The Spicy Spam Variety You Can Find At Costco

Launched in the fall of 2024, gochujang-flavored Spam has hit shelves at Costco, sending lovers of Korean cuisine and Hormel's canned meat alike into a frenzy to score their first eight-pack. According to Reddit, that's no easy feat — one user even described the product as "mythical." Hormel released this gochujang Spam variety on the heels of its Korean BBQ flavor, released in the early summer of 2024, expanding the brand's foray into Korean cuisine and riding on the recent upsurge in gochujang's popularity.

A red chili pepper paste made with glutinous rice, fermented soybeans, and barley malt, gochujang could be construed as South Korea's national condiment. In the same way people in the U.S. love to love mayonnaise, gochujang can be found in all facets of Korean cuisine, from Napa cabbage kimchi and tteokbokki (chewy rice cakes) to jjigae, a Korean beef stew. Over the past several years, gochujang's popularity has blossomed in the U.S., and stateside chefs have been adding the spicy, umami-rich condiment to everything from caramel cookies to garlicky buttered noodles.

While the almost-90-year-old canned meat still has its naysayers, Spam has experienced an almost meteoric rise in favor over the past decade as more people have come to appreciate its affordability, versatility, long shelf life, and increased social media presence. Made from a combination of pork meat and cured ham, there are countless ways to take Spam to the next level (like adding it to fried rice or spaghetti carbonara), and the brand's new gochujang flavor only adds another boost.

The rich spiciness of gochujang-flavored Spam makes it well-suited for making (among other things) Hawaii's popular snack, Spam musubi. Sliced, diced, or pan-fried, gochujang-flavored Spam is perfect in kimchi fried rice, but the recipes don't stop there: Add gochujang-flavored Spam to scrambled eggs and potatoes for a spicy breakfast casserole, chop it into sticks and pop them in the air fryer to heat up your favorite Spam fries, or cube up a can to spice up your favorite mac and cheese.