5 Must-Try Condiments for Enhancing Your Spam Sandwich

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Spam tends to elicit strong opinions, but you can’t deny that it’s been having quite a moment in the last couple of years. From Spam musabi, a popular snack in Hawaii, to bao buns, you can find the canned meat on trendy restaurant menus all over the country. Since it’s so versatile, it can show up in breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Part of the appeal of the preserved pork product is that it doesn’t take a chef to make a dish with Spam; all you need is a hot frying pan and an idea, and one of the easiest ways to sneak a little more of the salty stuff into your routine is in a Spam sandwich. 

In fact, with the right bread and toppings, a couple of slices of Spam can taste downright transformative. But it all comes down to the condiments, which can make or break the dish. Here we’ll take a look at five of the absolute best condiments for your Spam sandwich, plus a few topping suggestions to get your creative juices flowing.

When you’re deciding on a spread for a Spam sandwich, the easiest place to look for inspiration is from chefs who have already mastered the medium, and perhaps nobody does Spam better than Roy Choi. In his 2013 cookbook “L.A. Son: My Life, My City, My Food,” Choi has a recipe for a killer Spam bánh mì that uses spicy mayonnaise made by mixing sriracha and Maggi seasoning into some regular mayonnaise. 

The bold, creamy quality of the condiment complements the cured ham flavors in the Spam and turns up the heat, and the fresh vegetables and herbs that make up a bánh mì keep the sandwich from coming across as overly salty or greasy. Even if you’re not planning to make a bánh mì, try adding some crisp greens or sliced tomatoes to a Spam sandwich with spicy mayo to keep the combination tasting balanced.

You might be noticing a spicy trend here, and it’s no accident. Spicy and salty flavors work great together, so any condiment that packs a punch will probably taste great with Spam. In fact, there’s even a spicy version of Spam that you can get at Costco. Kimchi not only has a solid spice profile, it’s also tangy from fermentation as well as crunchy, which is really a trifecta of sandwich excellence. 

In his cookbook “Soups, Salads, Sandwiches,” chef Matty Matheson uses kimchi to make a grilled Spam and cheese sandwich that’s to die for, and you can easily incorporate it into your own creation, too. Kimchi often has large chunks of cabbage, depending on your favorite brand, which may need to be chopped up before using it to top your Spam sammy. On the other hand, those chunks can be considered part condiment, part topping, so experiment with leaving the pieces intact.

If you’re stuck in a condiment rut when making a Spam sandwich, consider that it’s not all that far off from a ballpark hotdog. While Spam is arguably saltier than your average Oscar Meyer, they’re both cured pork products, so anything that tastes good on a hotdog is also going to taste good on a slice of Spam. 

Try slathering relish on right from the jar, and add some other street-cart toppings like chopped onions and sauerkraut. Relish also plays well with mayonnaise and mustard to make a crunchy dijonnaise-like spread, or mix relish, mayo, and ketchup to make a Big Mac-style sauce. Top the sandwich with some burger fixins’ like American cheese, lettuce, and tomatoes and you’re good to go.

The best condiments are those that can do more than one job, and while cheesy queso dip is obviously perfect for corn chips, it can also pull off sandwich duty. Spam and queso might sound like strictly college dorm food, but hear us out: a cheesesteak-style sandwich on a hoagie bun, with cooked Spam, sautéed peppers and onions, and a drizzle of queso on top is divine. 

Ham and cheese is always a classic pairing, and what is Spam if not just square-shaped ham? The salty flavor profile is a bit like sweet Italian sausage, so this cheesesteak is a no-brainer. Spam’s official page has a recipe for a similar sandwich made with American cheese, but the spicy tang of queso adds a little something extra to the mix.

Sometimes with a Spam sandwich you just gotta think outside the bread, so take some inspiration from glazed ham and try pepper jelly on your next sandwich. Most pepper jellies are made from jalapeños or other hot chili peppers, so they can be a little spicy, which we already know tastes great with Spam. The sweetness, however, brings a new dimension to the table that can tone down some of the saltiness in the meat. 

If you don’t want to spread straight pepper jelly right on the bread, try mixing it with a bit of mayonnaise or ketchup to give it more of a savory quality. A Redditor in r/sandwiches recommends a handheld combination of Spam, hot pepper jelly, red beet hard boiled egg, mild cheddar, pickles, pickled jalapeños, and olive oil mayo, which just might hit the spot if you’re ready for a flavor adventure. “I’m not gonna lie, I wasn’t sure how this was going to play out,” said the poster, “but in the end it was an awesome sandwich. No regrets.”