Spam Fritters

fritters fresh out the fryer on wire rack with ketchup blurred in background

5 from 8 votes

Spam Fritters are an absolute British classic. Here I show you how to make them at home in the easiest and most delicious way possible! I recommend skimming through the recipe notes before getting started!

Prep Time20

Cook Time15

Total Time35

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: British

Servings: fritters

Author: Chris Collins

Cost: £1.50 / $2

Equipment

1 Large Pot/Deep Pan, for deep frying
Medium Sized Dish & Whisk (for batter)
Sharp Knife & Chopping Board
Wire/Cooling Rack
Kitchen Tongs
Paper Towels
Cooking Thermometer

Ingredients

1x 12oz/350g can of Spam
1 cup / 150g Plain/All Purpose Flour
1 cup / 240ml COLD Beer (see notes)
1 tsp Baking Powder
1/4 tsp each: White Pepper, Salt
Oil, for deep frying (see notes)

Optional

4 squares of Cheese, halved/sliced to the size of one fritter (Cheddar or Swiss work great)
Dijon Mustard, as needed

Instructions

Remove spam from tin (follow instructions on can, make sure it comes out whole). Place on chopping board and slice into 8 equal sized wedges. I find this easiest by halving (2), halving those halves (4), then halving each of those (8).
Lay each wedge flat and very lightly spread with dijon mustard (not too much, just enough for the cheese to stick ~1/2tsp). Lay each slice of cheese on top and firmly press down so it sticks to the spam.
Combine flour in a bowl with baking powder, white pepper and salt. Making sure the cheese stays intact, carefully (but thoroughly) coat each fritter in flour.
At this point pour 3-4cups/750ml-1litre oil in a deep pan and heat it to 180C/356F.
Once all the fritters are coated in the flour pour in the COLD beer. Use a whisk to stir (don't over beat or the bubbles with burst, some small lumps are fine). If you go OTT with the beer and it's too thin just mix in a few pinches more flour, vice versa with the flour. Again, you want the batter as airy and cold as possible so don't beat the hell out of it. It should be somewhat thin, but thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
Use a fork to lower the fritters into the batter, allow them to fully coat, then carefully transfer into the hot oil. Work in batches of 3-4. You want to work fairly quickly as you want the batter to be as cold and bubbly as possible.
Once the fritters are in the oil the temp will drop, so try and keep it at a steady 180C/356F (increase heat as needed). Allow them to fry for a couple of minutes, then flip and continue cooking until golden. Remove one by one and place on a wire rack with paper towels UNDERNEATH (don't place straight on paper towels or they'll go soggy). Repeat with second batch.

Video

Notes

a) Beer - Really important the beer is left unopened in the fridge until the last minute. You want it nice and cold and bubbly so it makes the most crispy/airy batter. In terms of what beer to use I usually go for Fosters or Heineken but any lager beer will work. Beer works best as it gives a richer flavour and the alcohol burns off quick (so crispier batter) but a neutral flavoured soda water can sub at a push.

b) Oil - You need to use an oil with a high smoking point. Sunflower, vegetable and rapeseed all work well and are great for their neutral flavours. Peanut oil is great, but obvious injects a mild peanut flavour. Do not use olive oil.

c) Batter - Really important to not over mix the batter, you don't want to beat the bubbles out. Because it's a rough and ready batter, it's easily adjustable, so if you go slightly OTT with the beer you can easily mix in more flour to thicken.

d) Tips for Deep Frying - If you're not confident with deep frying I recommend just testing with one in the first instance, then increase from there (up to 4 in the pan). Important to make sure the oil reaches temp before adding the fritters AND that it maintains, otherwise the fritters will absorb too much oil and they'll be oily/soggy.

e) Classic Spam Fritters - Classic spam fritters of course don't use mustard/cheese, so feel free to make these without and continue the recipe as stated.

f) Calories - Difficult to calculate how much oil is soaked up and how much batter is used, but nutrition based on using all the batter and 1/2tsp oil soaked up per fritter. No cheese or mustard.

Nutrition