Homemade Spam Recipe - What, Why, and How (2024)

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Spam. Mystery meat. No thanks. Nasty. Who eats that stuff? I wanted nothing to do with Spam. I didn’t even know what Spam was – only that it was something to be avoided at all costs. I heard that it was popular in Hawaii and that there, people eat it on rice as Spam musubi. Really?? Then, Heidi Berger posted several times on my Facebook page about Spam cupcakes. “Trust me when I say Spam cupcakes are NOT gross ;-),” she insisted.

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I didn’t trust Heidi. I knew that Spam cupcakes would be gross because Spam is disgusting – meat in a can just isn’t right (I blindly thought, having never ingested it). Would homemade Spam be better? What gives Spam its flavor, and could I make a version myself that I would feel comfortable eating? Would my homemade version of Spam then make for a tasty cupcake flavor? I had to find out.

Table of Contentsshow

What Is Spam?

As many of you know, Spam stands for spiced ham. It’s made with pork shoulder and ham. The ingredient list is actually quite small and contains nothing too scary: Pork with Ham, Salt, Water, Modified Potato Starch, Sugar, Sodium Nitrite. Before I made my homemade Spam, I had to buy a can to see what it tasted like.

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I found that Spam tastes like salty ham – very, very salty ham. It wasn’t nearly as bad as legend had it. If I ever bought Spam again, I would definitely buy the low-sodium version [paid link].

Why Bother Making Homemade Spam?

The best reason for making homemade Spam or homemade anything is that when you make it yourself, you know exactly what is going into it. Homemade Spam is decidedly not mystery meat. It’s just plain old pork and ham.

How Does the Homemade Version Compare to the Canned Spam?

The end result tasted pretty close to Spam. It was just about the right color, the texture was similar (not quite as slimy as the original), and the taste was the same, although significantly less salty.

Ingredients

I made homemade Spam using pork shoulder,

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ham,

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two cloves of garlic, and Morton Tender Quick [paid link] (salt used for curing meat that also gives the homemade Spam its pink color).

How It’s Made

It was really hard to find a recipe for homemade Spam. The closest thing that I could find was a post on Morgans Menu which describes the general idea of how to make Spam, but it’s short on specifics. I used that post as a guideline, however I strayed from her suggestion of using duck and chicken in addition to the pork and ham; I wanted to stick with the classic mixture. I also got some assistance from local chef Chuck Friedhoff who pointed out that Spam is really just a pâté and encouraged me to look at pâté recipes. I never thought of that before, and I now wonder if a gourmet restaurant could get away with serving Spam if they just called it pork pâté.

Begin by preheating your oven to 300 F.

Grind the pork shoulder in a meat grinder (I used a tabletop meat grinder [paid link], but the KitchenAid meat grinder attachment [paid link] would probably have been easier), then set aside.

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Finely mince the ham with the garlic in a food processor (I used my mini Cuisinart [paid link]) or by hand.

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Dump the pork shoulder, ham/garlic, and Tender Quick into a large bowl and mix by hand until fully combined.

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Pack the meat mixture into a bread pan and cover with foil, then place the bread pan into a large baking dish filled 3/4 full with water.

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Place the baking dish into the oven and bake for three hours. You want the internal temperature of the Spam to reach 155 F.

Remove from the oven, uncover the bread pan and try not to be too grossed out by all of the fat that has emerged from the meat. Nonchalantly dump all of the fat into a jar or can to dispose of later.

Note: During my first attempt at making homemade Spam, I neglected to dump out the fat. When I later pulled the Spam out of the fridge, it had a layer of white creamy fat on top of it and a layer of natural Jello under that. I could barely stomach it.

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Next, cover the bread pan loosely with foil and place a heavy weight on top of the foil. I took bricks and put them in another bread pan and put that bread pan on the Spam. You may need to get creative, but I’m sure you can find something in your house that will work. The whole point of adding weight to the top is to compress the meat and help to extract melted fat and liquid.

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Once the Spam has cooled to room temperature, place it into the refrigerator and keep it there overnight.

