Group,

Somehow, I don't feel like I'm camping out unless one meal in the wilds contains Spam. Usually, that meal is breakfast. I slice the Spam really thin, and fry up each mouth-watering slice until it's nice and crispy. Then, I remove the slices from their juices in the pan and let them drain on a paper-towled plate. While they're still sizzlin', I put thin slices of Colby cheese on 'em. Then, I take bagles (the real thing, not those crappy ones that you get at the supermarket) split in half and sort of toast them in the skillet with the Spam Au Jus. I forgot to metion that I've got scrambled eggs goin' in a seperate pan while the Spam is achieving the desired degree of crispiness. Once the bagles are toasted, the cheesed-up Spam and eggs are piled on one half. The other is slathered in some really expensive horseradishy mustard, then placed atop the heaping pile of cheesy Spam and scrambled eggs. Can you say "yummy"? I knew you could.

If I only had some Spam now.....

Now, as good as these Spamwiches are, they can't be the only means of preparing this delicacy and enjoying it's subtle yet robust flavor to the fullest.

I'm lookin' for some really posh recipies that use Spam as a main ingredient -something that'll impress my dulcet darling with my unbridled culinary skill while we snuggle around the fire on a frosty morn or eve.

-JP

_________________
"I fish, therefore I am."

JP, your Spamwiches are remarkably similar to Jim Tenuto's "Blasphemous Breakfast" that ran in the May/June '03 Foraging Angler column. The main difference is that his bagel Spamwiches include no cheese.

I'm tempted to say great minds think alike, but as we're talking Spam, I think I'll pass....

JP--

That ain't gonna happen. However, if you lower your expectations, there's always chunked Spam in Top Ramen. I wrote about it some time back in the "Foraging Angler" column. It's a favorite of Freddie, one of the Deschutes contingent of the Left Coast Trout Bums--quick, easy, and fatal. Why settle for fat all by itself when you can have fat and salt too: Guaranteed to shorten your life by days per bowl.

--Bud

_________________
Outside of a dog, a book is a man’s best friend. And inside of a dog, it’s too dark to read.
--Marx (Groucho)

Richard and Bud,

Thanks so much for your responses. I recall Tenuto's piece vividly. My wife spewed her esspresso all over the sofa when she read it. She said it reminded her of me. And I couldn't believe that Bud's piece came from the same guy who waxed so eloquently on the joys of SMS. I couldn't, that is, until I reminded myself that I also enjoy SMS and Spam, though not in equal measure, and certainly not at the same time. Some things, you know, simply aren't done....

But then again, an aftertaste of musty peat lightly tinged with a hint of vanilla might be a kind of an improvement to the flavor of the basic product -like soaking a New York strip in Jim Beam before you slap it on the grill is at times.

I liked Bud's idea, though. If you added some pineapple juice, you might have something similar to what you pay big bucks for at one of the more upscale Hawaiian-themed take-out eateries. Then you'd have some acid to go along with the fat and the salt.... Hmmm.

Still, I think Bud is giving up too quickly on the idea of Spam as a basis for haute cuisine. I mean, we are talking about the same meat-like substance that gave Britian the will to trounce the Hun, after all, so there must be other creative recipies from the past for this simple yet noble food.

Anybody got a really good and really authentic English "Bubble and Squeak" recipie from the Blitz that uses Spam? That'd be a bit of history that I could really sink my teeth into while I watch the flames dance on the logs of the campfire!

-JP

_________________
"I fish, therefore I am."

Well, JP, I looked in "Joy of Cooking" for Spam-related recipes, and in MFK Fisher's book of wartime recipes, "How to Cook a Wolf," and even in my dog-eared copy of "The Redneck Cookbook." Strike one, strike two, strike three. And hey, you'd think the latter, with its fried bologna sandwiches and 7-Up salads, would've rustled up something Spam-wise. But nooooo. Clearly, my friend, you are foraging at the very bottom of the culinary hierarchy....

Richard--

Well, cutting edges are where you find them--but the "bottom" is really only the cultural "other," as we say in the academic discourse racket. Actually Spam is a much-loved centerpiece of Hawiian and Pacific Islander cuisine--my Pak 'n' Save in South San Francisco has a wide array of different kinds of Spam. As JP suggests, that's the place to look for serious culinary thought about the uses of Spam.

--Bud

_________________
Outside of a dog, a book is a man’s best friend. And inside of a dog, it’s too dark to read.
--Marx (Groucho)

Bud, I guess you're right -- I've tried poi, and Spam is certainly a step up.

And I gotta say I'm astonished to learn from you that there's a "wide array of different kinds of Spam." Who'da thunk it. But it seems to me you're the right person to come up with an interesting, camp-friendly recipe for Spam. Care to give it a try, Bud?

