Foodish: The Dallas Burger

I am no great shakes at recipes, so for the most part, Food Network will do the talking.

This segment of "Foodish" is brought to you by my Facebook page, where each week I focus on a different ag product or commodity. By week I loosely mean I pick a new feature each Wednesday. For this week, I chose pickles and cucumbers.

And as this is the Meatetarian blog, what's one of the best ways to incorporate pickles and cucumbers in meat? In my opinion, that would be a burger.

So check out The Dallas Burger, created by the Grillmaster and Iron Chef himself, Bobby Flay.

Here's some things to note from the recipe:

• Flay uses 80/20 ground beef. That means it's 80 percent lean muscle and 20 percent fat. While this is the type of ground beef that imparts the most amount of flavor, if you want a leaner burger, I suggest doing 85/15 or 95/5. If you want to be very extreme, some producers of ground beef make a 97/3 product. NOTE that when cooking leaner beef, since it doesn't have the fat, it is really, really easy to overcook, so watch the burgers closely!

• Flay's beef also comes from the chuck area of the beef carcass. This is the area that on a human would be equivalent to the shoulder area. You can also find ground round (from the thigh/rump area) or ground sirloin (from the back) in your meatcase.

And where do pickles fit in? Well, they're on the burger. And if you want to be super inclusive of this week's featured commodity, you can slice up cucumbers super thin and add them to the slaw that's recommended to be served with pickles atop this barbecue-sauce adorned beef beauty.

Meet Your Meat: It's Beef. Not Slime.

Part of me thinks History Channel needs to jump on this bandwagon and create a "How It's Made" or "Modern Marvels" episode about Lean Finely Textured Beef and Boneless Lean Beef Trimmings.

That's the thing members of the media and social media activists decided to call "Pink Slime."

I'm sure most of you have heard the story by now: Reuters reported that back in 2002, United States Department of Agriculture scientist Gerald Zirnstein was unhappy USDA approved the use of LFTB and BLBT in ground beef. He referred to the product as "pink slime" in an email to a coworker, but a Freedom of Information Act request brought the email to the attention of the news media, which then shared the moniker with the general public. In 2009, The New York Times had a lengthy article reporting on the concerns various consumers and USDA professionals had with the two products. In April 2011, Jamie Oliver (the Brit formerly known as the Naked Chef) did a segment on his show "Food Revolution" to discuss LFTB and BLBT. By discuss, "butcher" might be a more appropriate — albeit pun intended — way to describe his methodology.

Before you continue reading, you should watch Oliver's video. If you're a concerned consumer or a social media activist, you probably already have. If you're an agriculturalist or a scientist, you might have scoffed at it for being complete absolutely ridiculous. But regardless, this blog is to tell you both sides of the story.

I'm not going to lie, I like what Jamie Oliver's intent is with "Food Revolution." I think it's vitally important for consumers to be aware of agriculture, since most of them are several generations removed from the farm. But there are some serious flaws in his methodology of presenting LFTB. And if you listen closely to the video, he acknowledges it: "This is how I'd imagine it's done," he says, dumping inedible beef into a dryer that acts in his demonstration as a centrifuge.

Here's what Oliver had correct in his video.

Indeed, LTFB and BLBT are produced by further processing beef that before this process wasn't eaten by humans. They are also treated with ammonium hydroxide.

Now here's what is misleading about the segment.

Imagine you're eating a steak. It's a really good, medium-rare ribeye dripping with deliciousness and you are determined to eat every morsel. But there's a bit of fat around the edge you have to trim off because, flavorful as it may be, the intermuscular fat surrounding a cut of meat isn't always the best thing to straight up eat. You trim off that fat, eat the rest of the steak and then notice there's still some bits of beef embedded in the fattrim. Try as you might, you can't cut them out with your steak knife, and it's not exactly the best table manners to pick up the fat and gnaw at the leftover beef.

That's kind of what happens when you harvest a beef animal. The majority of whole muscles are turned into steaks, roasts or specific ground beef (think "ground chuck," "ground round" and "ground sirloin"). With ground beef, the muscle is separated from the fat by hand, and using a lot of mathematical equations, processors determine how much muscle and fat to add together to make an 80/20, 85/15 and so on ground beef mixture. It's an interesting process. Trust me; I've done it.

