Have you ever eaten Chinese BBQ pork?  Its crispy, chewy texture and level of sweetness befitting candy makes it one of my toddler’s favorite foods.  Candied Spam tastes remarkably similar to Chinese BBQ pork and – with just two ingredients – is crazy easy to make.  You could also compare candied Spam to candied bacon – with a heavy emphasis on the candy.

I can’t believe that I am saying this about anything involving Spam, but I couldn’t get enough of my candied Spam.  I had to hide it in a Tupperware to keep myself from reaching into the ramekin and grabbing one piece after the next.  Candied Spam can be used as a unique twist on bacon bits in a salad, a fabulous crunch on top of an ice cream sundae, or a surprising cupcake topper.

How to Make Candied Spam

This candied spam recipe was inspired by Baking Barrister (the site no longer exists) who put candied Spam on her Spam cupcakes. I adjusted her recipe to make the candied Spam more crisp.

I didn’t trust Heidi. I knew that Spam cupcakes would be gross because Spam is disgusting – meat in a can just isn’t right (I blindly thought, having never ingested it). Would homemade Spam be better? What gives Spam its flavor, and could I make a version myself that I would feel comfortable eating? Would my homemade version of Spam then make for a tasty cupcake flavor? I had to find out.

What Is Spam?

As many of you know, Spam stands for spiced ham. It’s made with pork shoulder and ham. The ingredient list is actually quite small and contains nothing too scary: Pork with Ham, Salt, Water, Modified Potato Starch, Sugar, Sodium Nitrite. Before I made my homemade Spam, I had to buy a can to see what it tasted like.