In the morning, your Spam will be ready to use however you choose to use it.

Note: Since homemade Spam is not canned, it will not last forever. Keep it as long as you would keep ham.

Expert Tips and FAQs

Where can I find Morton Tender Quick?

You can buy it in many grocery stores in the United States or find it on Amazon [paid link]. If it’s not available near you, try an online retailer or consider using another curing mix containing salt, sugar, sodium nitrite, and sodium nitrate.

Why do you use curing salt in this recipe?

Tender Quick (which isn’t a tenderizer) gives the Spam a good mixture of salty and sweet and adds preservatives to keep it from spoiling quickly once refrigerated. The sodium nitrite in the cure also gives the finished product its proper pink color.

What can I do with homemade Spam?

Use it anywhere you’d normally use Spam. For some ideas, you could mix it with greens and black eyed peas for a rich and flavorful casserole (don’t add any extra salt to the mixture as there’s more than enough salt in the Spam), eat it on rice as Spam musubi (I’m still a little skeptical about that one, Hawaii), or save some for homemade Spam cupcakes.

How long will this last?

Homemade Spam is not canned, so it will not last forever. Store it in the refrigerator and keep it as long as you would keep ham.

  • Candied spam
  • Pork pot pie
  • Candied pineapple

Did you make this recipe? Leave a review!

Homemade Spam Recipe - What, Why, and How (11)

Print Pin

5 from 3 votes

Homemade Spam

This homemade spam tastes and looks just like the real thing!

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Prep Time 15 minutesminutes

Cook Time 3 hourshours

Cooling Time 8 hourshours

Total Time 11 hourshours15 minutesminutes

Servings 16

Calories 103kcal

Author Stefani

Equipment

  • Meat grinder

  • Meat thermometer

Ingredients

  • 2 1/2poundspork shouldercubed, refrigerated or frozen; choose a piece that's pretty fatty – fat is a good thing when making Spam
  • 3ouncesham
  • 2garlic cloveschopped
  • 3 1/2teaspoonsMorton Tender Quick [paid link]

US CustomaryMetric

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 300 F (150 C).

  • Grind the pork shoulder in a meat grinder, then set aside.

  • Finely mince the ham with the garlic in a food processor.

  • Add the pork shoulder, ham/garlic, and Tender Quick into a large bowl and mix by hand until fully combined.

  • Pack the meat mixture into a bread pan and cover with foil.

  • Place the bread pan into a large baking dish filled 3/4 full with water.

  • Place the baking dish in the oven and bake for three hours. Make sure that the internal temperature of the Spam is 155 F (69 C).

  • Remove from the oven, uncover the bread pan, and drain the fat into a jar or can to dispose of later.

  • Cover the bread pan loosely with foil and place a heavy weight on top of the foil. (I put bricks in another bread pan and put that on top of the foiled Spam. You may need to get creative, but I'm sure you can find something in your house that will work.)

  • Allow to cool, then place the weighed down Spam into the refrigerator and keep it there overnight.

  • In the morning, your Spam will be ready to use however you choose to use it.

Notes

If you can’t find Morton Tender Quick where you are, look for a fast curing salt mix that contains salt, sugar, sodium nitrite, and sodium nitrate.

Homemade Spam is not canned, so it will not last forever. Keep it as long as you would keep ham.

Nutrition

Calories: 103kcal | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 17g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 46mg | Sodium: 610mg | Potassium: 285mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 1IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 6mg | Iron: 1mg

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Homemade Spam Recipe - What, Why, and How (2024)

FAQs

How do they make Spam? ›

SPAM is made of a pork and ham mixture, salt, sugar, potato starch, water, and sodium nitrite. The meat is ground and the other ingredients added to it before the mixture is transferred to cans, vacuum-sealed, and cooked inside the cans. After cooling, the cans are ready for sale.

