Spam makes some people shudder. I mean, it’s pressed meat out of a can. I get it. But if you were raised on an island, like I was, you grew up on it. And if we’re keeping it 100% real, Spam is much better for you than a hot dog. It’s only got 6 ingredients! Spam is so legit  Monty Python dedicated a sketch to it! Am I the only that’s wondered what “Lobster Thermidor aux crevettes with a Mornay sauce, garnished with truffle pâté, brandy and a fried egg on top, and Spam” would taste like? Don’t answer that.

Sometimes you just need a little Spam in your life. Remember when Time magazine wrote about President Obama eating Spam? Oh you don’t? Well obviously I never got over it.

One of my favorite MasterChef memories is bonding over salted pork shoulder and ham in a can with Felix Fang, a fellow island girl and contestant. Like President Obama, she was also raised in Hawaii and told me all about the delicious Spam sushi sandwiches he likes called musubi. They’re slices of Spam fried with a little sweetened soy sauce, layered in sushi rice and wrapped in dried seaweed. And then she rocked my world and made some for me. Color me #HOOKED!

We don’t have anything like musubi in Puerto Rico but we certainly love our Spam, especially fried with eggs.  I made a little Puerto Rican/Hawaiian Spam mashup layered with rice, a fried quail egg and one of my most loved island flavors: sweet fried plantain! I knew I had knocked it out of the park when Hollywood (my favorite blue blood) went in for seconds. (I’m not going to tell you how many portions I had because it’s disgusting.) (OK 6.)

Try it and let me know what you think! You don’t have to get all OCD and super cheffed out like I did and make a perfect one and half inch stack. If you don’t have adjustable ring molds and tamps and quail eggs just fry an egg and layer it over a slice of fried spam with rice and fried plantain.  Trust me, it’s just as out of control YUMMY. My soundtrack for this preparation is Save Ferris’ Spam because it’s the closest Bruce Jenner has ever come to one of my most cherished childhood treats. (Just listen to the song and its nod to the now Kaitlyn Jenner.)

Tools

  • rice cooker or heavy bottomed pot with tight fitting lid
  • paring knife
  • small frying pan
  • deep fry thermometer
  • aluminum foil
  • tamp
  • plastic wrap
  • 1 1/2 inch ring mold (I use an adjustable)
  • paper towels
  • fish spatula

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup of rice, unwashed
  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
  • 3/4 teaspoon garlic salt
  • 1 cup water
  • canola, corn or peanut oil for frying
  • 1 very ripe plantain (it should be black all over)
  • 1/2 can of Spam
  • 8 quail eggs
  • 1 tablespoon yellow onion finely chopped
  • 1 tablespoon cilantro finely chopped
  • salt, fresh cracked pepper and red pepper flakes to taste

Directions

  1. Preheat your oven to 200 degrees Fahrenheit and warm 2 oven proof dinner plates inside. Line 3 additional dinner plates with paper towels and set aside.
  2. Add the rice, butter and garlic salt to your rice cooker. If you’re using a heavy bottomed pot, warm it over a medium heat while you boil 1 cup of water in your microwave or in a separate pan. When the heavy bottomed pot is to temperature add the butter and melt it slowly (don’t brown it) then add the garlic salt and rice. Raise the heat to medium high and let the rice toast in the butter for a minute or two. Add the boiling water, mix and bring everything to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover and cook for 20 to 25 minutes.
  3. While the rice is cooking add an inch and a half of oil to your frying pan and bring it up to 365. If you don’t have a thermometer the oil is at the right temperature when a small piece of bread bubbles when it’s placed in the oil and takes about a minute to brown.
  4. Peel the plantain by chopping off both ends and with a paring knife and then making two slices along the length of the plantain about a quarter inch apart. Peel this thin slice of skin off the plantain and you will be able to easily remove the rest of it. Slice your plantain into 1/4 inch rounds. When the oil is up to temp fry the plantains in two batches, about a minute on each side until they are golden brown. Blot them on a paper towel lined plate an then transfer the plantain rounds to one of the warming plates in the oven. Tent them with aluminum foil and put back in the oven.
  5. Don’t forget about your rice!! You’re fine if you’re using a rice cooker, but if you’re cooking it on the stove keep an eye on it.
  6. It’s time to open your can of Spam. If the Spam doesn’t slide out, slam the open end onto your cutting bard to help loosen it. Cut the block of spam in half and reserve one half for a different preparation. (I’ll post a recipe soon for Puerto Rican Tea Party Sandwiches which are also Spamtastic!) Slice what’s left of the spam into 4 slices of equal thickness.
  7. Using your 1 1/2 inch ring mold cut 2 circles out of each slice of Spam, giving you 8 total. If you don’t have a 1 1/2 inch ring mold, make a 1 1/2 inch circle out of parchment paper and use it as a guide to cut the spam rounds using a paring knife. Reserve trimmings for another recipe.
  8. You can fry the Spam using some of the oil you used for the plantains. Coat your pan with at least a 1/8 inch of oil and make sure it’s nice and hot (but not smoking) before you start frying. Fry the Spam until golden brown, turning once for even cooking, about 3 to 4 minutes. Blot the spam on a paper towel lined plate, sprinkle with a few red pepper flakes for heat and then transfer the rounds to one of the warming plates in your oven. Tent them with aluminum foil and put them back in the oven.
  9. How’s that rice coming along? If it’s good and done take it off the heat and set aside in its covered pot or just keep it warm in the rice cooker. It’s time to construct your stack. Take the spam and plantain out of your oven.
  10. Layer the spam with a tablespoon of rice on top of it in your ring mold. Tamp the rice firmly so that it will hold its shape. I cover my tamp in plastic wrap to prevent grains of rice from sticking to it. Place a large plantain round (or 2 smaller rounds) in the mold on top of the rice and tamp it down until it takes the shape of the mold. Remove your stack from your ring mold and repeat the process for all 8 Spam rounds. Place all the stacks on a warming plate in your oven while you fry your quail eggs.
  11. If you don’t have a 1 1/2 inch ring mold you can shape your rice using an aluminum tea light cup or the plastic top of a bottle of oil lined with a 4 inch square of plastic wrap. Press down firmly on the rice with your tamp. If you don’t have a tamp use your fingers. Remove the molded rice from the tea light cup or oil top by pulling up on the corners of the plastic wrap and set the molded rice on top of your spam. Repeat this process with the plantain and layer on top of the rice. Set all 8 spam stacks in the oven on a warming plate while you fry your quail eggs.
  12. Remove the old oil from your frying pan and wipe it clean. Add a thin layer of oil (about a tablespoon) and warm it over medium heat. Crack a quail egg with the edge of a knife and gently open it into a clear ramekin or bowl to ensure you can see and remove any broken pieces of shell. Gently place the quail egg in the hot oil and fry for 45 seconds to a minute and a half. You’re looking for a solid white but a yolk that is still soft and runny so don’t overcook them! I fry four eggs at a time and set aside on a paper towel lined plate, then sprinkle them with a touch of salt and fresh cracked pepper. Remove the quail eggs from your pan with a fish spatula, which works wonders with something so delicate. You can of course use a regular spatula just be very, very careful.
  13. Take your Spam stacks out of the oven and top each one with a quail egg. Garnish with a pinch of cilantro and chopped onion and serve immediately. Buen Provecho!

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