SPAM has a unique backstory that makes it rise to the top of most prepper food lists. Back in the early 1940’s SPAM was a regular MRE food (Meals, Ready to Eat) along with the typical C-Rations of the time. Thanks to the Pearl Harbor Naval Base there was an abundance of the canned meat in Hawaii. Once the Island was bombed by the Japanese Empire in December 1941, Hawaiian transplant Japanese citizens’ movements were greatly restricted and there was no more daily fishing. With that main source of protein gone, the little blue cans of meat became a new staple food, and for good reason…
SPAM is a very good prepper food for several reasons. It is shelf-stable for years and a ready to eat source of fats, protein, and calories right from the can with no special prep. It is also low cost, easy to transport, and many people find it tasty fried, broiled, baked and even cold. While the 85-year-old recipe for SPAM “Classic” is still a fan favorite, you can also get SPAM Lite, Reduced Sodium SPAM, Oven-Baked Turkey SPAM and a half-dozen other varieties.
SPAM: A Prepping Favorite
As Hawaiian Islanders in the late 1940’s and 1950’s learned, SPAM (now called SPAM Classic) from early 1940’s military rations were still not only edible but quite tasty years after the “best by” date stamped on the cans. With a per serving nutritional value of 180 calories, 16 grams of fat, 7 grams of protein, and just 1 carb, SPAM is a shelf-stable prepper staple food with 1,080 calories per 6-serving can.
Throw in some leafy greens and two cans of SPAM per day can keep a full grown active adult well fed and loaded with enough caloric energy to not only survive but thrive in many conditions.
Best Served Cold? Not Really…
As a military food ration, SPAM was often eaten cold from the can by sailors. The locals, however, discovered hundreds of ways to prepare it hot and that made it an affordable meat alternative in a land where most beef is imported from 3,500 miles away. It’s thanks to the hundreds of recipes available that help make SPAM such a great prepper food. This ensures variety with nearly any combination of other long-term prepper foods such as kidney beans, white rice, lima beans, instant potatoes, cheese, various sauces and gravies, pasta, and Ramen noodles.
A Low-Salt SPAM Hack
Try this if you want to get rid of some salt from classic SPAM. Remove the SPAM from the can and slice it into whatever thicknesses you wish. Now rinse it in cool or cold water before heating to eliminate much of the surface salt and reduce the salty taste. Using a running tap works best, but if that is not an option, just change the water in the bowl with each rinse.
To remove the sodium packed deep within the meat, boil it in water for five to ten minutes. Finally, to remove even more salt, do the same rinsing and boiling while adding one half of a potato to the boiling water. This will help draw out excess salt.
To finish preparing your SPAM, frying or grilling work extremely well. The higher fat content can lead to an excellent char that really brings out the taste.
SPAM by Any Other Name
Most people don’t realize that the letters SPAM stand for Special Processed American Meat. In a non-coincidence the name is meant to signify SPiced hAM to the consumer. But SPAM is not the only game in town. Walmart’s Great Value brand makes a similar product called Original Luncheon Meat that costs about one-quarter less than the classic version of the name brand SPAM.
What’s in the Can?
We’ve talked about nutrition, but what is the great mystery meat made from? It’s simpler than you might think. There are just six simple ingredients in SPAM: pork with ham meat added, salt, water, potato starch, sugar, and sodium nitrite. That simple recipe has been around for about eighty-five years and it’s about as wholesome, for a shelf-stable meat, as you’re likely to find in a world full of chemical cocktail preservatives.
Just keep in mind, there is a lot of salt (three servings of Classic SPAM provides about a full day’s worth of recommended sodium intake) and that sodium nitrate is a preservative. In other words, if you already have high sodium, SPAM is not likely to bring those levels down. Then again, “25% Less Sodium SPAM” or “SPAM Lite” might be good alternatives.
SPAM Cost & Options
While prices will always vary by region and rise and fall with the economy, the following prices are accurate for the central eastern United States as of April 2022.
| Product | Price per Ounce |
| Great Value Original Luncheon Meat | $0.19 |
| SPAM Reduced Sodium | $0.24 |
| SPAM Classic | $0.28 |
| SPAM Lite | $0.28 |
| SPAM Hickory Smoke | $0.30 |
| SPAM Oven Roasted Turkey | $0.56 |
| SPAM with Bacon | $0.71 |
It’s not just the prices that vary. Oven Roasted Turkey SPAM has a per serving nutritional value of 80 calories, 4.5 grams of fat, one carb, and 9 grams of protein. That’s incredible!
What’s Next?
Now that you have more insight into the arguably the most popular prepper canned meat, why not get the shelf life and nutritional information on ninety-nine of the other top one hundred shelf-stable foods ideal for prepping? All that information, including a downloadable spreadsheet, is available right here on PrepperPirate.com’s Prepper Pantry page.