Now, there are parts of the beef carcass that are like that "meat-stuck-in-the-fat" scenario. America wants lean beef. Processors also don't want to waste beef. Thus, the process of creating LFTB and BLBT was designed.

According to the American Meat Institute, this is the process to make BLBT and LFTB:

1. Trimmings (that's the "meat-stuck-in-the-fat") are warmed to about 100 degrees Fahrenheit inside a centrifuge. That's a machine that looks rather like a large mixing bowl.
2. The centrifuge spins the trimmings to separate meat from fat, similar to the way milk is separated from cream. The temperature inside the centrifuge melts and liquefies the fat.
3. Once the meat is separated from the fat, it's 95 percent lean. It can be added to ground beef to create a leaner product desired by lots of American consumers.

The difference between the two is the process used to make them safer. BLBT is treated with food-grade ammonium hydroxide. This is NOT the stuff you find in your run-of-the-mill chemistry lab. This is a type of NH3 that's been, in a better term, watered-down to be safe in extremely small quantities when added to food. LFTB is treated with citric acid.

Why treat the trimmings?

With ammonium hydroxide in particular, these treatments if done correctly reduce the amount of E. coli and Salmonella found in ground beef. Let's be clear here, though. Treating is not what Jamie Oliver's video showed, where the BLBT is dumped into a plastic tub and doused with noxious amounts of household chemicals. Treating is, however, giving the BLBT a puff of ammonium hydroxide to up its pH to an amount thatwill kill off these bacteria. In fact, if you look at the Material Safety Data Sheet for ammonium hydroxide, you'll see that in any amount it's harmful to bacteria, where in humans unless you drink, inhale or rub it on you, there are no harmful effects.

In fact, it's a chemical found naturally in humans. In meat. In baked goods. So when a puff of it is added to a processed beef product, it is used to up the"anti" in anti-bacterial; not to poison schoolchildren who eat NH3-treated hamburgers in their school lunches.

The next big argument against the use of LFTB and BLBT in ground beef is whether or not it should be labeled as an ingredient. Here's the thing. We've established that these are beef. So the meat industry's side of this is that if they are adding beef to beef, then what's the point in making it an ingredient on the label? If I weren't in the agriculture industry, I would see "LFTB" or "BLBT" on a label — or alternatively, a label that said "Does not contain LFTB or BLBT" — and immediately react by saying, "What the Hell is the USDA putting in my ground beef? Ground beef is ground beef! I don't wan't anything IN IT!"

Then I would immediately petition the USDA to stop using confusing abbreviations on ground beef packaging.

Because when you think about it, no packer is going to label ground beef as containing "pink slime," because that's a misnomer.

This is pink slime:

This is "pink slime:"

Let's address another claim Oliver made in his video. The beef that's turned into LFTB and BLBT is inedible and used for pet food. For the record, the only reason it was considered "inedible" is because until these processes were invented, it was inedible in the sense the industry could not get to the meat!

I spent the last 45 minutes trying to find a reliable source that discusses how beef by-products (which are similar to LFTB and BLBT in that they go through various processes to get meat from fat or connective tissue, but are usually of a lower quality than what humans demand) are used in pet food, but honestly, every way I tried to Google anything associated with the "pink slime" issue, I get a bunch of links to blogs and petitions, and no real information. I'll try to do another followup post once this situation's calmed down so there is something tangible you can read.

To sum up, the beef industry isn't hiding anything. LFTB and BLBT are beef. They are treated with ammonium hydroxide. Beef and NH3 already naturally occur in ground beef, so that's why they are not on the labels, according to a conference call National Cattlemen's Beef Association held last week with state cattlemen's associations. The concern with adding unnecessary labels is, as I mentioned before, a slippery slope: If the industry began labeling preventative chemicals, consumers who don't fully understand why these are added would demand they stop being used, the effects of which America saw with "pink slime." To remove these from beef products could affect the price of beef consumers see on the shelves as well as the bacteria found on raw meat.

But at the end of the day, NCBA, USDA and the beef industry as a whole want to provide America with quality, affordable, safe food. And no matter the moniker, that is what these products do for 70 percent of beef purchased in American supermarkets each year.

Much of the information found in this post came from a fact sheet created by the American Meat Institute. To see more resources from the beef industry viewpoint on the "pink slime" issue, check out these links:

Nancy Donley's stance: Her son died of E. coli in 1993.

