Smoked Spam: The Great American Mystery Meat

Over Mothers Day weekend, I was looking for a quick appetizer idea.  A quick bite before the steaks were put on the grill.  Preferably, it would be something I could throw on the smokers as I was burning out the built up gunk on the inside before our next competition.

So, I took a quick inventory of the kitchen shelves for something quick, easy, and that would be good.  Low and behold, look at what I found.

Spam, that mystical, mystery meat from our childhood.  I had a lot of bologna and chipped ham sandwiches back in my childhood days, but occasionally Mom would slide in some Spam, or Spam's first cousin, Treat.  For those of you who do not know what Spam is, here is a quick summary of Spam.

Basically, Spam is spiced, canned ham.

I seem to remember the outside being encased in gel?  Is this a kinder, gentler, lower fat Spam now?Anyway, some joke that Spam is made from leftovers from the pig after processing.  Lips, hooves, everything but the oink.  My Mom usually pan fried slices and served on squishy white bread with sliced onion, perhaps a tomato, American cheese, and mayonnaise.  Others pan fry and serve with eggs.  I decided to try and elevate this premium ham product and go the smoked route.

So, I took the "fillet" of processed ham goodness and scored the top with crisscross knife slices.
Then, for the rub, I dusted all sides of the Spam with a liberal coating of Dizzy Pig Pineapple Head rub.

Hawaiians serve their Spam with grilled pineapple garnish, so why not a pineapple rub?

Then, I placed the Spam on the top rack of our smoker at 350 F with a piece of hickory wood in the ash pan for some smoke.

Thirty minutes later, the rub was forming a nice crust on the outside and the scored cuts were opening up, making this hunk of Spam look like a premium ham.

At this point, I squirted some Blues Hog Tennessee Red BBQ sauce on the top to glaze our Spam.

After adding the BBQ sauce, I let our appetizer cook for 15 more minutes to set the glaze.  Then, removed from the smoker, and let it rest for 10 minutes before slicing.

How was it?  Surprisingly good.  The heat added a nice crispy crust on the outside.  The pineapple rub and tangy BBQ sauce provided this piece of Spam with a nice acidity to counteract the fattiness of the Spam.  One negative was that I forgot how salty Spam was.  Overall though, it was good.  This is not your Mothers Spam.

Don't be afraid, don't turn up your nose.  Embrace your childhood memories and give this recipe a try.

Thanks for stopping by,

Bill

Smoked Rack of Pork

When you get down to it, a rack of pork is one big pork chop before the butcher slices them up into individual chops.  I love roasting this cut of meat on the smoker at high heat so that the outside gets crispy and brown and the inside says nice and juicy.

How do you get to here?  Well, read on...

First, I take my rack of pork, rinse with water and pat dry.

Then, after a thorough massaging with olive oil, I liberally apply rub to all surfaces of the meat with whatever flavor I am in the mood for that day.  In this case, I used Dizzy Pig Raging River Rub.  This rub is a nice combination of citrus and maple flavors.  It really does pair well with pork.  But, you could use whatever you have on hand or whatever you are in the mood for that day.

I fired up my smoker to 375 F, then placed the pork on the top rack with some apple wood in the ash pan.  I cooked to an internal temperature of 140 F, then pulled from the smoker and let rest with foil tented over the meat for 15 minute.  At this point, to slice, I remove the bones, then slice the roast part of the rack.

The high heat smoking locks in the juices and makes for a nice, juicy and fork tender piece of pork.  One of my favorite methods for preparing this cut of meat.

Thanks for stopping by,

Bill