It's all about tradition at Casa Freeper...... gather around kids,
@Etlonghorn and
@clob94, it's story time.
You see, my mother was from El Paso and my father from old Mexico, down Sonora way. They got together during the big one...WWII, while mom was working in the shipyards in Oakland and pops was on leave from the Pacific where he was lugging a BAR for Uncle Sam. During the course of his service, my dad was overseas for 4 years, he hit five beaches, Attu, Kiska, Kwajalien, Leyte and Okinawa. Twice he caught Japanese bullets.
In November of '44, finding himself a long way from his love in California, and on a patrol with his squad in the hills of central Leyte, they came under fire from a Japanese machine gun nest about 50 yards away. They were pinned down. My dad must've been some kind of pissed, resigned or what all I will never know. Clutching his BAR, he jumped up and charged the Japs, firing his BAR as he went and succeeded in wiping out two Japanese machine guns and at least 6 IJA soldiers. For this action, he was awarded a Bronze Star.
Now I tell y'all this because as it happens, when dad got back from the Pacific, he and mom got busy, churning out kids almost as fast as mom's shipyard had turned out Liberty ships. Dad brought back with him horrific memories that he never spoke of, some really cool Japanese souvenirs, including a Samurai sword and Yosegaki Hinomaru, "good luck flag" which I own, an Arisaka bolt action rifle which went to my oldest brother, and his helmet, with a bullet hole in it and scorched and creased liner, courtesy of a Japanese sniper on Okinawa, which my younger brother possesses. Oh yeah....he also brought back with him a strong love of SPAM and pineapple juice. We always had both in our pantry growing up and they were staples for us as kids.
Funny thing. My wife's father also served in the Pacific. He also loved SPAM and pineapple juice and so when we married, we always kept both in the pantry and our kids now have been brought up with that tradition.
Now I tell you all this because tradition is important. Like Longhorn icy whites, and Aggie misery, it is important that we maintain tradition so SPAM is just something I've always had around and found ways to incorporate into my cooking. (As I write this I'm enjoying some SPAM, egg and pepperjack breakfast sliders) So each Christmas, when the tamale production line starts up, tradition dictates that first and foremost, pork tamales be produced (Tamales Especiales Gran Reserva). That is pork in red sauce. Next, chile/cheese tamales, and then if there is any masa left, you can create whatever you want. Well one year, there was masa left, and cheese and chiles. We already had plenty of chile/cheese tamales so I looked through the pantry and what befell my eyes? SPAM....I quickly calculated how it would go with the other ingredients and thought why not....the rest is legend. As I said, my sainted mother enjoyed them, and she was highly skeptical when I told her about them.
Now then
@Etlonghorn on a strictly apples to apples basis, I agree with you. In fact carnitas are my go-to judgment dish in a Mexican restaurant if they've got them. On the other hand, carnitas are so good, they really shouldn't be buried under an avalanche of masa. SPAM on the other hand doesn't get buried. The masa absorbs some of that salt and fat and when reheated in an oven, the SPAM tamale has a wonderfully crispy, salty shell. Still not convinced? That's alright because I know that down here in The Dungeon we are nothing if not a highly diverse and multicultural group. We respect diversity and recognize that more food choices makes the Longhorn Nation stronger. Even if we would never actually partake of that particular food choice.