You can also watch this video of Dr. Russell Cross with Texas A&M.

Foodish: Grease is the Word.

As I'm sure you've discovered by now...there are few things in life as wonderful to my tastebuds as a good hamburger.

Last Tuesday (that would be June 30), I went with my sometimes-vegetarian best friend Amanda to this new restaurant called the Burger and Cheesesteak Factory, on Prince Avenue in Athens. I did my research--Flagpole (the Athens independant paper) was not impressed, neither was a blogger who works at The Grit (a vegetarian restaurant).

But there were positive reviews as well.

I nearly had to get down on my hands and knees and beg Amanda to go--she heard the phrase "deep fried paradise" and nearly had a coronary--but I was fairly determined that I was going to try this place, and make up my own mind.

My first impression, upon walking into the restaurant, was that the decoration was quite minimalist. There were tables, booths, a counter, and a trashcan shaped like a Coke bottle. The place was very empty; it was me and Amanda, the workers, and a couple who probably should not be eating deep fried anything.

Most of the decoration came from customer-supplied remarks, Sharpie-fied on the walls, booths, and floor for all of eternity. We did not partake in that little venture.

So, anyway, you order at the counter. The menu is mouthwatering, with the front side listing 13 burgers, 9 cheesesteaks, and the beginnings of Deep Fried Paradise. Now, most of the deep fried paradise things I would probably never order; like the broccoli with cheese wiz or cheese stuffed jalapenos. The candy bars I'm still dying to try, though. The back menu hosts "more fun stuff," which is a list far more appetizing than deep fried stuff, as well as shakes and a kids menu.

*Side Note: When I return, I want to know what exactly a "scrambled dawg" is. And I want deep fried candy bars.

After much deliberation, stomach growling, and consultation, I ordered the burger topped with portobella mushrooms and Swiss cheese. I also added lettuce, because despite being a meatetarian lettuce is a hamburger staple, and an order of chili cheese fries. And a chocolate shake.

Amanda ordered a cheesesteak (I don't remember which variety...I want to say it was the portobella one as well but that might be a lie) and a rootbeer float, and opted to share the fries.

You'll have to eat there yourself to make up your mind, but my experience at the Factory was wonderful.

My burger arrived on a lightly toasted bun, with a foot long toothpick in it. There was an eensy weensy pickle atop that. You could literally see the shrooms and cheese melting all over the warm, juicy beef patty. And another thing...the burger was HUGE.

(P.S. Sorry for the sideways picture of the burger...it won't let me rotate!)

It is very, very rare that I don't eat all of a hamburger. Especially when said hamburger has cheese and mushrooms (my favorite vegetable) dripping all over it. But this burger was so intense, so massive, that combined with the plate full of fries, I could not eat the entire thing.

The bad reviews said the burgers tasted faintly like hot-dogs, but I did not see that. There was a lot of flavor in the burger: the tang from the cheese, the sauteed taste of the mushrooms, and the crisp lettuce, plus the very beefy taste of the patty itself.

My only qualm was the pepper mayo on the burger. Pepper is not a good flavor to me, so next time I'll know not to get that on it. Also, I do admit that the grease on the burger could be considered excessive. That part kind of reminded me of getting a good taco, where the juice from the meat kind of leaks out over your hands when you take a bite and the shell breaks. But that's kind of an irrelevant remark...so let's move on.

What probably ruined my burgerppetite, pepper mayo or not, was the rather large serving of deep-fried potatos absolutely drenched in chili and cheese.

Oh my word. This was truly a heavenly side dish. I probably would have been good with just the fries and the shake, it was such a big portion.

The fries were wonderfully greasy and mouthwatering. The chili would probably not win any fancy taste test award, but it had a strong flavor and was slightly chunky, just the way chili should be. Now, usually I'm not a big fan of American and Cheddar cheeses unless they're on a good burger, but it worked with the chili's flavor. Kind of a semi-sharp taste on its own, the cheese was mild compared to the chili, and was very complementary.

I would go back just for the fries, even if the restaurant stopped selling everything else.

I ate there, and I'm not afraid to go again. I do have some tips for your first time though:

1) Try the chili cheese fries, unless you're lactose intolerant, in which case you should skip the cheese

2) Get lettuce on your burger. I found that the crisp texture was very good when contrasted against the other, more tender ingredients. Plus, lettuce is healthy, right?

