SPAM Hot Honey Flavor Might Be Enough To Convert The Canned Ham Skeptics

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Food trends come and go, but one recent phenomenon seems to have more staying power than past trends. Hot honey is everywhere right now, from fast-food collaborations to homemade recipes for the condiment. One brand is betting that the appetite for this sweet-and-spicy flavor profile will stick around for the long haul, so it's added a hot honey offering to its permanent lineup.

SPAM Hot Honey brings the familiar flavor to everyone's favorite canned meat. The new variety joins an impressive lineup of SPAM flavors, including Jalapeño, Teriyaki, and Hickory Smoke, to give fans a fresh option when cracking open a can.

To celebrate the release, SPAM sent me a few tins to try for myself. While the SPAM website has a few fun suggested recipes to prepare with the Hot Honey variation — the Flatbread Pizza is definitely on my list — I wanted to see how this new option stacks up on its own. Read on to find out whether SPAM Hot Honey is a win for sweet-heat fans or a dud worth leaving on the shelf.

SPAM sent me two tins of the new Hot Honey flavor to test. I sampled the SPAM two ways: Straight from the can, then by pan-frying a slice. My evaluations focused on flavor, texture, and how well hot honey blends with SPAM's unmistakably salty taste. 

Some recommendations are based on first-hand impressions of promotional materials and products provided by the manufacturer/distributor/etc.

On its own, SPAM has a lot of flavor, even if 90% of it is salt. The canned pork product has been going strong for nearly 100 years for a few reasons, and one is its versatility. From breakfast sandwiches to "sushi", SPAM can be used in a whole lot of unique ways, and the same is true of this fun new flavor.

Uncooked, the hot honey doesn't come through quite right. The spice takes a long time to hit, leaving the first few bites with a mix of sweet and salty that's not quite honey and definitely not my favorite. Once cooked, though, everything balances out. The sweeter elements contrast the high sodium levels, while the spice is consistent from first bite to last. This isn't the kind of heat that's going to make you reach for a glass of water, but rather one that warms your mouth and adds flavor rather than just straight spice.

SPAM more than delivered with its new Hot Honey variety. The two key flavor profiles are well executed and blend perfectly with everything you already know and love about SPAM. My go-to SPAM use is in a bowl of mac and cheese, but this flavor opens up so many fun opportunities. I would definitely recommend pan-frying it first to even out the flavor profile and add a crispy texture on the outside, but from there — the possibilities are nearly endless.

SPAM Hot Honey will be available nationwide soon, but at the time of this writing, I could only find it on Amazon, where a 12-ounce can retails for $4.99. A single serving is 2 ounces and contains 14 grams of fat, 7 grams of protein, 470 milligrams of sodium, and 170 calories.