROC]

19. 25% less Salt Spam

is now a favorite of mine. Costco had a deal so I bought it to keep in the pantry for emergencies, but I eat it more often

[irisblue]

20. Spam Fried Rice

https://www.bunsinmyoven.com/spam-fried-rice/

[japple]

21. Another Spam lover here, though I haven't eaten it in years. Army brats like me ate their share of

it when growing up. My mother was an excellent, creative cook, but would often make fried spam slices with cheese melted on top and that is still my favorite way to eat it. I was on a trip to Hawaii a few years ago and was surprised to see it on the menu in many restaurants and diners. Even the lunch counter at Macy's in Honolulu had it on their menu, in addition to the ubiquitous 2 scoops of white rice.

[Grumpy Old Guy]

25. Hawaiians love Spam.

Their grocery store shelves always carry all the different variations that are available. Spam sushi is also a thing.

[Hotler]

22. Slow-smoked spam... yum.... I always throw on 2-3 cans when..

have the BBQ going. A little rub, a couple of hours max. yum..

[intrepidity]

23. I had a similar experience, after avoiding Spam my whole adult life

Circumstances brought together a baked potato, canned chili, spam, onions, cheddar cheese, and sour cream; the spam was diced small and dissolved into the chili sauce, but the FLAVOR it imparted really blew me away. I mean, those other ingredients were fine without the Spam, so it was serendipitous that the Spam got included in the first place.

That was a couple years ago, and I now keep Spam on hand for when I might need to add an umami bomb to a recipe.

As a side note, I also discovered a way to easily get my "Thanksgiving Day" fix anytime--which for me, centers on the cranberry sauce: Spam plus canned jellied cranberry sauce! At first I bothered to slice and crisp fry the Spam, but soon found that even cold from the can works in this application. Sweet and salty. If you love cranberry sauce but don't have enough opportunities to eat it, try this.

[Luciferous]

24. Never had it, don't plan on trying it, but glad your dish turned out well

[Grumpy Old Guy]

26. I keep some in my RV and my survival kit.

We live in earthquake country, and we also visit the mountains and deserts a lot. I like to keep a case of spam in the back of my truck in case we ever get stuck someplace for a few days. It has plenty of protein and will last until the next ice age. 😂 I also keep some in my RV for a quick meal after a long day of driving. A few slices of spam, some ninety second rice and a little hot sauce in a skillet can hit the spot.