3) Come really...really...really hungry.

Now...you've heard what I've got to say. Go eat there yourself!

Meat Savvy: USDA Beef Grades

I mentioned in my last post how my meat knowledge has rubbed off on my mom, what with her meat thermometer and all. So here comes a newly inspired series of posts called "Meat Savvy." These will focus on shopping for and cooking meat, while the "Meet Your Meat" series is more to make you aware of what you're buying.

So, as I'm a huge fan of cattle dishes (in case you couldn't tell by that obnoxiously large hamburger), the most important first thing about being meat savvy is understanding how beef is graded by the USDA. There are two main scales, yield grade and quality grade. Now, it is important to note that unlike inspection, which is required by law, a harvesting or processing facility is NOT required to grade their meat. This is a purely voluntary thing because it costs the facility extra.

A yield grade is pretty much exactly as it sounds--the amount of usable, lean meat on a carcass, compared to the weight of the carcass pre-slaughter. There is a really complicated process and formula to determine a yield grade, which Texas A & M University provides here. (It might not be that complicated, but I get really overwhelmed with numbers sometimes!) Yield grades range from 1 to 5, with 1 being the highest and 5 being the lowest. 1 has a higher yield of lean to fat than 5, and it honestly does not matter that much for the average consumer how much meat this particular bovine had on its body. The only way it probably would matter for a consumer is if you were buying a whole carcass to eat or freeze for yourself and you wanted to know how many meals it would get you.

For that reason, we're going to focus on quality grades in this blog, because that SHOULD matter to you, as a meat savvy shopper. Quality grades basically determine how tender, juicy, and palatable meat is. There are eight quality grades that the Agricultural Marketing Service (ARS) gives for beef: Prime, Choice, Select, Standard, Commercial, Utility, Cutter, and Canner.

Why is it so important to know what these grades mean? In my opinion, it's because if you don't know anything else about meat, you can understand the basics of what these eight grades stand for, and know immediately if that steak in your hand is worth buying or not. There are tons of factors that go into choosing the cut of meat for you, but this one is very very basic, because the USDA has done the job for you.

Prime grade, of course, is the top of the top. Why? Mostly because of the age of the animal that is slaughtered. The younger the animal (and by young, I'm talking under three years old), the more tender the meat. Prime meat only comes from steers (males who are castrated between 3 and 6 months of age) and heifers (females who have never been bred for reproductive purposes). It also has a TON of marbling. Marbling is intramuscular fat that gives flavor to the meat. If you look at a cut of raw steak, for example, prime steak has a lot of little white tissues running through it. That's marbling.

Choice is similar to prime, but is less marbled. Only certain cuts of meat from choice cattle are going to be as tender as the same cuts from a prime animal. Choice meat comes from heifers, steers, and cows under 30 months of age. A cow, if you didn't know, is technically a female that has had at least one calf before.

If you're at the grocery store and are not meat savvy at all, you're probably going to be looking for Select grade whether you know it or not. Select grade has very little marbling, so it appears to be leaner than choice and prime. However, it's that marbling that gives meat flavor, tenderness, and juiciness, so your Select graded cuts might require more spices, tenderizing, and marinating if you want them to taste similar to higher quality meats. Once again, 30 months is the maximum age an animal can qualify for being Select.

Standard grade is for cattle ages 30 to 42 months, and Commerical grade is for cattle (steers, heifers, and cows) over the age of 42 months. These grades are probably not going to appear on any label because they are not good grades and so a facility is not going to pay to have a label for them. You can still find them in grocery stores though, most likely sold as the store brand's meat.

The last three grades, Utility, Cutter, and Canner, are rarely sold on retail shelves. They're kind of the low point of the beef grades; basically used for process products and pet foods because the meat is definitely not marbled enough to be sold straight off the animal. I have heard before that these three grades provide the meat for many fast-food restaurants' hamburgers, but I want to research on that before I write about it...just to make sure.

The above grades were for meat from heifers, steers, and cows, in case you missed that point. The USDA's AMS (Agricultural Marketing Service) also has grades for bullock meat. Bullocks are males that are castrated after the recommended age of 3-6 months. By the time they are castrated, they have begun showing secondary characteristics of a bull (in humans, think of a bullock as a teenage boy), so their meat is going to be a little different than steer meat because of testosterone and other sex hormones in the animal. The grades for bullock meat are Prime, Choice, Select, Standard, and Utility; basically the qualifications are the same as listed above.

