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Spam (Canned Meat Product)

This could be the start of a new thread.
Well, they both start s-p-a...

I'm guessing it wasn't desiccated in a bag of Sainsbury's salad?
You guess correctly. It was ordered for me by my wife's uncle, in a Hanoi restaurant. It was grilled, whole, on a skewer, and etiquette demands that you eat it whole - as you can probably imagine, carving would be something of a faff. Tastewise? Nondescript, but by crikey it took some chewing...
 
You can buy tins of 'tongue' as well.
Oh memories here... back in the 1960s and 70s....

For those unaware, in Scotland, especially Glasgow and the west, a sandwich would be called a 'piece' , as in a' piece and jam'.

As a youngster, a common filling aside from jam would be spam, corned beef, haslet or tongue.

I can remember vividly the day I first realised what a 'piece and tung' actually was.

I must have been around 40 years old, was watching a cookery program (Sophia Grigson, I believe) and a whole tongue was shown as the basis for a recipe.

Before then, I had never made the connection - 'tung', as I knew it was simply a type of spam. I was really shocked and couldn't believe that was what I had been brought up on - an animal's actual tongue... yuk!!!

So... now this has come up, what was haslet?

What also were the ingredients in one of my dad's favourites - potted hough?

Anyone else remember those?

At the supermarket/shop meat counter, can you also still get those thin, round, spam slices made into a :)...?
 
There was also a little red fellow, who went by the name of Polony.
I've come across this before somewhere...

Aha!!

Screenshot_20200920_065703.jpg
 
I used to cook tongue now and then. As longer simmering is good for it, I'd use the electric casserole, and would occasionally get up in the morning to a big swollen tongue sticking out from under the lid... :horr:

You can't lick it.
 
So... now this has come up, what was haslet?
Haslet is a sort of herby, peppery, pork meatloaf - one of those things from 'Ye Olden Dayes' when nothing went to waste, and before sausage making became a common thing, so left over porky bits (don't ask which bits...) and breadcrumbs etc were combined and pressed into a tin, cooked, then turned out and sliced as required.
 
Its made by the company who makes Bacon Grill; Same product in an unstorably shaped can?

Bacon Grill is nice...if you havent any real bacon...
 
So... now this has come up, what was haslet?
Haslet is meat formed from ground pork mixed with herbs and spices.
The first time I ever had it was when the sandwich delivery guy at work told me that's all they had left. I didn't know what it was, so took pot luck.
That was the best haslet I've ever had, now I recall it. The sandwich guy told me it was something they'd got in from a deli rather than a supermarket. It's just gorgeous.
 
An article which came up from recently related Google searches is the following:

Why is Spam a luxury food in South Korea?

By Lucy Williamson
BBC News, Seoul
September, 2013

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-24140705

There's an accompanying video and wondered if circumstances have since changed significantly.

Anyone who might be able to... :)
 
An article which came up from recently related Google searches is the following:

Why is Spam a luxury food in South Korea?

By Lucy Williamson
BBC News, Seoul
September, 2013

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-24140705

There's an accompanying video and wondered if circumstances have since changed significantly.

Anyone who might be able to... :)
I think it's really quite funny that a food product that is largely ignored in the West is considered to be the height of luxury in Korea.
 
An article which came up from recently related Google searches is the following:

Why is Spam a luxury food in South Korea?

By Lucy Williamson
BBC News, Seoul
September, 2013

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-24140705

There's an accompanying video and wondered if circumstances have since changed significantly.

Anyone who might be able to... :)
It's from another part of the world. It's "exotic" for them.
 
I am old enough to remember Spam fritters for school dinners, and the thought of the grease pooling inside is enough to make me nauseous...

However, Spam itself I used to like. I remember being shocked by how expensive it was when I was a student and had a yearning for a Spam sandwich. I think that may have been the last time I bought it, nearly 30 years ago.

Haslet has to be properly made, preferably in Lincolnshire, and with a burnt bottom. The butcher my mother frequented in Stamford used to make the best. He also had a good line in stuffed chine, which I believe is pork cheek stuffed with herbs, mmm. My late stepmother (a Leicester girl by birth) once reminisced about the haslet her father used to make himself - it sounded pretty good.

While I would not touch a Tesco's haslet with a bargepole - too pale and floppy - we are big fans of pressed tongue Chez Bugmum, and it features in our weekly sandwich filling round at least twice.
 
Seems like it's been about forty years for me, too, since my last serving of Spam. The stock must have tanked about then. I used to like it just fine, but then there was a rumor about what was actually in it that was going around in the late 70s. That kind of turned me off. Seems a bit silly, considering all the bologna sandwiches, hot dogs, sausage biscuits (Murrican kind, not cookies) and so on that I have eagerly consumed over the years. I still buy pickle & pimento loaf, old fashioned loaf, olive loaf and things like that from the deli. It's probably no better than Spam.

Mom used to buy Deviled Ham when I was a kid. That makes a good sandwich. I like it for camping, traveling, and taking to work because it comes in a small can so it doesn't have to be kept cold. I seldom take it to work anymore though, because it freaks people out. Apparently it is not well known these days, but some people are familiar with something called Potted Meat Product, which is generally considered nasty and comes in a similar can. I'm not kidding; some people are offended. Wankers. The deviled ham label says it contains ham and spices or something like that. Anyway, it has gone up in price in recent years, Ms Popper doesn't care for it, and I haven't done any solo camping in quite a while. Dinty Moore beef stew used to be great for camping, but years ago the chunks of beef were replaced with unappetizing spongy meatball bits. Yeah, no thanks.

https://www.underwoodspreads.com/product/deviled-ham-spread
 
Seems like it's been about forty years for me, too, since my last serving of Spam. The stock must have tanked about then. I used to like it just fine, but then there was a rumor about what was actually in it that was going around in the late 70s. That kind of turned me off. Seems a bit silly, considering all the bologna sandwiches, hot dogs, sausage biscuits (Murrican kind, not cookies) and so on that I have eagerly consumed over the years. I still buy pickle & pimento loaf, old fashioned loaf, olive loaf and things like that from the deli. It's probably no better than Spam.

