Spam?

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brothers
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Spam?

Post by brothers »

Recently on a lark - an impulse purchase - I picked up a small can of Spam at the grocery store. Then one day when I wanted an egg for breakfast I cut off a third of it and cut it into chunks, then I fried it with the egg. Added a bit of salt and pepper and two or three dashes of Tabasco. I was quite pleasantly surprised at how good it tastes with an egg. A great many folks my age were raised up in times when Spam was frequently something our parents bought to stretch the food budget from one paycheck to the next, or beyond. All of us here who remember those days aren't walking around remembering how much Spam we ate, and wishing for more. Contrary, some folks would rather starve because of the old memories. My wife came from a family of 5 kids, and she vehemently hates even the thought of eating it. Fortunately, she could not care less whether or not I wish to indulge, just so I never expect her to join me. :D (Yes, I'm buying the large can next time, which will be soon.)
Last edited by brothers on Mon Mar 26, 2018 12:53 pm, edited 3 times in total.
Gary

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Gene
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Re: Spam?

Post by Gene »

I like Spam, but I am the only one in the house that would eat it - so not likely to make an appearance at my place.

Cue the Monte Python Spam skit in ......
Gene

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CMur12
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Re: Spam?

Post by CMur12 »

Gary, I haven't eaten SPAM in a long time, but I remember liking it. (I wasn't forced to eat it as a child.)

Even sliced and fried, as a side to the eggs, it is pretty good.

- Murray
EL Alamein
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Re: Spam?

Post by EL Alamein »

Same here, haven't had it in decades. I liked it though.

We didn't eat it growing up but I bought it as a bachelor.

I'll have to give it a whirl soon again, thanks to this post. I'l try it on the children just to see their reaction.

Stay tuned.

Chris
ShadowsDad
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Re: Spam?

Post by ShadowsDad »

I wouldn't eat it for decades, then I learned that it was just what I was cooking anyway in a low and slow cook in the BBQ, just in a different form. That gave me an idea... smoke it L&S. The result was very close to my L&S BBQ Boston butt. Then the light bulb went off.

When I smoke Spam today I let the neighbors know and I always have far more cans of Spam to smoke than I have room in the smoker. I have had to institute rationing of the space in the smoker.
Brian

Maker of Kramperts Finest Bay Rum and Frostbite
Or find it here: Italian Barber, West Coast Shaving, Barclay Crocker, The Old Town Shaving Company at Stats, Maggard Razors; Leavitt & Peirce, Harvard Square
Bill_K
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Re: Spam?

Post by Bill_K »

A couple of years ago Mrs. K and I were heading home from a vacation in Hawaii; as is my usual habit I insisted that we arrive at the airport plenty early.

We had lots of time to spare so we hit the food court and one of the vendors was offering up Spam & eggs with fries for breakfast. I thought, "Okay, what the Hell" so I bought some.

The eggs and fries weren't bad. The Spam was every bit as revolting as I remembered, mostly because of the copious amounts of fat.

I'll try smoking it low and slow in my BBQ, but if it turns out as badly as I anticipate I'm going to swear off the stuff for the rest of my life.
Bill
ShadowsDad
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Re: Spam?

Post by ShadowsDad »

After the L&S, which is really just for flavor, slice it thin and slow fry it to render out the fat. It actually contains less fat than you think it does. It helps to refrigerate it to slice it thin.
Brian

Maker of Kramperts Finest Bay Rum and Frostbite
Or find it here: Italian Barber, West Coast Shaving, Barclay Crocker, The Old Town Shaving Company at Stats, Maggard Razors; Leavitt & Peirce, Harvard Square
EL Alamein
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Re: Spam?

Post by EL Alamein »

Brian, I remember when I bought it as a bachelor that I would fry it. It shrank, if I remember correctly.

Many good memories of those days being brought back with this thread.

I also remember that it was a good cheap meat substitute for a guy on a limited budget. The guy I split the apartment with at the time introduced me to it. He was a good guy who was a bit older than I and had been on his own for a while so he had some good advice for starting out. More money for parties and the like.

Canned ham was a step up in those days. Good times, though.

