I haven’t had spam in a long time, but when I did I prefered it sliced thin and fried.
I had an uncle, passed on now, who’d been with the Army in North Africa. He swore there were still tons of the stuff cached here and there in the desert, abandoned when they refused to eat it any more.
This cartoon comes to mind:
George Baker was right up there with Bill Mauldin. A collection of his work can be found here:
Oh, I forgot a recent Spam recipe I tried and really love. I got it from the youtube channel Tabieats, and they called it “Okinawan Spam Musubi”. They said it’s as popular in Okinawa as the regular Spam musubi is in Hawaii.
For each musubi: fry up a slice of Spam. Make a small tamago omelette by mixing some dashi, mirin, and soy sauce with a beaten egg. Pour it into a little nonstick pan and as it cooks, contrive to shape it into a square about the same size and shape as the Spam slice.
Cut a half-sheet of nori, and spread cooked Japanese rice in a thin layer all over it. Place the Spam and tamago on one half of it, and fold the other half over. It’s more like a sandwich than a musubi, and it’s awesome for breakfast.
As you might expect, COSTCO has Spam by the pallet if you so choose. Wife makes Spam musabi for the grandchildren. Fried up in teriyaki sauce, it’s added last to the musabi mold. First is rice and furikaki, next is a layer of scrambled eggs, then Spam and the nori wrapper. I have to be fast or the kids gobble them up. There are no leftovers. Spam and eggs in the morning for me.
This…
I suspect people who have tasted and don’t like Spam had it in large (>3/4") cubes or under/overcooked. Sliced more than 1/4" thick and the non-ham like flavors becomes too apparent. If undercooked*, the oiliness is too apparent and if overcooked it becomes too salty.
*The exception is when you put in something that has enough liquid (e.g. a steaming hot bowl of ramen) to disperse some of the oil.
I haven’t had it in decades, but for a quick meal my Mom would bake a can of Spam with brown sugar and orange concentrate (anyone remember Exchange in Hawaii or California?). Baking a “real” canned ham was reserved for special occasions. 
Back in the 70’s, my uncle who lives in San Jose told a story about how he would buy an entire case of Spam when it (rarely) went on sale. I remember marveling at how he could afford to spend so much at once (Spam was maybe $0.39 a can back then?) and why it wasn’t always on sale.
I don’t remember the year, but I remember the sticker shock when Spam topped $1.00 a can. I cringe now as prices are occasionally topping $2.00!:eek:
heh in the mid 80s when I discovered top ramen it was like 20 packs for a buck …ive seen it 8-12 boxed packs for 3.00
That Siam Spam! That Siam Spam! I do not like that Siam Spam!
Do you like green eggs and ham?
I do not like green eggs and ham,
But who needs those - I brought some Spam!
Spam was a bit of a “nostalgia food” for both my parents, who were Depression-era kids. We’d have it every now-and-then growing up, more so on camping trips.
It’s okay, much prefer it fried in pan as a breakfast side, but would rather have bacon, sausage, or ham in its place.
It’s late April, and you know what that means. It’s time for the annual Waikiki Spam Jam, to be held tomorrow evening here in Waikiki. Practically in my backyard. (Not that I have a backyard.) I look forward to this eagerly each year. Partaking of the festivities and then retiring for some liquid refreshments at Honolulu Tavern and/or Lulu’s.
Sadly, the wife will not be joining me this year, as she’s back in Bangkok for a few weeks. Visiting family but for work also, as she does some freelance research for people there, and she needs to get together with them. Returning to Hawaii next month, she’ll have to go back to Bangkok for a few more weeks again around July.
Meanwhile it’s …Lovely Spam! Wonderful Spam!
Lovely Spam! Wonderful Spam
Spa-a-a-a-a-a-a-am
Spa-a-a-a-a-a-a-am
Spa-a-a-a-a-a-a-am
Spa-a-a-a-a-a-a-am
Lovely Spam!…
Money was short when I was growing up in post-rationing UK and my mum kept us going at lunchtime with spam, mashed potato and baked beans. I used to make a sandwich with the span slices and mash potato.
The Spam Jam was more crowded than ever. Each year seems to see more and more celebrants. ut it was a great night. I regret now though that I did not purchase any chocolate-covered Spam, as I did not want to carry it around with me to the later bar celebrations. Chocolate-covered Spam is surprisingly tasty, but I’ve only ever seen it at the Jam. Now I’ll have to wait a full year. I did have a Spam cheeseburger and a couple of Spam tacos for dinner.
I once had a coworker, here in Kansas, who had been raised in Hawaii. I asked if it was true that Spam was as popular as it was reported to be. She assured me it was.
I do not know anyone around me who likes it, but I confess to liking it myself. I do not have it a lot, but when I do my preferred way to eat it is thinly sliced, fried in a pan, and on white toast sandwiches. Maybe with a little Horsey Sauce from Arbys, and some slightly melted cheese.
That sounds very good.
That wasn’t just any sausage either. That was local style portuguese sausage (not quite the same as traditional linguica) made exclusively for McDonalds (note sure if it only for Hawaii). Supposedly it’s made locally by Pacific Sausage company and the closest you can get to it is when someone is selling it for a funraiser, but despite people claiming it’s the same as McDonalds, it’s really close, but not the same. Maybe it’s the grill!
Pacific Sausage also sells retail versions, but again, not the same as what you get at McDonalds.
It really does.
I’ve been low-level looking for the chorizo Spam since this thread first alerted me to its existance. If I visit a new grocery, I’ll take a quick glance in that aisle but I haven’t come across it yet. When the thread was bumped a week ago, I checked Amazon but didn’t buy. Now, daily Spam spam from Amazam nagging me to buy this precious treasure. It’s getting difficult to resist.
I just came back from the market and the woman in front of in me had 8 cans of Spam (had to buy eight to get them at $1.79 each) and a bag of poi. I joked that I’ve never had Spam with poi and she jokingly said it’s really good! I then asked her if she saw the commercial for Spam tacos and she cringed at the thought.
The commercial ends with “Sizzle pork and mmm…” No, no no, no! Spam shouldn’t be associated with pork or “spiced ham”. It’s…it’s SPAM, a “meat” unto itself! :-p
Just dawned on me. Is there anything else, real or artificial that has a flavor and texture exactly like Spam (other than supposedly “long pig”, human flesh <grin>)?
I’ve tried other canned “luncheon meats” like Treet and Tulip (which don’t taste like luncheon meat either) and it’s not the same. Not only is the flavor different, but the texture is too soft too. I’ve never had deli luncheon meat, only the stuff you get in the 5 lb can (Armor?) and again the flavor and texture are different. Even the low-sodium version of Spam which contains chicken (gasp!) isn’t the same as the original, salty, slightly mushy, delicious Spam made with umm… pork and ham?
And it’s back! After a three-year hiatus. The Waikiki Spam Jam.
This time it’s a week-long event, just over a week actually. We hit it yesterday, but it’s a pale shadow of its former self. Instead of blocking off a section of Kalakaua Avenue like before, it was relegated to the tiny Beach Walk just off Kalakaua. Before, it was many stands and three stages with performers; now it’s one stage, one stand and one shop space to hawk vastly diminished merchandise. Quite a disappointment. They have closed off Kalakaua for other festivals lately, so it’s not a hesitancy to do that. And while advertised as over one-week-plus, it’s actually just three days at three different Waikiki locations, with the rest of the days just participating restaurants offering Spam dishes.
Oh, how the mighty have fallen.