Mom used to buy Deviled Ham when I was a kid. That makes a good sandwich. I like it for camping, traveling, and taking to work because it comes in a small can so it doesn't have to be kept cold. I seldom take it to work anymore though, because it freaks people out. Apparently it is not well known these days, but some people are familiar with something called Potted Meat Product, which is generally considered nasty and comes in a similar can. I'm not kidding; some people are offended. Wankers. The deviled ham label says it contains ham and spices or something like that. Anyway, it has gone up in price in recent years, Ms Popper doesn't care for it, and I haven't done any solo camping in quite a while. Dinty Moore beef stew used to be great for camping, but years ago the chunks of beef were replaced with unappetizing spongy meatball bits. Yeah, no thanks.

https://www.underwoodspreads.com/product/deviled-ham-spread
Not sure why that would be offensive - it sounds quite tasty, in fact.
 
I am pretty sure that all the ear-'oles, nostrils and butt-holes disdained by da yoof in these older products are slipped under their radar in burgers, hot-dogs and other fast food.

I have watched a lot of videos this year about street-food in Asia, where variants of Pho crop up all the time. Intestines and other chewy bits are incredibly popular. It's not just that they are cheap, nose-to-tail cuts - those intestines are prized and appear to lead the parade of toppings for the broth and noodle dishes!

Here, chitterlings survive as a Midlands tradition, mentioned on here quite recently. The French have the notorious andouillette and a related sausage is alive and well in Cajun territory. What relative wimps we are!

I admit I haven't gone in for these things myself but I would be surprised if I haven't ingested a few in disguised form. :oops:
 
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I am old enough to remember Spam fritters for school dinners, and the thought of the grease pooling inside is enough to make me nauseous...

However, Spam itself I used to like. I remember being shocked by how expensive it was when I was a student and had a yearning for a Spam sandwich. I think that may have been the last time I bought it, nearly 30 years ago.

Haslet has to be properly made, preferably in Lincolnshire, and with a burnt bottom. The butcher my mother frequented in Stamford used to make the best. He also had a good line in stuffed chine, which I believe is pork cheek stuffed with herbs, mmm. My late stepmother (a Leicester girl by birth) once reminisced about the haslet her father used to make himself - it sounded pretty good.

While I would not touch a Tesco's haslet with a bargepole - too pale and floppy - we are big fans of pressed tongue Chez Bugmum, and it features in our weekly sandwich filling round at least twice.
My dad used to have brawn (or head cheese) sandwiches but it seemed to fall out of favour. I saw some once inTesco or Sainsbury and was really disappointed with it, nothing like what my dad would share with us.
Roll on a few weeks or so and we bought a whole jointed pig from a slaughterhouse, the butcher asked if we wanted the head and convinced me to take it home to make brawn. The result was glorious, better even than I remember my dad having. I thought we had followed a hairy bikers recipe but cannot track it down now.
 
Early this morning, I was watching some videos of backpacking via train in the U.S. and paused one to go make a coffee.

When returned, noticed this was the frame paused on TV.

No, you can't get Spam singles in the UK, it seems.

IMG_20200924_212929_resize_43.jpg


IMG_20200924_213258_resize_71.jpg
 
Haslet is nice. And its actualy cheap.

Unlike spam.

Today I got reduced sausages from the butchers, (Crumps, of Royal Wootton Bassett; a sausage specialist) six for £3.

My Dad is wondering how I could pay 50p for a banger.

But they were indeed top quality...
 
Early this morning, I was watching some videos of backpacking via train in the U.S. and paused one to go make a coffee.

When returned, noticed this was the frame paused on TV.

No, you can't get Spam singles in the UK, it seems.

View attachment 30041

View attachment 30042
That's a new one on me. For some people doing very demanding hikes or whatever, the fat and sodium might be just the thing. It certainly looks convenient.

I was pretty good friends with a fellow who got really good at insane endurance rides (bicycle races), winning a few of the big ones here in the US. He used to carry packets of tuna and things like that. Some of those riders have said that they actually get tired of eating since they have a hard time keeping up with the calories they burn. They will have a quart of ice cream for dessert. Stop and eat a whole pie. It's crazy.
 
Corned Beef has the reputation of being a pensioners' food now. Pinch myself - I am heading that way!

Yet it is excellent in a hash. American, pan-fried versions require a different form of Corned Beef, which keeps its cubic shape a lot better, I think.

I use the layered form, like a dry-style Irish stew - potatoes, onion, optional garlic and herbs. Tonight, it got an extra layer of sauerkraut, because I had it. It promises to be delightful.

I understand that the South American tinned-beef tradition came about when Fray Bentos found ways to market the wasted meat from what was essentially a leather industry. Concentrated meat flavourings, such as Oxo, came from the same background.

Corned Beef is a great store-cupboard food! :party:
 
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Mmmmmm... corned beef. Good stuff. Mom makes a great corned beef casserole. She used to make it with Velveeta cheese, another yummy food that has fallen out of favor.

I'm a big fan of Reuben sammiches too.
 
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