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Friday, March 23, 2012

From the Canned Goods Aisle: Hamdingers

Product: Hamdingers
Company: Patrick Cudahy
Years: 1976-?


What would you say if I told you that there was once a time when you could actually have a choice when purchasing fake processed meat in a can? I know, "Who cares" was my response too. But then I realized that the magical treat I am going to tell you about comes from my home state of Wisconsin, and I felt it my duty to represent. I am sick of people always saying that the only things to come out of Wisconsin are brats, cheeseheads, and beer. It's time that they add another thing to that list: Hamdingers.


Hamdinger's Ad - 1976

Hamdingers were a short lived meat product produced by the Patrick Cudahy Company out of Cudahy, WI in the mid 70's (they trademarked the name "Hamdinger" in 1976, and that Trademark has expired and is available if you feel the need to own it).  The product was sliced ham patties, about the size of a hamburger patty, and it came in a round can. Like Spam, it became a great meat to fry up with some eggs for breafast, but the great thing about Hamdingers is that it came in individually sliced portions, so you could grab a patty and fry it up for that perfect Hamdinger sandwich.

Hamdingers became a recurring joke used on the TV show Mystery Science Theater 3000, where the product often would be brought up by the cast. In one episode, they found an escape pod in a large box of Hamdingers. The reason nobody ever found it before was that nobody had any desire to open the box.

Hamdingers were so short lived, they have sort of become lore, in that there isn't a ton of information about them, but people definitely  do remember eating them in the late 70's. I'm not sure if it was a regional thing that pretty much kept to the central states or if it could be found in other parts of the country.

Do you remember eating Hamdingers? If so, please let us know what you thought and what memories you had of them!

The world needs more meat in a can. Patrick Cudahy, the time is now.

29 comments:

  1. When I was in school in the '80s, we often had a fried ham sandwich that sounds very much like these. A hamburger-sized round patty of ham that was not just a slice of ham but more like a processed food. I loved them, and wish I could buy them today. One of the lost foods of my childhood that I miss dearly.

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  2. I grew up in Texas and, while we didn't have Hamdingers, we did have Hormel Ham Patties, which came in a can. Picture here: http://www.shoprite.com/pd/Hormel/Ham-Patties/12-oz/037600223423/

    I loved them but my folks wouldn't buy them very often, as they felt the patties were too expensive!

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  3. I still remember the jingle, word-for-word from the old commercial!

    "Ham Dingers, Ham Dingers, Ham Burgers made with ham...Ham Dingers Ham Patties, just heat 'em up in a frying pan.

    Ham Dingers, Ham Dingers, Ham Burgers made with ham... Ham Dingers, Ham Patties the best Hamburger you've ever had...Best Ham - burger you've ever had...HAM DINGERS! "

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  4. I completely forgot about Hamdingers until today when I decided to make rosettes! My rosette irons (swedish cookie forms)have been stored perfectly in a Hamdinger can for over 35 years. I got online to see what year they were around. Mid-70's sound about right, we lived near West Bend at the time. As I recall we enjoyed them heated with a brown sugar/mustard glaze. Thanks for the memories!

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    1. I'd love to see a picture of that Hamdinger can!!!

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  5. I remember them clearly growing up in New Jersey. My dad made them for us, he'd put them on a hamburger bun with mayonnaise and pineapple. I am now a vegetarian.

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  6. They were a frequent on our dinner table. My mom made them with a brown sugar and crushed pineapple sauce. They were delicious. I miss them.

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  7. My dad made these for my brother and I in the early 80s, in Pennsylvania.

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  8. Most useful for escaping from space

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  9. Yes, my mother bought Hamdingers when I was a kid, in the 1970s. This was in New York. I remember that my brothers and I liked them!

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  10. Do you know if I can buy some for Christmas, for our children
    Please let me know if so.bmielke@firstweber.com
    Thanks

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  11. Do you know if I can buy some for Christmas, for our children
    Please let me know if so.bmielke@firstweber.com
    Thanks

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  12. ...The weird thing is, there was a line of pre-made sandwiches sold around here (I can't recall the company, but they had flavors including chicken salad, turkey and swiss, ham and cheese, pimento cheese, and a few others). One of these was a sandwich with only ham and mustard (can't remember if it was on white bread or something else) that were labeled...'Hamdingers'. No clue if the two are actually related at all, or if the name was a parallel idea that was never noticed and dragged to court.

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    Replies
    1. Sounds like the old Stewart sandwiches maybe. http://forums.roadfood.com/FindPost/845698

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  13. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  14. My mother bought these well into the 80's, I think they were available in WI a little longer than nationwide.

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  15. Growing up in Milwaukee back in the seventies and early eighties my dad would make up a 13x9 glass pan of scalloped potatoes that would be served with Hamdingers on top. He used to put a little brown sugar on the Hamdingers giving them a nice, sweet flavor. This dish was a favorite of our family's back in the day. Patrick Cudahy was a staple of our diets since we lived near the plant and my aunt even worked there for a time. I remember the Patrick Cudahy canned hams as well.

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  16. I had almost completely forgotten about Hamdingers, except for the fact that whenever I find out that we are having ham for dinner - I say something like "Yum! Hamdingers!"

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  17. I remember eating a lot of Hamdingers during my college days in the late 70's in Puerto Rico. One of my buddies liked them so much he ate them right out the can. The Hormel ham patties are still sold around here and I buy them for my kids, but they never saw the original Hamdingers.

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  18. OH man these were a staple one summer in the late 70s, they were so good. We all liked them fried in a skillet until they were crispy around the edges. I bet we ate them 3 times a week always eating them like a hamburger. They were really good on the grill and we'd have to have 4 cans of them for cook out so no one missed out. This was in New London WI. If they still made them I'd still buy them!

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  19. Hamdingers must have survived for a while. I grew up in northern New Jersey and remember eating these in the mid or late eighties. They had an odd taste but weren't horrible.

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  20. I have been searching the internet for years for the television commercial for Hamdingers. The family was dancing along to the Hamdingers jingle as if they'd all been doused with ether.

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  21. They were a camping staple for us back in the seventies to eighties in Pennsylvania. I loved them

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  22. they were only available until they ran out of hoffa..i mean ham...check the dates

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  23. Please help me find
    Hamdingers?

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  24. They were perfect for make-at-home Egg McMuffin copycats. God, I miss them.
    I have found no substitute for them: size diameter, thickness, consistency, taste.
    I thought originally they were a Patrick Cudahy product...PC, PLEASE BRING THEM BACK!!

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  25. Had these in grade school in the early 80s in Northern Wisconsin.

    Only time school lunch actually made me throw up.

    Nasty things.

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