What is your favorite way to prepare SPAM?

My father came home from WWII saying that SPAM was the only food they got that could be trusted to be good. We ate it often at home.

I'm 72 now. I spent almost 15 years in Hawai'i. Ate a lot of SPAM cause it was cheap, I was broke and it tastes good. I've lived in Florida for the last 30 years and my pantry is full of every type of SPAM that is made as a great Hurricane back up protien for me and my dogs. The Puppies love it and I do too. When the power is out for 9-10 days, I can open a can and grill it on the BBQ, put it on the exhaust system of my truck, or just eat it cold. It's cheap here, at about $3.29 a can and has a long shelf life. It's a Hell of a lot better then an MRE and you can even slice it and eat it cold if you have too. When I go shopping every 10 days, I always toss a few cans of SPAM in my cart. I gave a few different cans to my Daughter and her husband, but they were not fans. Just wait until they have no gas, power or heat for 10 days and then come on ever and raid my pantry.

My dad refused ro eat Spam for decades after he left Vietnam. My entire childhood I had Spam once or twice at most. In recent years since I've been helping care for him, he's redeveloped a taste for it (typically with eggs and toast for breakfast) and it's become a common grab for myself when grocery shopping. So many ways to make it, and cheap as hell.

The thing about SPAM is that it goes SOOOO well with rice because of its saltiness. In Korea, a full set of SPAM is given as a holiday gift because of it. It also goes so well with Korean stew varieties since it also is consumed with rice.

You have to be in the mood for it. It's good on a sandwich or rice. Or left in your pantry for years.

Spam has left its mark in Asian American History, cuz of its prescence in Hawaii and other Asian areas. Its very good in fried rice or noodles

My grandma had the best SPAM recipe. They lived on a farm that was not too far from the state capitol. Grandpa worked as an assistant to the governor. They were campaigning in the next county and Grandpa showed up, unannounced, with the governor for supper-on wash day. Grandma had not planned on company, so she partially boiled some potatoes, then cut them into chunks. Sliced a SPAM loaf in regular slices almost all the way through. Put the SPAM in a baking dish and stuffed sliced onions and cheddar cheese between each slice. Put the potatoes around it and put it in the oven until the potatoes browned. It was absolutely delicious and the governor loved it! Although when Grandma was telling me about it 40+ years later, she was still mad at Grandpa for just showing up with the governor. We ate it at least once a month when I was a kid and it was always a treat.

I tried spam in middle school and was absolutely shocked to find out it was not as bad as I was previously led to believe. In the beginning of the Covid pandemic, just before things got bad in our state, I talked my wife into getting a few packages to fall back on as needed. Initially, she wasn't to keen on the idea, but she let me get them anyway. After frying them up in a breakfast scramble with some Pace Picante, she changed her mind completely.

When I was in the Army, I remember telling my grandfather that our MREs didn't include SPAM. His reply was, "My God! The top brass got something right!!" He hated SPAM!

Fried slices of spam, white rice, eggs (and aguacate if available) will always be one of my favorite simple go-to meals. If you grow up with Spam you tend to love it forever and if you didn’t, it’s a bit hard to understand I would imagine. Never change, Spam. Never change.

Spam is great sliced thin and fried. My mother used to bake it over mac and cheese and that was great. It was always a staple for camping trips.

i love the thought of some hard ass vet just rubbing his rifle with a brick of spam.

As someone who was born and raised here in Hawaii, I had no idea that spam was considered “poor food” until the internet was a thing. It was and is just a normal food here. Super versatile also, if you never tried making spam fried rice, do it; it’s delicious. Hell, if you gave me a choice I’d eat fried spam over bacon 9/10 times just cause I like it better lol. It’s ironic cause I can’t stomach Vienna sausage or bologna, spam is delicious tho. Make sure you fry it though, raw spam is gross. No one here eats it like that lmao 😂

Spam is made to be crispy. People who don't like it are probably eating it cold and soggy, and while that's fine and safe to do because it's precooked, it's leagues better hot and crisped. It isn't meant to be eaten as pate, and just like you wouldn't eat a cold hot dog or a frozen nugget without cooking it, the way to success is to heat it up. Saute it/pan fry it and experience joy ✨ Edit: And to those who complain it's too salty - you arent supposed to eat a whole can at once! Do you eat a whole pack of bacon at once? A whole pound of beef or other meat? A whole bag of chips? Lol. You combine it with other things, guys.