Chris
ShadowsDad
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Re: Spam?

Post by ShadowsDad »

Yes, it definitely shrinks as it's fried slowly. But not all of the shrinkage is from fat. It's also from water. Bacon has far more fat.

Fry it fast and it'll suffer. Yes, most cooktops that I've seen actually have settings between off and full blast. Lot's of folks cook as if they don't know that.
Brian

Maker of Kramperts Finest Bay Rum and Frostbite
Or find it here: Italian Barber, West Coast Shaving, Barclay Crocker, The Old Town Shaving Company at Stats, Maggard Razors; Leavitt & Peirce, Harvard Square
Rufus
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Re: Spam?

Post by Rufus »

Yes, it shrinks when it’s heated whereas other things shrink when they’re chilled. 8) I like Spam, but couldn’t eat it often. I have close friends who grew up in the outports of Newfoundland; they tell me that as kids the ‘poor’ kids brought lobster sandwiches to school for lunch whilst the ‘rich’ kids brought Spam sandwiches. :-?
Bryan
brothers
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Re: Spam?

Post by brothers »

Yesterday at the grocery store I picked up a full size can of Spam. It's apparently offered in a small variety of types such as original, low sodium, jalapeno, etc.The one that caught my eye was the Spam with bacon! Of course!
Gary

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ShadowsDad
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Re: Spam?

Post by ShadowsDad »

I find the bacon version to be only slightly bacon like, but better than the original. But if I smoke Spam it's much better. Supposedly there was or is a smoked version right out of the can, but I've only seen it on the Spam website and that was some time ago. That's why I decided to smoke my own. Rendered out, the original can be salty, so the low sodium version shines there.

All I find locally is the original, low sodium, and the bacon. Jalapena, that sounds interesting but I bet they neuter it. I'd like to see an unneutered habanero or Carolina Reaper version. That'll never happen, but that's what hot sauce is all about. :)
Brian

Maker of Kramperts Finest Bay Rum and Frostbite
Or find it here: Italian Barber, West Coast Shaving, Barclay Crocker, The Old Town Shaving Company at Stats, Maggard Razors; Leavitt & Peirce, Harvard Square
brothers
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Re: Spam?

Post by brothers »

Today for lunch I sliced up the can of Spam and fried one slice with an egg. It was good. I've frozen the remaining 9 slices and my plan is to smoke them in the near future.(I know I can't re-freeze them after they're thawed, so my best alternative is to buy another can and smoke it all before I freeze it so I can eat it one piece at a time and leave the rest frozen until needed.)
Gary

SOTD 99%: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, soaps & creams, synthetic / badger brushes, Colonial General razor, Kai & Schick blades, straight razors any time, Superior 70 aftershave splash + menthol + 444
ShadowsDad
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Re: Spam?

Post by ShadowsDad »

That rule about refreezing thawed meats only pertains to "whole" meats and not processed meats. The reason isn't due to spoilage, but due to the cell structure losing so much water from repeated freezing that the meat, after thawing, is dry and unpalatable. Also, after cooking, the meat can be refrozen.

I regularly put 30 or so frozen steaks in the sous vide bath, cook them, and then refreeze them. As we want a steak we rewarm the frozen steak and you wouldn't know it from a once frozen and freshly cooked steak.
Brian

Maker of Kramperts Finest Bay Rum and Frostbite
Or find it here: Italian Barber, West Coast Shaving, Barclay Crocker, The Old Town Shaving Company at Stats, Maggard Razors; Leavitt & Peirce, Harvard Square
brothers
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Re: Spam?

Post by brothers »

Brian, thanks for this good information. That simplifies things.
Gary

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Rufus
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Re: Spam?

Post by Rufus »

I bought a tin of Spam this morning. I can hardly wait to tuck into it, but I have to do it on the sly as SWMBO detests the stuff. I’ve secreted it away, but if she found it she’d have my guts for garters (to put it politely).
Bryan
ShadowsDad
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Re: Spam?

Post by ShadowsDad »

Rufus, because she doesn't like it that bears on you?

