Does anyone out there know of any recipes for making your own Spam? We really do like the taste of the canned meat and would like to make our own. We just butchered our pigs and have some sausage that we are planning to use. We just need a recipe. Thanks for your help. Larry (PA)

-- Larry Lohr (lohrfam@lhtc.net), February 06, 2002

Answers

I looked around for a recipe, but couldn't find one-hope somebody does. In the meantime, I had invited friends for 'Superbowl Monday' breakfast and ended up with a few extra than planned-how do you stretch sausage? With spam! Cut into steak frie size strips and fry crispy. Honey had a fit when he found out what those 'great square sausages' were, after the Army he swore he'd never eat Spam again!

-- Kathy (catfish201@hotmail.com), February 06, 2002.

No offense, but I thought spam was something a person ate when it was down to that or starvetion? Even worse than hot dogs....eeeesshhh!

-- Novina in ND (homespun@stellarnet.com), February 07, 2002.

I just watched a special about spam, it's made from pork shoulder, cooked til tender and chopped. Good luck!

-- cowgirlone in OK (cowgirlone47@hotmail.com), February 07, 2002.

If there's actually any spicing in Spam beyond the curing agents (salt and nitrites) then I've never been able to detect it. We eat Spam at the house as it's one of our basic storage foods.

If I were to make my own I'd use fairly lean pork, cure it, chop it fairly fine and the mix in a small amount of gelatin and press in a mold under heat to the desired shape. The canning process that the meat packers use to put up Spam isn't feasible in the home setting so actually preserving the meat would probably call for freezing it.

On the home scale if I were butchering pigs I'd just dry cure the hams, shoulders, and bacon. That's perfectly feasible in the home and they can be stored for a long time without the use of refrigeration.

.......Alan.

-- Alan (athagan@atlantic.net), February 07, 2002.

Have any of you tried the new turkey spam? It is made with roast turkey and is very good. I am not a fan of regular spam, but the turkey makes great sandwiches!

-- ellie (elnorams@aol.com), February 08, 2002.