Many years ago, I read an article about South Pacific headhunters who only recently stopped eating their enemies (cannibalism). During WW2, US soldiers gave them SPAM and they said it had the same texture and taste (saltiness) of human flesh. They LOVED it because it reminded them of their headhunting days.

SPAM is one of the greatest canned foods ever made. It's kept me from starvation. A cheap food that is filling and goes well with lots of other foods. BBQ it, saute it, fry it, add it to beans or rice or mac n cheese. Make a grilled SPAM n cheese sammich or just eat it plain and cold out the can. I love SPAM.

I can understand not liking SPAM if you eat it raw from the can, but just a little bit of cooking makes it so much better

I grew up in Hawaii. Spam is a staple. I grew up saying " Spam... some parts are meat "

There's a story that the Japanese got hooked on SPAM during and after WWII. During the battle of Okinawa, Japanese troops were dying of starvation and soldiers would often break into American PX stations and the first thing they stole were cans of SPAM. After the war and occupation of Japan, tons of SPAM were shipped to Japan.

People underestimate just how much relief we sent through Lend-Lease. When I was in Russia I brought my host family a can of Spam as an "American" gift and they practically cried at the smell.

Austin, Minnesota (about three hours' drive south of Minneapolis) has the SPAM Museum that reveals a lot about what this video spoke about, and as of this writing, admission is still free.

I just hope they sent that 'We're up for the Spam jokes' statement to everyone by email.

Working at the VA, you could tell how close to the front vets were in World War Two simply by asking if they remembered SPAM fondly. "Sick of it" = REMF, whereas documented combat trops (especially several Guadacanal Marines) said they LOVED it if they could get it.

My friend who’s half Hawaiian one time made me pan fried pineapples and spam. It turned me into a believer.

Spam, potatoes, and onions fried up in a cast-iron skillet. One of my favorite meals that my Mom used to make.

I actually prefer spam lite. Way less salty and greasy, its far less overwhelming on the palette. If you don't like normal spam I think you'd prefer that. Word of warning, if you wanna fry it still, add a bit of oil, theres not enough in the lite version to fry well.

I was very surprised to see how few ingredients are actually in spam when I looked at the can one time.

I don't think you can ever go wrong with SPAM. It's good for a quick breakfast, lunch, or supper. Super easy to keep, and stores well. The meat that won WW2 will always have a place in my cabinet.

Fried spam on bread with mustard will always be the best

It is still (in 2023) relatively cheap, can either be eaten straight from the can or prepared 1,000's of different ways, and has a meaningless expiration date. I prefer the low sodium or lite varieties, but the original is just fine. My career Army father refused to eat SPAM, so I rarely had it growing up. Thankfully, it no longer has that risk slicing your fingers off key to open the can! Fun video! Thanks!

Yes, I grew up on SPAM and I still love it at age 64 and was very surprised when I went to Hawaii and found how popular it was, ever had a SPAM McMuffin? It's a real sandwich at McD's.

Here in the Philippines, it's considered a luxury canned goods. If you regularly buy one, you are considered financially stable enough. Though it have more affordable Chinese rival in Ma-Ling

Spam is one of those foods when you ask a person if they like it they say gross but then proceed to say they have never tried it.

My grandfather served in the Pacific theatre, he refused to eat spam after the war. He said he ate so much that he had spam “coming out of his ears“. I like to eat it from time to time fried with dippy eggs. Really love spam musubi.

I'm 49 and grew up and love SPAM! I have 4 or 5 tins of it in my pantry as we speak. Not that it does much most likely, but I buy the low sodium. I do have 2 tins of the figgy pudding limited edition from last Christmas as well.

I'm from Hawaii where SPAM is commonly used and enjoyed by nearly everyone. Here nearly every corner store and gas station sells SPAM musubi's, which is spam on a square of rice wrapped in nori seaweed. A common breakfast plate here is bacon, SPAM, and eggs. And we put SPAM in lots of different dishes like chow fun noodles and fried rice.

Spam is still a staple in a lot of rural villages in Alaska as well, just like Pilot Bread. You can find spam musubi in stores and gas stations around Anchorage, which I thought was normal until I moved to the Lower 48.