What are the spices in Spam? ›

Ingredients: Pork with Ham, Mechanically Separated Chicken, Water, Salt, Modified Potato Starch, Sugar, Sodium Phosphates, Potassium Chloride, Seasoning (Red Pepper, Distilled Vinegar, Salt), Oleoresin of Paprika, Sodium Nitrite.

How do you preserve homemade spam? ›

Let cool at room temperature for 30 minutes to 1 hour, then refrigerate for 8 to 12 hours before taking them out of the loaf pans. Tightly wrapped, homemade Spam will keep in the fridge for about 1 week or in the freezer for about 2 months.

Is Spam good or bad for you? ›

Though Spam is convenient, easy to use and has a long shelf-life, it's also very high in fat, calories and sodium and low in important nutrients, such as protein, vitamins and minerals. Additionally, it's highly processed and contains preservatives like sodium nitrite that may cause several adverse health effects.

What is SPAM and why is it bad? ›

Spam is any unsolicited communication sent in bulk. Usually sent via email, spam is also distributed through text messages (SMS), social media, or phone calls. Spam messages often come in the form of harmless (though annoying) promotional emails. But sometimes spam is a fraudulent or malicious scam.

What makes SPAM taste better? ›

Boil Spam to make it less salty

If Spam is too salty according to your tastes, there is a convenient way to reduce the sodium so you can still partake in the canned meat. First, boil the Spam before you use it in your recipe to reduce the sodium content.

Why does SPAM have a bad reputation? ›

Concerns about Spam's nutritional attributes have been raised due to the fact that it contains twice as much of the daily dietary recommendation of fat as it does of protein, and about the health effects of salt and preservatives.

What is the jelly in Spam? ›

Natural gelatins cause the jelly-like substance that surrounds spam in the meat that solidifies when cooled (like an aspic). Depending on the variety of Spam, other ingredients, including chicken or turkey, may be added.

Can Spam go bad in the fridge? ›

Should spam be refrigerated? Unopened, you can safely store Spam in your cupboard for up to three years. Once it is opened, treat it like any other cooked meat. Five to seven days in the fridge tops, then toss it.

Should you refrigerate Spam after opening? ›

Yes once opened like any other meat products and keep in a covered container eat within a few days of opening. Even though the meat is fully cooked in the can, and can be eaten right out of the can immediately it needs to be stored cold after opening.

When should you not eat Spam? ›

Avoid damaged cans and funky smelling Spam

This is why FoodSafety.Gov recommends consuming shelf-stable canned meats within five years if left in the pantry. However, once opened and kept in the fridge, this figure shrinks to about only four days. How you store your Spam can also affect the shelf life.

Which state eats the most Spam? ›

The average Hawaii resident consumes more than five cans of Spam each year – which may not seem like a ton, but that's more than any other American state.

Can you eat Spam raw? ›

You can eat Spam raw since all canned foods are pasteurized during the process. Also, you can eat raw spam straight from the can, but the smell can be quite unpleasant. Spam is a canned meat that is made of minced pork as well as processed in ham.

What kind of meat is in Spam? ›

What sets Spam apart from other products that are made from chopped meats that are cooked and pressed together (we're thinking about scrapple): Spam is made from pork shoulder and pork ham, with no other scraps from the hog. Pork shoulder is considered a high-quality cut of pork today, although in 1937, it was not.

Why does Spam have a bad reputation? ›

Concerns about Spam's nutritional attributes have been raised due to the fact that it contains twice as much of the daily dietary recommendation of fat as it does of protein, and about the health effects of salt and preservatives.

What do the letters Spam stand for? ›

Some say SPAM stands for Specially Processed American Meat, others believe it is a portmanteau for spiced ham, while others say it stands for Shoulder of Pork and Ham. As it relates to email, spam is not an acronym. What does the term spam refer to? Spam refers to unwanted, unsolicited junk emails.

Why is Spam so popular in Hawaii? ›

The true root of the island's love for SPAM® products goes back to World War II, when the luncheon meat was served to GIs. By the end of the war, SPAM® products were adopted into local culture, with Fried SPAM® Classic and rice becoming a popular meal.

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