Waikiki SPAM Jam

Blue Ribbon Hunter

When referring to email, nobody likes spam, but we came to find out that not a lot of people appreciated the canned meat either-- until we got to Hawaii that is! We traveled to Waikiki Beach on the island of Oahu in Hawaii for the 10th Annual SPAM JAM where people came from all over to celebrate SPAM, and support the Hawaii Food Bank! We tried everything from SPAM Ice Cream, to SPAM Musubi, to SPAM Lettuce Wraps and boy were they good! The highlight was meeting the winner of the Hormel Blue Ribbon Recipe Competition, Jason Munson, who let us try his award winning creation: Mini Maple SPAM Doughnuts. If you like to mix sweet and savory flavors, then this dish is for you.

MINI MAPLE SPAM DOUGHNUTS

Makes 24 mini doughnuts

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup all purpose flour

  • 3 tablespoons light brown sugar, packed

  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda

  • 1/8 teaspoon salt

  • 1/3 cup buttermilk, plus one tablespoon

  • 1 egg

  • 1 tablespoon butter, melted

  • 1 (12-ounce) can SPAM

  • 3/4 cup confectioners' sugar

  • 1 teaspoon maple syrup

  • 2 teaspoons freshly ground cinnamon, for garnish (optional)

1. Make the dough. In large mixing bowl, mix flour, brown sugar, baking soda and salt. Stir in 1/3 cup buttermilk, egg, and melted butter. Beat together until well blended. Spoon batter into a pastry bag fitted with a round tip or a re-sealable plastic bag. Chill mixture for 1 hour. Meanwhile, prepare SPAM Rings and glaze.

2. Make the SPAM rings. Remove the SPAM from the can and slice from the lid side to the bottom into 12 slices (each slice about 1/4-inch thick). Using a 1-1/2-inch round biscuit cutter, cut each slice of SPAM into two rounds (you should have a total of 24 rounds from the can of SPAM Classic ). Using a straw, knife or small pastry tip, cut a small circle out of the center of each piece of SPAM Classic to make a ring.

3. Place rings into a large skillet and fry until golden brown on both sides. Repeat until all of the rings are fried; place on paper towels after frying to blot excess oil. Take the remaining scrap pieces of SPAM and finely dice. Place the diced SPAM into the same skillet and fry until golden brown; set aside.

4. Make the glaze. In small bowl, whisk together the confectioners' sugar, maple syrup and remaining 1 tablespoon of buttermilk until well combined; set aside.

5. Make the doughnuts. Preheat oven to 325°F. Remove the chilled dough from the refrigerator. Spray a mini doughnut pan with nonstick cooking spray. Pipe batter into the mini doughnut tin; filling 2/3 of the way full (if using a resealable plastic bag snip the corner of the bag and pipe batter into the mini doughnut pan). Place the SPAM Rings on top of the dough. Bake for 10 minutes or until the doughnuts spring back when touched.

6. Allow the doughnuts to cool slightly and then carefully remove from the pan. Spread the prepared maple glaze over the doughnuts and top with the diced SPAM for sprinkles. Repeat as necessary with the remaining dough and SPAM rings. If desired, sprinkle with a little cinnamon (I found this worked nicely with the maple flavor). Serve the doughnuts warm.

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