Sweet and Sour Spam-Balls

[Wildrose]

I am always looking for ways to fix my wonderful supply of Spam and decided to try making some sweet and sour meat balls out of it today. I was so pleasantly surprised that I wanted to share my JOY!!

I ground up 2 cans of spam, added some Ritz crackers and 2 eggs and made small meatballs out of it. Cooked the meatballs on a cookie sheet for 15 mins at 375 degrees.

Sweet and Sour Sauce

1 20 oz can crushed pineapple
1 small diced bell pepper
1 small diced onion
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 cup white vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

Add all ingredients together (except meatballs) and bring to low boil. When it thickens add meatballs. I let it simmer for about an hour because I wanted the sauce to permeate the meatballs. Serve over rice.

It was amazing! Nobody would know it was spam if you didn't tell them.
ENJOY!!!

[caltrop]

I like SPAM. A lot of people turn their noses up at SPAM. I have at least half-a-dozen cans in the cabinet. Makes for quick & emergency meals. Those little canned hams are good too; DAK (Sams Club & Wally World) and Brookdale (Aldi's).

I love the old Monty Python SPAM skits. Eggs & SPAM, SPAM & Eggs, SPAM SPAM & Eggs, SPAM SPAM SPAM & Eggs, what, you mean you don't like SPAM!, ... There was even a song: SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM, SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM, SPAM, wonderful SPAM, dah, dah, dah.

I have a SPAM book I got at Half Price Books. It has the history of SPAM and loads of SPAM ideas.

Did you know that Hawaiians used to be CRAZY about SPAM? Still are...? There is a favorite Hawaiian/Japanese dish I like - SPAM Sushi! It's just like Sushi except with you know what.

OK, enough SPAM. I don't live off the stuff but it's not bad.

Ritz Crackers will kill you!

SPAM

[Valkyrie144]

does SPAM stand for anything?

[sluggyslugworth]

Originally Posted by Valkyrie144

does SPAM stand for anything?

Shoulder of Pork & Ham

Hormel coined the term just fyi.I think in the 1930's...

[jeff92]

Originally Posted by Valkyrie144

does SPAM stand for anything?

Spiced ham I believe it is.

[Hairy]

I stocked up on curry powder to go with my rice and spam. Sweet n sour sounds good, how long does it store for?

[Wildrose]

Originally Posted by Hairy

I stocked up on curry powder to go with my rice and spam. Sweet n sour sounds good, how long does it store for?

That sounds good too. I like curried rice and raisins but never thought of adding spam.

"They" say that the shelf life of crushed pineapple is about 2 1/2 years but I know I've used some older than that. I guess I'll have to check into freeze-dried pineapple. Maybe if I ground some up when rehydrating it would make juice. Hmmmm...interesting.

[madcritter]

Originally Posted by Wildrose

I am always looking for ways to fix my wonderful supply of Spam and decided to try making some sweet and sour meat balls out of it today. I was so pleasantly surprised that I wanted to share my JOY!!

I ground up 2 cans of spam, added some Ritz crackers and 2 eggs and made small meatballs out of it. Cooked the meatballs on a cookie sheet for 15 mins at 375 degrees.

Sweet and Sour Sauce

1 20 oz can crushed pineapple
1 small diced bell pepper
1 small diced onion
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 cup white vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

Add all ingredients together (except meatballs) and bring to low boil. When it thickens add meatballs. I let it simmer for about an hour because I wanted the sauce to permeate the meatballs. Serve over rice.

It was amazing! Nobody would know it was spam if you didn't tell them.
ENJOY!!!

sounds great wonder what you could substitute the 2 tablespoons cornstarch
with ?

[Wildrose]

Originally Posted by madcritter

sounds great wonder what you could substitute the 2 tablespoons cornstarch
with ?

Cornstarch is just a thickener. You could substitute flour or just leave it out. The sauce would be thinner but would taste the same. BTW cornstarch has an indefinite shelf life, flour doesn't. It's also used to make pudding, which I feel is a necessity. I'm well stocked!!

[riverrat]

can't wait to try that one. I can never have enough spam recipes.

[MotherEarth]

Can you buy beef spam? does it exist?

[caltrop]

SPAM is only made from HAMS (pork).

SPAM means...

In 1937 the crazy idea of canning spiced pork shoulder came about. SPAM - SPiced hAM. It was used during WWII because of the canning process making for a long shelf life.

So ther you have it. Some tantalizing tidbits to throw in your treasure trove of trivia.

SPAM's not as good as it once was but I still eat it. I find the shelf life is not what it used to be.

I have the Official SPAM Book. So ask me more questions and I'll try to answer them. And here's the Official Web-Site: https://www.spam.com/

SPAM.jpg SPAM Hot.jpg

[caltrop]

Originally Posted by madcritter

sounds great wonder what you could substitute the 2 tablespoons cornstarch
with ?

Flour!

Cornstarch, more for oriental style, makes a clear gravy while flour makes a traditional looking gravy. You can also use the commercial slimy stuff... YUCK!

[robbiec]

I haven't had SPAM since I was a child... must go get some now.

[madcritter]

Originally Posted by robbiec

I haven't had SPAM since I was a child... must go get some now.

Ather getting out of the Army it took me about 20 years to start eating it again

[vegasrandall]

Originally Posted by Valkyrie144

does SPAM stand for anything?

substance posing as meat

[Rosesandtea]

I tried this tonight Wildrose. It smelled good and wasn't too hard to do. I didn't have any as I wasn't feeling all that well but the rest of my family (6 of them) said it was very good.
Thanks for sharing the recipe. It's a very good one to use stored food in!

[Wildrose]

Originally Posted by Rosesandtea

I tried this tonight Wildrose. It smelled good and wasn't too hard to do. I didn't have any as I wasn't feeling all that well but the rest of my family (6 of them) said it was very good.
Thanks for sharing the recipe. It's a very good one to use stored food in!

So glad your family enjoyed it. I'm always looking for new ways to use my stored foods. My wheat pudding is wonderful, warm or cold! I haven't had much luck with the canned corned beef! It's just plain nasty!!

[MotherEarth]

mmm I love canned corned beef.
I fry up potatoes (possibly add an onion and some garlic in the last 10 minutes) and then add canned corned beef.
Delicious.

[Wildrose]

Thank you MotherEarth. I will have to try that. I love fried potatoes! I've eaten the canned corn beef hash and it was a little strong for me, but I've never tried making my own. I made creamed corn beef over mashed potatoes and it was...edible. I'm sure glad I don't have a picky husband.