My wife doesn't like many of the things I eat, and she knows to just either not consume it (she's welcome to though and I make the offer) or just keep quiet and eat the "baby food" for her immature palate. We have been known to have folks over for dinner and I cook her hotdogs and the adults eat the good stuff. Seriously. Shes weird but that doesn't bear on more normal folks and her weirdness doesn't control others. But that's my wife and not yours (obviously).

Generally grilling is for the gent to do. I think Spam would grill fine. Could you get away with doing that when she's out? Too, if you slice it in wide slabs that might change the shape enough to throw her off the scent (TIP: slice it out of the can and then chilled). If she sees it just comment that it's a new cold cut that you wanted to try. That wouldn't be a lie either, deceptive maybe, but not a lie. Just keep her away if she would recognize the flavor, but as mentioned it comes in many flavors; just check the Spam website. I have had the bacon (easy to find locally), the garlic, and at least one other that I can't remember because it was unmemorable. To further mask it, cut in slabs then slap some paprika or annotto (aka achiote) on it to make it red. It will need some time in the refrigerator for the effect to take hold. Or it could be put into the food processor to completely mask the shape. I don't know why it wouldn't make a decent pork hash and it could be spiced up to your taste. Think sausage spices. But you might want to experiment on yourself first. "What is this?" she might ask. Just make up a non-lie as a cover story. I used up 1/2 a goat in various things many years ago. My wife told me that she didn't like goat. I just did the cooking and kept quiet. She loved every dish made of goat that she just knew she hated. She noticed that goat was out of the freezer and asked where it went to. I told her the truth, but she wouldn't believe me. Goat is delicious, and she agreed at the time of the consuming. :) Ignorance is bliss.

Just a question... does she eat bologna? Now that IS made from the parts of the animal that no one would ever eat if they saw the parts before they were ground up (Fear Factor not being a factor). It includes anus and all sorts of other parts, to include ground up bone (deliberately added), veins and such, and anything that looks like it could be ground up after being picked out of the gut pile. It can also include a huge amount of fat. I kid you not. It's far worse than sausage because it gets ground up into a paste so fine that nothing that was thrown into the "blender" is recognizable anymore*. Spam is made from pork shoulder. Basically think "ham", though it's definitely not ham; ham being a specific part of the pig (but quite similar).

*That's why I won't touch hot dogs that aren't 100% beef, and even beef hotdogs are bad enough. I prefer kosher hotdogs for that reason. Or hotdogs made from 100% brisket when I can find them.
Brian

Maker of Kramperts Finest Bay Rum and Frostbite
Or find it here: Italian Barber, West Coast Shaving, Barclay Crocker, The Old Town Shaving Company at Stats, Maggard Razors; Leavitt & Peirce, Harvard Square
brothers
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Re: Spam?

Post by brothers »

Bryan, I know exactly what you're talking about. It's a game we learn to play with our beloved spouse. Some of us (me for example) are very slow learners. :shock: We (both of us) secretly enjoy playing the game, but she'll never admit it. Sometimes I ignore the game and just do something I already knew would get me in trouble. I think we all do, subconsciously as a test of our limits. If she doesn't react, then the rules just got changed. 8) Anybody remember the comic strip characters Maggie and Jiggs and the image of poor old Jiggs running out the front door with rolling pins and other household objects flying through the air?

Brian, I suspect there are a lot of people who eagerly eat bologna who would be much more likely to describe Spam as having all of those mysterious ingredients.
Gary

SOTD 99%: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, soaps & creams, synthetic / badger brushes, Colonial General razor, Kai & Schick blades, straight razors any time, Superior 70 aftershave splash + menthol + 444
EL Alamein
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Re: Spam?

Post by EL Alamein »

Oh this thread is giving me ideas! Keep'em coming!

Chris
ShadowsDad
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Re: Spam?

Post by ShadowsDad »

What sort of ideas?
Brian

Maker of Kramperts Finest Bay Rum and Frostbite
Or find it here: Italian Barber, West Coast Shaving, Barclay Crocker, The Old Town Shaving Company at Stats, Maggard Razors; Leavitt & Peirce, Harvard Square
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