Spam is like White Castle. About once a year, I need to eat some. Then I'm good for another year. (Sliced, fried, then served with eggs, or in a sandwich.) During the pandemic, I picked up a few cans of Underwood Deviled Ham spread. Mmmmm... Hadn't had that stuff in years. There's also Corned Beef (usually from Argentina) and tuna fish, but Spam is the king of preserved meat, lol...

This guy never draws the direct line between Monty Python and how SPAM emails were named.

In my experience, most of the disgust with Spam comes from most peoples first experience being eating it uncooked, in which yeah, I agree, it ain't the best. But cooked? Fried? Spam is damn good!

Breaded and fried SPAM sticks dipped in Sweet Baby Ray's honey barbecue sauce is one of my favorite comfort foods.

I've only had Spam one day in my life. It was roughly 20 years ago, I was at the Warped Tour, a punk rock music festival. There was a Spam truck there giving out free samples. So that was all I ate all day. I didn't hate it.

My favorite thing about Spam is part of the original jingle stated that Spam "saves time, tastes fine." They didn't say it tasted great, they didn't say it tasted good. They said it tasted "fine." They knew from the beginning.

great story telling on this edit.

During the first days of the pandemic shortages, Spam was one of the few things remaining on shelves.

The fun memories I have of my grandma is eating spam grilled with a pineapple ring on it. Didn’t touch it again for 20 years till my bestie rekindled my love for the meat jello. Due to watching what I eat spam went back on the shelf

Amusing and informative presentation! As a baby boomer I can attest to the frequent inclusion of SPAM in our meals. Not bad with eggs and hash browns. I don't think I've eaten any for the last 40 years. LOL!

I've had spam musubi at a local ramen shop I frequent, it was surprisingly tasty the first time I had it. Also while it is edible cold, you're better off cooking it since it will taste way better as a result.

To this day, the way Graham Chapman shrieks out "BUT I DON'T LIKE SPAM!!", makes me laugh out loud every single time.

I didn’t like it as a kid. We had it a LOT. Fast forward to the new Millenium and I tried it again, and I liked it. The recipe must have changed because I called my mom and asked her to buys some and she said it tasted differently. I suspect that the ‘Reduced Sodium’ variety became the default version. It’s great prepared with some chopped onions, peppers, and garlic wrapped in a flour tortilla. Talk about a breakfast burrito! 👨‍🍳 😘🤌

It's one of those foods that I'd eat if naught else was present, but wouldn't go out of my way to have. Fried in a skillet was the most palatable to me. Something about the slight crunch helped the texture.

"But slow Cookers were still decades away" You do realize that slow cooking now was normal cooking then right?

Always good to have several cans of this stuff on hand. You never know when you might need emergency food. Great with eggs!

Spam always makes it into our "struggle" or emergency cabinet along with canned chicken and tuna, 20lbs of rice and a similar amount of beans. But it is always the first out when we have to rotate because it makes such a good breakfast side or part of a grilled cheese!

Several years ago I used to listen to rebroadcasts of late 1930's shows, and one of them, the George and Gracie Allen show, featured Spam as one of its new sponsors. To this day I keep a can of Spam on my pantry shelves.

I went to the Spam museum here in Minnesota recently. I had no idea there were so many different kinds of Spam, or that it was such a huge thing in WWII.

SPAM actually takes me back to my childhood where my grandparents who's in the states back then when they were still with us, would send large care packages filled with cans of SPAM, vienna sausages, candy bars, shampoo, soap, and other stuff not readily available in the Philippines back then.

Some days when I don't feel like making anything I'll just open up a can of spam and spend the next 3 hours slowly eating away at it.

When soviet union collapsed in 1991 I was in the school. Teacher asked our class to stay after the classes and he gave us 5 cans of SPAM for every student. I liked is actually, thanks US for that help.

It tastes better when you fry it. My mom used to serve it to us right out of the can, so I grew up hating it. Luckily, my wife was a little more creative and she would fry it with eggs and serve it over rice. It's one of my favorites things now.

I love spam for camping cause it’s quick and I don’t need to worry about ice

I love the jokes and humor in this episode, great stuff! By the way, I make spam fried rice for my family every now and then, and they actually love it and even ask for it.

That was fun! Thanks!