So before I continue with my last point, you can use these two Web sites (okay, so one is a PDF document, but whatever) to do more in-depth research about beef grading. This first site, the document one, is the United States Standards for Grades of Slaughter Cattle. It has all the technical requirements for grading, like how much fat an animal should have, the ages, that kind of thing. The second site I used, Inspection & Grading of Meat and Poultry, is probably the one you'll want to take a look at. It has images of the seals and explains the grading in terms of marbling and meat flavor, and also lists some uses for the different grades of meat as far as cooking goes.

Last point, as promised. I just want to reiterate something that I think might get lost in translation. Utility, Cutter, and Canner grades are the low grades and are not usually sold. This does not mean that meat with these grades is in any way unsafe for humans to eat. Remember what I said earlier about marbling = flavor, tenderness, and juciness? These bottom three grades of meat straight from the cow are not going to be good for meals as steaks and ribs. People might be able to buy them, but it would take (scuse my language) a hell of a lot of tenderizing and cooking to make those some likable steaks. So most facilities turn these products into processed ones, where the cooking and preparation is done for you before you buy it.

Oh and one more quick thing. You can also slaughter dairy cattle. Usually this is done when the cow is too old to have another calf or is not producing enough milk to satisfy the cost to maintain her in the herd. However, since dairy cattle are bred not for meat quality but for things such as udder size and milk production, the meat is not going to be as high quality graded as beef cattle.

Just wanted to clear those points up; and I think I will do some research on fast-food burger meats, now that I've got the idea stuck in my head...

Meatetarian Podcast

For the record. This final "for my advertising seminar class" post is probably going to be a one-time thing. We have to do a Podcast in order to get a good grade on our blog project.

I promise I'm going to keep writing Meatetarian after this post, but what I don't promise is that you'll ever see me post another Podcast. Not a particular fan...sorry.

In going with my previous post about the ADSC retail meat sales--and also helped along by my boyfriend's text message that informed me to "come over here and try one of these brats"--I decided to do my Podcast about how I wasn't the only one who enjoyed eating the meat my fellow students help put on the table. Granted...I interviewed my mom, who cooks all of the delectable dishes in which said meat goes, but my mom is a mean cook, and thanks to my great coaching, she knows her meat. She even uses her little Georgia Cattlemen's Association meat thermometer!

So, if you've never done a Podcast before, I think you just have to hit the link below in order to hear my wonderful (possibly very accented, I was really tired and when I get tired I tend to ramble and get twangier) voice. Here goes nothing!

ADSC Meat

Arguably my favorite part of being an Animal Science major is that at some point during my four-year college career, I will actively participate in every single aspect of the life cycle of livestock, from artificial insemination to gestation to finishing to slaughter. And then, of course, eating the food the animal produces.

Obviously, since I like about 10 vegetables, I definitely am a fan of the eating part. But like most people these days, my family is talking about how important it is to know where your food comes from. Now, this doesn't necesarily mean that you should check your milk to see if it comes from happy cows in California, but to me it means that it's important to promote local and sustainable agriculture. I'll do a researched, factual post about this topic later, because I think it plays a vital role in the future of agriculture in the US.

Tonight is totally my opinion on my favorite place in Athens to get truly local food-- the Animal and Dairy Science department retail meat sales. There is no question where the meat came from and how it was raised. All of the beef, pork, and lamb sold at the retail meat sales are raised and harvested exactly according to USDA standards on UGA-owned land by students and faculty.

Because there is so much research being done at UGA's three campuses to determine genetics for carcass quality, the meat is extremely high quality. Obviously since I haven't done a post yet about how to choose your cuts, I won't go into much detail here, but from experience everything I have tried from the meat sales is delicious. I've had a couple of different cuts of steak and bacon, currently, but my family has also tried some meats and now keeps hounding me about how I need to go to the sales every Friday before I come home and get them this, this, and this.

The availability is kind of iffy, because slaughter is scheduled around classes, so during the summer months pickings have been comparatively slim in the lamb and tenderloin steak departments. The freezer of pork products--ranging from hams to about four different types of sausages--looked pretty full on this past Friday when I was there. Lamb, I heard from the manager, will start being on the shelves probably around September or October.

