So if you’ve never heard of Spam, it’s basically luncheon meat that comes in a can and tastes like chicken sausage. It is really delicious when fried and so I decided to pair it with caramelised onions and mozarella cheese in a bun. That’s how these cheesy Spam onion rolls came to be. The rolls are very fluffy and soft. The fun part is that you can substitute the Spam for any cooked meat like chicken, bacon or sausage.
So I used a block of mozarella cheese and chopped it into 2 inch cubes that could fit the centre of the bun. You could also fold up slices. The filling is cooked on the stovetop prior to stuffing the buns. I fried the Spam and onions together to give the meat a nice flavor and aroma. The dough rises twice in this recipe-before it is rolled out and after it has been stuffed with the Spam, onions and cheese. I brushed the dough with herb butter before baking. I baked the rolls under 30 minutes to get it nicely browned.
If you loved this cheesy Spam onion rolls recipe, you might also like my jalapeño tomato onion grilled cheese!
Ingredients
Rolls
2x190g tinned spam (luncheon meat)
2 large onions, sliced
3 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil
2 teaspoons instant yeast
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 cup warm almond/dairy milk
1/2 cup melted unsalted butter
1 large whisked egg, at room temperature
5 cups all-purpose flour, leveled
1 teaspoon table salt
400g mozzarella
Topping
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted 1 tablespoon chopped parsley or basil
Instructions
- Chop the spam into small cubes about 2 inches wide. Cut the cheese into 12 equal pieces and set aside.
- Fry the onions and Spam in oil in a frying pan until the Spam is browned and the onions are caramelized. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, stir the yeast, sugar and warm water together. Let it sit for 5 minutes away from drafts or cold winds.
- After 5 minutes, you should see bubbles forming on the surface of the bowl from step 1. If you don't see any reaction, throw away the contents of the bowl, and start afresh with a newer yeast.
- Whisk in the warm milk, melted butter, whisked egg, and add the flour, salt with a hand whisk or hand mixer. Knead into a smooth ball for at least 5 minutes.
- Brush another large bowl with extra oil and transfer the dough ball from the previous step into this bowl.
- Cover the top of the bowl tightly with cling wrap and let it rise in a warm place away from winds for 1 hour.
- After 1 hour, remove the cling wrap and punch the dough down to release the air.
- Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and roll into a rectangle about 16x12inches in size and 1/4 inch thick. Use your hands to ensure it's a square shape.
- Cut the dough into equal 12 squares and place in the center in this order: cheese chunk, 1 tablespoon of the spam onion mixture. Tuck the ends into the middle of the dough (over the filling), flip upside down and roll gently into round balls.
- Place the rolls on a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Rise for 15 minutes covered with parchment paper or a kitchen towel.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F/175°C.
- Mix the topping ingredients together and brush the top of the rolls with it.
- Bake the rolls in the preheated oven for 20 minutes. Serve with bbq sauce or ranch sauce.