Today’s recipe is for a platter of Smoked Spam Burnt Ends cooked on the Traeger Trailhead that I got from Costco! This is a fast recipe that comes out great and uses layers of flavors.
You can use your Traeger Ranger, or any other pellet grill for that matter, and the burnt ends will still be amazing.
Let’s jump into it!
Gather the Ingredients
You are going to need the following:
- A Savory Dry Rub
- A Sweet BBQ Sauce
- Low Sodium Spam
We used Traeger’s Anything Rub, Stubb’s Sticky Sweet Sauce and Spam Lite.
You will want a low sodium Spam product as there is usually plenty of salt in the rub and the burnt ends will be too salty if you use regular Spam.
If you can’t find a low sodium Spam product then make sure you use a low salt (or no salt) rub.
Prepare the Spam for Smoking
We cut the block of Spam into 18 cubes that are approximately 1 inch in length.
- Start by cutting the Spam into three equal portions lengthwise.
- Next, slice the strips into three more equal sections along the width of the Spam. This will give you nine equal blocks that are about two inches thick.
- Lastly, cut the nine pieces in half to produce the final 18 one inch cubes.
Once the cubes have been prepared put them in a foil pan and toss with the rub. There is plenty of moisture in the Spam so you will not need to use a binder.
We use a 9x9x2 inch disposable foil pan for this step because it fits nicely on the grill when we sauce the burnt ends later.
Use about two tablespoons of the rub and toss the Spam cubes until evenly coated.
Smoke the Spam
Set your Traeger to your desired temperature and get the Spam onto the grill. Do not throw away the foil pan you used to toss the cubes because you will need that later.
The temperature and time required to smoke the Spam is extremely flexible. The only real rule is that the Spam needs to smoke long enough for the rub to set and form a crust so it doesn’t fall off when we add the sauce.
If you want a LOT of smoke flavor then cook the Spam at 225F for two hours. We were in a hurry so we smoked the Spam at 275F for one hour.
We had the Traeger loaded with Kirkland wood pellets but Traeger’s Gourmet blend would also be a good choice.
Add Sweet BBQ Sauce
After the rub has set into a crust on the Spam cubes it is time to add the barbecue sauce.
Return the Spam to the foil pan used to toss them with the rub and pour the whole bottle of barbecue sauce over them.
Tilt the pan back and forth a few times to make sure the cubes are evenly coated on all sides with the sauce. We don’t like to use tongs, etc at this point because we want the crust from the rub to stay intact. Keep it gentle.
Place the foil pan back on the Traeger and let the smoked Spam simmer in the sauce for one hour.
Serve Them Up!
After the Spam Burnt Ends have simmered in the sauce and smoke for one hour use some gloves to remove the pan from the Traeger Trailhead.
Use a pair of tongs and carefully transfer the Spam Burnt Ends from the foil pan to a serving tray.
Let the Spam Burnt Ends Cool for a few minutes and then dig in!
Traeger Smoked Spam Burnt Ends
Equipment
- Aluminum Foil Pan 9x9x2 inches
- Traeger Pellet Grill
Ingredients
- 1 can Low Sodium Spam
- 16 oz Sweet BBQ Sauce
- 3 tbsp Traeger Anything Rub
Instructions
- Remove the Low Sodium Spam from the can and cut into 16 one inch cubes.
- Place the Spam cubes into the foil pan and toss with the dry rub until evenly coated.
- Turn on your Traeger grill and set the temperature to 275F.
- Put the Spam cubes onto the grill grate and smoke for one hour.
- Return the Spam cubes to the foil an and coat with the bbq sauce.
- Put the pan on the smoker and cook for another hour.
- Remove the foil pan from the Traeger and serve!