That kind of makes sense because all of UGA's sheep lambed at the same time this year thanks to a test-run of a new estrous synchronization process.

Also...if you're down for choosing meat based on price over quality, you REALLY need to check out the retail meat sale at least once. The prices are really good-- as in, $11.99/lb tenderloin steaks good. And it's definitely a better cut than what you'll find at Kroger or IGA. I say that because my TV is constantly showing Kroger and IGA commercials for their meat prices, and from shopping at the eastside Kroger in Athens (whose meat choices, by the way, are slimmer than an anorexic person), it is not at all the same caliber you're going to find at UGA.

I actually am planning to do an article on the retail meat sales for the Red & Black at some point. My freshman year I had done interviews for it and everything, but never figured out the right angle to go at it from. One of the questions I asked was where the money from the meat sales went. The answer? Right back to the department, where it is distributed all the way from office supplies to gas for the vans that take students to their labs off-campus. So, by spending $42.35 on Friday afternoon (on 3 pounds of bacon, close to 5 pounds of tenderloin, and 2.5 pounds of bratwurst), I just bought myself some academic benefits somewhere down the line.

I don't think that the retail meat sales sale Kosher or Halal meat, because the slaughtering facility is so small compared to other industrial operations; and the meat is NOT organic, natural, grass-fed, or free-range (that's like grass-fed for pork, just FYI). All the animals harvested at UGA are owned by UGA, and the facility is operated like one that's actually in the industry. So all the inspectors and certifiers are there, and every record is kept according to USDA regulations.

I think I've done enough blabbering for the night. As a journalist, I really really really like having sources, so just talking my opinion bothers the bejeezus out of me, but there you have it. Here are the details if you need them, and if you get any meat from the sales, shoot me a comment/Facebook/Twitter thing and let me know what you think.

Location: Edgar C. Rhodes Animal Dairy Science building on River Road in Athens, Ga

Time: Fridays 1 p.m. - 5 p.m. (Yes, this means every Friday, except for holidays. So July 3 = no meat sale y'all...)

They take cash, checks, and credit/debit cards. Up until like 3 weeks ago they only took cash, so I basically victory danced outside the meat science facililty when I saw that sign. I never have cash, for some reason. But there is a big sign pointing to exactly where in the building the meat sales are so you don't get lost, which is pretty easy to do if you're not an ADSC major.

Oh--and one last thing. I only took one of these classes so far, but if you are interested in learning more and participating in the actual harvesting process (and eating) of livestock, here are some classes you might want to check out:

• ADSC 1050: The Meat We Eat; 2 credit hours; fall semester
• ADSC 2010-L: Introduction to Animal & Dairy Sciences; 4 credit hours, fall & spring (The first part of the class is meat production. I definitely got to butcher a pig. It was so cool.)
• ADSC 3010-L: Meat Merchandising; 2 credit hours; fall semester
• ADSC 3180-L: Meats Judging 1; 2 credit hours, fall semester
• ADSC 3190-L: Meats Judging 2; 2 credit hours, spring semester
• ADSC 3200-L: Evaluation and Composition; 3 credit hours, fall semster (This one is also lovingly referred to as Live/Dead)
• ADSC(FDST) 3650-L: Introductory Meat Science; 3 credit hours, spring semester (Definitely taking this in the coming spring. Can't freakin wait.)
• ADSC 3890: Animal Products in the Human Diet; 3 credit hours, fall semester
• ADSC(FDST) 4140-L: Advanced Meat Science; 3 credit hours, spring semester
• ADSC 4890: Advanced Meat Science; 3 credit hours, spring semester

The two Advanced Meat Science classes have different prerequesites. You can check out all the ADSC classes on the UGA bulletin.

MMM...SPAM!

Celebrations of food abound in the United States: in Vidalia, Georgia, they have the Vidalia Onion Festival; in Atlanta, it's the Great American Dessert Experience; in Cordele, they celebrate watermelons. In New York City, there's an annual Pizza Fest. Texans celebrate barbeque and jalapenos.

In Hawaii, they have the Wakiki SPAM Jam.

By SPAM, I don't mean the kind that clogs up your e-mail inbox. I'm talking about the kind of SPAM Hormel makes--the variety that comes in a can and is completely edible. It's a delicacy in Hawaii, apparently, worth celebrating with food tastings, entertainment, and (of course) shopping.

