Spam has been talked about here before, served as posh fritters. Yet, taken on its own, seared & crispy, it’s also remarkably close in taste and enjoyment, to its ‘brother from a different mother’, smoked belly bacon. And to give it even more of a boost, heat a small amount of oil in a hot pan and using the Maillard reaction to do all the hard work, quickly brown it on both sides, until crisped up, drain in some paper towel and serve hot, straight away.
Or, how about Spam chips (“fries” for our US readers)?
No sooner said than done. Put at least 5cm of a suitably robust oil into a fryer or a deep, heavy pan and bring it up to 190°C. Next, slice the entire can contents into 1cm strips lengthwise, in as close an approximation to a real French fry as you can contrive. Drop into the pan or fryer until suitably crispy, drain and serve straight away. Spam’s already quite salty, so all you need to add is maybe some freshly ground black pepper and (personally favoured here) a dollop or two of Kewpie mayonnaise for dipping. Accompany it with a cold beer and you’ll be in Spam heaven.
Courtesy Mathew Ramsey. And look out for his “Pornburger” book is a great set of ideas, recipes and terrible, terrible puns.