I was stationed in Okinawa with the Marines, apparently spam is also super popular in the rest of the pacific islands and not just Hawaii. All the convenience stores out there sold the spam musubi with scrambled egg. Apparently in ww2, marines in the South Pacific often gave their spam rations to locals and the locals still love it to this day.

I always have a can or two in my pantry. Don't have it everyday, but when I do I love it.

im partly from hawaii and grew up on spam. musubis are incredible, and i dont think that's just a bias, because everyone ive given musubis to loved them even if they didnt like spam

With our busy lives me and my family are only all home for breakfast on Sunday so we do a big breakfast feast which includes spam every Sunday, I personally eat it throughout the week as well with my lunch most of the time

my grandparents loved this stuff, even though it's easy to get good ham for a decent price around where I live.

I was born and raised in Hawaii. We're all at least 10% SPAM out there. I still eat it to this day

The best narrator I've ever heard spam is cool too

I don’t eat spam that often but when I do I slice it grill it and put in into a sandwich. Who needs toppings when you’re spam is nice and crispy

I had a fried Spam, egg and cheese sandwich for breakfast this morning. Added a dash of tabasco also.

SPAM got me through college. Cheap and you can cook it in many ways!

My mother would prepare spam (classic) with eggs, black beans, tortillas, and queso crema. It was simple to make and tasted great. I myself buy the less sodium version every once in a while (in my pantry now actually) if I'm feeling lazy to cook and have everything else in stock. I'm curious to try it alongside some of these Hawaiian dishes though!

SPAM was my childhood, omg. A lot of Hong Kong cafes serve it with eggs as a replacement for bacon.

Fried spam with Mac n cheese is such a simple, cheap and tasty dish. You won't win any competitions with it, but you'll enjoy eating it!

My English teacher in high school had us watch the entirety of Band of Brothers and we had a spam sandwich party afterwards. It was a blast and I still enjoy the stuff fried on a breakfast sandwich.

I feel like most people who "hate" spam have never actually tried it. It's surprisingly good, especially some of the whacky flavors

Tip for everyone who hates Spam: Fry it then eat

I took the boy scouts to the SPAM museum when I was a scout leader years ago. It was one of our favorite field trips. The SPAM Girls at the place treated us real nice as they served us samples of baked SPAM.

When I think of Monty Python, I think of SPAM, SPAM, SPAM, SPAM and SPAM, a dead parrot and lumberjacks.

A can of spam is mandatory on all my camping trips...lol...been a tradition for a lot of years😊

Right now I have 8 plus cases of SPAM along with canned miniature hams, canned Tuna can salmon and corned beef. I mix packaged flavored rice diced SPAM or any of the other meats and shredded cheese with a liberal amount of butter to start with.

My Korean mom made us Spam fried rice, Spam, cheese and egg sandwiches, and Spam with eggs. All fried till crispy on the outside. Still love it.

I always wonder if the people at Hormel have a hard time getting emails to go through...

I am literally frying up some for breakfast when I came across this video

Best advice I’ve ever gotten to make Spam more palatable is to slice it about 1/4“ thick, drop slices into boiling water and boil for 5 minutes. Remove from water and drain on rack or paper towel. Then prepare it in your favorite method. If you fry it, it gives it some texture and really brings out the pork flavor instead of salt and grease.

I love spam. Can't imagine a world without this delicious goodness. 😋

i feel sorry for the people who say they dont like spam because they're only eaten it cold (unfried).

I had an uncle that worked for Hormel in Austin and he would say SPAM meant spare parts and meat!

It's cheap, it's tasty and you don't die instantly, the recipe for success 😂

I love the breakfast toast! Lol

I actually love it, and DO eat it out of the can sometimes...Dip it in some mustard, and it's delicious.

I love SPAM. The first time I ever had it was as part of a school lunch. I didn't like it much as a kid but by the time I was an adult I thought it was great. Strange thing though, I spent 32 years in the military (active duty and reserves) and I don't recall ever seeing SPAM except in C-rations.

Spam and German kippers kept us army alive during Ww 2 I love to use on backpacking trips

My daughter's husband is in the Air Force in Honolulu. For my combination Father's day/birthday present, she sent we a large package of about a dozen SPAM and Spam related products. Best possibe gift because I am a big fan of SPAM.

SPAM is the meat of spaminals. Good stuff.

Love me some Spam, can't get enough!

I like “spam, spam, egg, chips and spam” 😁 No other food has been in such a legendary sketch