In the continental US, sadly, SPAM is considered something of a joke, a food eaten only by Deep South rednecks. As someone who has grown up with a father who survived his childhood solely on hotdogs, PB&J, and fried SPAM, this is a very depressing thought. As an example of how people generally react to SPAM, here's a video that some of my classmates did as part of a project for our advertising seminar on social media. The basis of this project was how advertising "fails" sometimes because it involves "spamming" (as in the electronic kind).



A lot of this misconception comes from the fact that people don't actually know what SPAM...is. Basically, it's canned meat--but not canned "meat" like people think. SPAM is, in actuality, pork shoulder and ham pieces. Yes, edible parts of the pig, people. Personally, I find the thought of consuming liver way more disgusting.

Hormel first started making SPAM in 1937 according to their Web site. The "SPAM History" page is incredible; if you're at all involved in marketing or advertising you seriously need to check out how much Hormel did to market this product. It was originally pushed as convenient meal idea, since it could be eaten cold. SPAM went overseas to support American troops during WWII, and it even had a 60-women dance group that traveled the country to promote Hormel's products. Nowadays, the Broadway musical SPAMALOT attracts huge audiences. Oh--and like Oscar Meyer, SPAM even has its own tour bus! (I'm a dork...I think the Oscar Meyer Weiner car is basically the coolest thing on the road these days, so I'm impressed. Wonder who had the idea first?)

Okay, so back to how you go from pig to can. The pork shoulder and ham come into the processing plant still on the bone. Machines trim the shoulder and the ham is hand-trimmed. The trimmed meat is ground up, flash cooled, and blended together. Salt and sodium nitrate, the two typical other ingredients, are added during the blending stage. The blended mixture is pumped into cans, vacuum-sealed, and cooked. Once they're washed and cooled, the cans are labeled and shipped off to stores.

Just an FYI--sodium nitrate is added to preserve the color of SPAM. It's extremely similar to another color preservative, sodium nitrite, that is also used to cure processed meats. Sodium nitrate has been shown to prevent the growth of Clostridium botulinum bacteria that cause botulism (paralysis), and sodium nitrite to prevent against the bacteria Listeria monocytogenes that cause listeriosis (diarrhea, convulsions, flu-like symptoms...basically all-around suckiness).

*Side note: HowStuffWorks (the show from the Discovery Channel) mentions in this linked page that nitrates/nitrites are possible carcinogens. The site linked to "sodium nitrite" above, however, (Meat Safety) says the complete opposite. Meat Safety looks like it's a lobbyist group, or at least a special interest group, and since I couldn't find any governmental studies (or even from a University, for that matter) about the link between SPAM and cancer, I can't go either way on that. I would advise, however, to eat everything in moderation. Even too much fiber (veggies!) can be harmful if that's all you eat.*

So, savvy meat shoppers, you can buy SPAM in either 12 ounce or 7 ounce cans. Since its inauguration onto food shelves, it now comes in different varieties: Classic, Lite, Less Sodium, Hickory Smoked, with Bacon, with Cheese, and Hot and Spicy. Besides canned SPAM, you can also find these nifty products: Oven Roasted Turkey, Classic Singles, Lite Singles, Spread, and Hot Dogs. The difference between Lite and Less Sodium is that the Lite variety has less fat and calories than Classic, and Less Sodium is just...less sodium.

I've actually had the lovely occasion to taste fried SPAM in the UGA dining halls. I was a little unsure at first (the fact that the SPAM was in a casserole was iffy...not a big casserole fan), but it was...good. It tasted like ham. Duh...that's what it is, but still. Different texture, but definitely good.

My verdict on SPAM? It should be embraced! I know this sounds like a huge endorsement by Hormel, but it's not. I probably wouldn't eat it straight out of a can (or with a spoon, as my classmates did with the video), because it's kind of meant to be sliced like bologna. And since I'm kind of weird and I don't really like "cold" ham (out of a can or not) I would at least heat it up on a microwave and throw it on a sandwich. Be adventurous, people. I mean, you never know until you try it (the only exceptions to this rule are certain unnamed green things, and I'm not talking Dr. Seuss).

Even if you can't make it to Hawaii...you can at least eat as if you're there!