Can ANYTHING make Spam taste better?!
I’ve had a lot of Spam recently, and not just on Discord where folks have been “spamming” me ever since I mentioned it! The Jalapeno Spam was a bit bizarre, and the Spam Fiesta Peach Cups, just don’t mention those to me again!! But one key factor every time I’ve tried it is that everyone tells me that it’s supposed to be fried.
For those of you who aren’t in the PVC (that’s Patreon Vlog Club – you can join up here!), what you don’t know is that I actually did try frying Spam recently at the end of a gadget video! Did it make it any better? Maybe like 3% better, but honestly, still not a fan folks.
But today I’m putting Spam to the real test with 3 quirky recipes that I hoped would make Spam taste better. Did it work??
Spam Fries Recipe
Surely you can’t go wrong with what’s basically a crispy, fried fritter?
Start by heating up the oil in your fryer.
While that warms up, get your breading station set up. Whisk up the eggs in one bowl, then measure out the panko breadcrumbs and flour into separate bowls or plates.
Slice your Spam into chunky slices then chop each one into three to create your “fries”. Then prepare to dunk! My top tip here is to keep one hand dry and one hand wet so you don’t end up in a sticky soggy mess! Cover one Spam fry in flour first, then dip in the egg, then shaking off any egg-cess, coat it in the panko breadcrumbs. Set it aside while you do the rest, and don’t forget the system!
Fry for around 3 to 4 minutes until they’re a gorgeous crunchy golden brown. The heat and crunch disguise that odd gelatinous cat food sort of texture, and if you dip it in ketchup, it covers up the flavour too – I don’t hate it!
Spam Sushi (Spam Musubi) Recipe
First up wash your rice until the water is clear, but don’t get obsessed with it! Stick it in a covered pan with water on the hob and bring it to a simmer for about 10 minutes.
This step is optional, but while that’s cooking, mix up a little bit of sugar, salt and rice vinegar to season. If you’ve never flavoured your sushi rice before, this is game changing! Fold this through your rice when it’s cooked.
Slice your Spam into credit card sized pieces. Dissolve the sugar into the soy sauce then mix in the water.
Fry the Spam in a hot pan with oil for around 3 minutes on each side, and sprinkle each side of the Spam with a little sugar as it’s cooking to help it caramelise. Pour in the soy mixture and allow it to simmer with the Spam until it’s absorbed nearly all the liquid.
Cut your nori (sheets of seaweed) into strips so it will wrap around the Spam. Here’s another top tip! Wet your fingers then grab a clump of the rice and mould it together to match the shape of the Spam, then lay it on top. Time to wrap it! I placed the Spam and rice in the middle of the nori strip then fold it over, dampening the seal (bayaya) with wet fingers to keep it in place.
The taste of this was pretty nice with a sugary salty punch, but the texture was still a bit too wet compost for me in the Spam. Altogether though, not too bad!
Spam Hawaiian Burger Recipe
Now who knew that the Spam website has an absolute bounty of recipes?? This is one of them, so here it is if you want to try it!
Slice your Spam into thick, fat slices for this one – it’s a burger after all!
Heat up the pan and toast the bun first. While it’s toasting, roughly chop up the red onion and pineapple slices.
When the pan is free, chuck in the red onion, pineapple chunks and one of your chunky pieces of Spam. Let it caramelise then remove from the pan to build your burger.
I used burger sauce here and whacked a big dollop on, followed by the lettuce, the Spam burger “patty”, onions and pineapple chunks. This looks amazing and tastes remarkable – luckily the texture and flavour of the Spam is gone, apart from the saltiness!