Homemade Spam?

[Joe Hell]

…not that I’m a big fan of Spam. I have a recipe that I wanted to experiment with that might be improved by such a thing. Online recipes are super simple and call for Morton’s Tender Quick. Are there Walton’s products that could substitute for that and give a superior product or should I just stick with the Morton’s?

[Jonathon]

@joe-hell You could use MRT Sugar Cure but I don’t know if it would improve it over Morton’s Tender Quick. I do know that one of the things with Mortons Tender Quick is that it has Nitrite and Nitrate so it gives you instant curing power and then long-lasting curing capabilities as the nitrate is going to convert to nitrite, which is the curing agent…I think it is about time I did something with the MRT anyway, I will look into this more in the next few weeks. Starting to feel the need for a break from the Meatgistics University stuff anyway!

[Joe Hell]

@jonathon Thanks for the response! I’ll give the morton’s a shot if I still have some. It’s not easy to find around here.

[Joe Hell]

This post is deleted!

[Joe Hell]

Spams! I did happen to have the tender quick so I used that. I threw in extra garlic and some of the jalapeño patty mix for good measure. Everything needs a little spice!

[Joe Hell]

This stuff turned out great and takes flavor amazingly well. The seasoning possibilities are endless. This will be in my regular rotation for sure. I messed up by not sauteing the garlic first resulting in some serious garlic bite. I just have to be careful not to aim my breath at anyone today.

[M Ski]

@jonathon Nitrate is not something you want to use if it is fried, FDA banned it from bacon

[Jonathon]

If anyone is wondering what @M-Ski comment you can check out a few things from the USDA (https://meatgistics.waltonsinc.com/topic/1099/cured-sausage-205-advanced-thermal-processing)and search for “Does bacon contain additives?” it will state that bacon does not/can not contain nitrAtes.

We will be covering this more in future articles or “classes” but basically, if you char a piece of meat that is cured it can contain nitrosamines which are a carcinogen. This is also why we are limited to 120 ppm for injected bacon and 200 ppm for dry rubbed bacon of ingoing nitrites.