Richard,

While some would say that the world is a better place because of the wide assortment of Spam varieties now available on your local supermarket's shelves (okay, perhaps not your local supermarket), I cannot be counted among that number.

The worst offender is Spam Lite, with 33% less fat than the regular stuff. It doesn't lend itself well to the Breakfast Spamwich. With the Breakfast Spamwich, the ability of the bagel halves to soak up the Spam Au Jus while they're toasting in the skillet is what sets the dish apart and makes it the rare and special treat that it is. Taste is relative, of course, but Spam Lite doesn't have any -good, bad, or indifferent. I expect this makes it eatable by those who don't really care for the taste of Spam, but need to eat it, for whatever reason -like being stranded on a South Pacific Island with no other food and no prospects of any. If you like avacadoes, you'll love this Spam Lite product, particularly if you consume it just as it comes out of the can.

Yeah, there are other varieties of Spam, and of course there are "off brands" that tout themselves as being just as good as Spam. For me, however, nothing beats the real thing.

-JP

_________________
"I fish, therefore I am."

The classic British recipe would be Spam Fritters which is basically battered Spam shallow fried, that along with an onion mashed potatoes goes down a treat.
As for the bubble and squeak, I always find that day old brussels sprouts are particularly good as thay have that almost nutty flavour that you want. Spam would be good in there with lots of pepper and some good lumpy mashed potato, fry it until its pretty dark brown underneath almost burnt and with some piccallili and tomato sauce you've got yourself a feast

David

Ye Gods, David, that sounds like something out of a Monty Pyton sketch!

BTW, years ago, in Haiwaii, I had "Haiwaiin Soul Food," which consisted of Spam, rice, and seaweed. Sort of like sushi.

David,

Thank you for the input. I've got a couple of questions though, so I hope you stick with this thread long enough to answer them...

What do you do for the batter on the Spam fritters? Is it like the batter used on the fish when you order cod and chips? I can do the onion mash, as that's what I do with bangers, which rate top honors on the list of greatest sausages.

Thanks also for your tips on "Bubble and Squeak"... I might not be able to wait for the next camp-out to try that one! In fact, I'll probably cook it for dinner sometime within the week. Hopefully, the British food market here in San Juan will have a jar of piccallili when I go there later this morning to stock up on bangers....

-JP

_________________
"I fish, therefore I am."

Dear Jerrold
Yes the batter is the same as on the fish, if you do a search for Margarite Patten and spam fritters you should come up with a good recipe. I believe she also published a book on Spam recently. I believe she was a nutrition expert with the government during the war charged with coming up with new recipes for spam and the like. Believe it or not i heard that the Brits were never healthier (lower heart disease) than during the war as food was fairly limited and certainly meat and butter and everyone got the same rations so some poor families actually ate better during the war.
For the bubble and squeak it really is a fabulous dish. One of the best recipes is by the Two fat ladies so do a search for bubble and squeak and them and you should come up with something. If you haven't seen there show do try and get it as it was on the food channel a couple of years ago and included all the great UK dishes in a very authentic way. I believe a greatly underrated cuisine. Picallili is actually fairly common i see it in most Ralphs but hideously expensive, its basically mustard pickle with cauliflower made by Crosse and Blackwell.
As to camping the Fat ladies did a great show of camp food whilst out on manoevres with the Gurkhas in one episode well worth seeing. Unfortunately they are no longer as Jennifer Patterson died about 2 years ago and I believe Clarissa recently declared bankruptcy in the UK so unlikely to see them again.

Anyway hope you enjoy those tidbits, next time i go to a show I'll introduce myself, I have very briefly talked to you before. I really enjoy your articles by the way.

David

David,

Thanks for your response to my queries. I must not look too closely at what's on the shelves when I shop at Ralph's, because I haven't seen piccallili at any that I trade at -including the "Ralph's Fresh Fare" up in Mission Viejo, which is kind of an upscale market that carries more interseting foodstuffs compared to the regular Ralph's markets that I traded at prior to the labor dispute. The Crosse and Blackwell stuff is sold at the little shop here in San Juan Capistrano that I procure my bangers from. I'm pretty familiar with piccallili, as my grandma Katie makes her own version. But since she is in Siskiyou County, and I am not, I don't get to enjoy hers too often, so I'm stuck with the store-bought stuff.

Thank you, too, for the kind words re: the articles that I've done for CFF. It's nice to know that people actually read 'em, and in some cases enjoy 'em enough to say so. And if you're planning on attending The Fly Fishing Show in Ontario, please stop by the CFF booth and introduce yourself.

Blessings and TL's
-JP

_________________
"I fish, therefore I am."