How to make Spam taste good, even in a disaster

When disaster strikes you could be left without any power and only the food supplies you already have to get by. Last week, our partners at the City of Saskatoon Emergency Measures Organization organized for four chefs and four celebrity sous-chefs to put their skills to the ultimate test.

The teams had just 30 minutes to prepare two dishes using only the supplies that could be available if there was a disaster: propane stoves, non-electric food choppers, bottled water and non-perishable foods.

Red Cross volunteer presents first prize to Chef Anthony and Kevin Stanfield
Red Cross volunteer Kayla Brien presents first place to Chef Anthony and Kevin Stanfield for their Spam fritters with a Mexican bean/pineapple sauce & Asian Noodle bowl.
Landen and Chef Brandon preparing their dishes
Landen from 92.9 The Bull and Chef Brandon from Saskatoon Fire win for best named dish ‘Spamalot’.
Chef Amedeo drains pasta while Leisha watches
CBC’s Leisha Grebinski worked with Chef Amedeo from Saskatoon Inn to create stuffed spam with ramen in tomato sauce.
Maleeha forms Croquettes while Chef Manpreet stirs food
CTV’s Maleeha Sheikh and Chef Manpreet from Radisson Saskatoon overcame several stove malfunctions and made some yummy Croquettes.
Kevin and Chef Anthony preparing their food
Kevin Stanfield from Global and Chef Anthony from the Saskatoon Club battled fiercely while taunting the other competitors and won.

There was friendly taunting, a few spilled pots (nothing broken), some sweat (but don’t worry, no tears) and one malfunctioning stove. Never have I seen such amazing things made out of Spam and ramen noodles! Lucky for us, one chef, Manpreet Sethi from Radisson Hotel Saskatoon, generously shared one of his recipes so we can make our own gourmet emergency meal.

Spam Croquettes:
  • 1 cup rice
  • 500ml water
  • 1 can mushroom soup
  • spam, diced
  • 1 can pineapple juice
  • evaporated milk
  • chilli powder
  • Kraft Dinner cheese packet
  • panko breadcrumbs
Cook the rice with the water. Once done, add 1 can mushroom soup, chilli powder, evaporated milk and cheese packet. Dice Spam and cook on medium heat until crispy, then deglaze with pineapple juice and reduce until thick.

Scoop mixture with an ice cream scoop, make a pocket with your fingers and add spam to pocket. Form a ball, roll in panko and fry in oil until golden brown.

Sauce:
  • 200ml Pasta Sauce
  • 0.5 pack Kraft Dinner powdered cheese
Mix ingredients and boil. Pour in squeeze bottle. Serve with Croquettes.

When your family faces disaster you don’t have to make culinary masterpieces but you might need to feed your family and keep them safe for at least 72 hours. Do you have your disaster kit ready? It doesn’t take long to assemble. Find out what you need to include here

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