SPAM® Appreciation Week & a Giveaway

There’s a lot of food snobbery about tinned (canned) meat, and people can get quite sniffy about it; but, most tinned meats are usually much higher in meat content than ready meals and fast food, and I think they get a bad rap. SPAM® is one such tinned meat that is often the butt of anti-tinned meat humour, and I am always puzzled as to why this is, when a tin of original SPAM®, as in the chopped Pork and Ham SPAM®, has a whopping 90% of meat in it, and NO, it’s not the ‘scrapings’ or ‘useless bits’ of pork or ham that go into this tinned meat, but is primarily high quality pork shoulder meat and ham (actually hand cut off the bone). These are ground together with water, a little sugar, salt and spiced flavouring to be cooked in the can which gives it, its long shelf life. So, that’s why I accepted the challenge from SPAM® to create a new recipe using their chopped pork and ham, simply because I am a fan of this handy tinned meat! Before I talk about today’s recipe for Potato Salad with SPAM®, I’d like to share some history about this popular tinned meat.

Most elderly people in the UK will remember SPAM® as part of the rations during WW2. And it’s true that SPAM® Chopped Pork & Ham was born out of a meat crisis – but not too little meat, but too much! The Hormel Food Company of Minnesota created pork products and they had an excess of pork shoulder. President Jay Hormel hit on an idea. He ground pork shoulder with ham and cooked it in the can to create a long life meat product. SPAM® Chopped Pork & Ham first made its way onto people’s plates in the US on July 5th 1937.

So, what’s in a name then? In late 30’s America, it was the beginning of the advertising jingle and Jay Hormel wanted a snappy new name for the product. He put up $100 reward (which would be over $1000 in today’s money). Rejecting hundreds of ideas from colleagues and friends he threw a New Year’s Eve party offering a free drink for every name idea. At some point in the evening, a New York Radio actor named Kenneth Daigneau, uttered the now legendary word ‘SPAM’ and he was suddenly $100 richer! Legend has it that he concocted the name from the description of ‘Spiced Pork and Ham’, or maybe it was just his slurred pronunciation after all those free cocktails……who knows!

But back to today’s recipe for Potato Salad with SPAM®; it’s based on a recipe I have for potato salad with cornichons and spring onions, with a secret seasoning ingredient, which I will let you find out in the recipe below! It’s a wonderfully creamy potato salad with lots of tasty additions, such as finely chopped baby gherkins (cornichons), spring onions and the “pièce de résistance”, some crisply fried diced SPAM®. Serve this potato salad as an accompaniment, or as a light meal or a snack with baby gem lettuce leaves, and it will be wonderful for picnics, the school (or office) lunch box too. The addition of the fried SPAM® really adds some lovely textures and flavours to the salad, and if you want to lighten it up, then why not use SPAM® Lite, which contains 25% less salt and fat than original SPAM® Chopped Pork and Ham, it is also lower in sodium. I sometimes add boiled eggs to my potato salad recipe, and I think that SPAM® with Real Bacon would be the best product if you add any eggs – for a tasty brunch Bacon and Eggs Potato Salad!

My recipe for Potato Salad with SPAM® is shared below, as well as a giveaway for some SPAM Slicers, Aprons and Spatula sets to give away, plus there is a weekend break competition you can enter on the SPAM UK website too. Have a great weekend and I’ll see you early next week with some more recipes and my latest travel news from Montreal and London! Karen

Disclaimer: Collaborative Paid Post with SPAM®

Potato Salad with SPAM®

Print recipe

Serves	6
Prep time	10 minutes
Cook time	20 minutes
Total time	30 minutes
Meal type	Appetizer, Side Dish, Snack, Starter
Misc	Child Friendly, Pre-preparable, Serve Cold
Occasion	Barbecue, Birthday Party, Casual Party, Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving
Region	British
By author	Karen Burns-Booth

I have added fried diced SPAM® to my family's favourite potato salad for an extra meaty kick which everyone loves. I have also given the option of using more or less mayonnaise mixture for personal taste; some people like it very creamy & others like it not so creamy. Maggi liquid seasoning is quite salty, so use 1 tablespoon to start with, adding more if needed - teaspoon by teaspoon.

Ingredients

1 x 340g tin of SPAM® (chopped into small dice)
900g potatoes, peeled
4 to 6 tablespoons low-fat mayonnaise
50g finely diced cornichons
6 x finely chopped spring onions
1 to 2 tablespoons Maggi liquid seasoning
freshly ground black pepper

Optional

chopped fresh chives (to serve)

Note

Directions

Step 1	Add a little oil to a non-stick frying pan and add the diced SPAM®. Fry them over a medium heat moving them all the time to stop them sticking, for about 3 to 5 minutes, until they are crispy and golden brown. Drain and set to one side.
Step 2	Peel the potatoes & cut into small dice. Boil until just tender - not TOO soft! Drain the potatoes in a colander and set on one side too cool. Meanwhile, mix together the low fat mayonnaise and the Maggi liquid seasoning. Add the black pepper to taste. NB: If the potatoes are new, there is no need to peel them.
Step 3	Add the mayonnaise mixture to the potatoes and mix well but try not to break the potatoes up. Add the cornichons and spring onions to the potato salad - mix through gently.
Step 4	Then add the fried, diced SPAM® to the potatoes, mix gently and leave some of the SPAM® pieces to scatter over the top before serving.
Step 5	Taste and add more Maggi liquid seasoning or black pepper if required, and scatter some freshly chopped chives of the top if desired.
Step 6	Serve as an accompaniment or as a light snack with some baby gem lettuce leaves.

GIVEAWAY

Win one of FIVE sets comprising SPAM® Slider, Slicer and Apron

Just leave a comment below in answer to this question:

What’s your favourite store cupboard ingredient?

The competition open to all UK residents overt 18 yrs old and ends on the 31st March 2017

Be our Guests of Honour and launch the 2017 SPAM® Tour
One lucky couple will enjoy a VIP weekend for two in Liverpool
on the night of Friday 5th May and Saturday 6th May.

Liverpool may have been home to The Beatles, and countless footballing legends. But it’s also the original home of SPAM® Chopped Pork and Ham! So to commemorate Appreciation Week, we’re offering a lucky couple the chance to win a fabulous two night stay at the stylish Pullman Hotel.

You’ll also be honoured guests as we kick off the SPAM® Tour 2017 in Paradise Place. We’ll throw in £250 spending money, return train travel and a pack of exclusive SPAM® merchandise to take away with you.

Enter HERE