Made some tasso

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crankybuzzard

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Jan 4, 2014
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Montague County, TX
Started a dry cure for tasso a couple of days ago and smoked the first batch today. I've never made it before, but have eaten some that others have made and loved it.

I had just over 10 pounds of meat that I started with and took 5 pounds out today after a 36 hour cure. The other 5 pounds will sit in the dry cure for another 48 hours. I want to see how much of a difference the extra time makes. I used Len Poli's recipe as a guide. This is the first time I've used cure #2 for a cure that was this short of a duration.

I started the tasso at 120 without smoke until it was good and dry, about 1.5 hours. After that, I started my Amazen tube with hickory, and bumped the temp to 135. I bumped the temp up 10 degrees every 45 minutes until I got to 180, I then let it run until I hit 150 internal. About 6 hours total.

The flavor of this stuff is great! I cut off 4 little slices to snack on and it definitely opened up the sinuses!

Not the best pics, but I knew I had to have a few at least... :biggrin:


 
Oh that looks great.

Gonna have to look into this.
 
Your Tasso looks really good...I seriously think Cure #2 is a Typo. There is just no good reason to use it for this preparation. The Nitrate in Cure #2 gets converted to Nitrite by time in warmer conditions than refrigeration. Poli says to refer during the curing time..
th_dunno-1%5B1%5D.gif
 Additionally, since the meat is a seasoning, it will be cooked after smoking to an IT of 150°F (180° external), and not meant to eat as is, most recipes just use a large amount of Salt and Spices to bind moisture, inhibit bacterial growth and to do the curing. There are some Recipes out there with TQ. Cure #2 won't hurt nothing but it's just a strange choice...JJ​
 
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Chef Jimmy, I agree on the possibility of a typo and questioned it quite a bit.

The next batch I make will be with #1 since it hasn't failed me too many times in the past for a dry cure application for a short duration.

This stuff should be killer in a pot of beans though!
 
 
Chef Jimmy, I agree on the possibility of a typo and questioned it quite a bit.

The next batch I make will be with #1 since it hasn't failed me too many times in the past for a dry cure application for a short duration.

This stuff should be killer in a pot of beans though!
Tasso is great in anything you'd use bacon in as a seasoning meat. It has no calories compared to bacon, and the taste shines thru much greater.

Any fresh veggie from corn to green beans loves tasso. Its not a norm in jambalaya, seldom in gumbo, excellent in a big pot of beans when you have no andouille or sausage.

It really shines though on fresh veggies. Oh and listen, take the time to try making a tasso cream sauce. You could put that on a cow patty and it'd be delicious. Great on spinach or stuffed squash, spaghetti, etc. etc. etc...........LOL it would be great on cardboard.....LOL

I saw on the net where a smoker had made a big cauldron of red beans. He started with andouille, sausage, bacon trim and tasso. I had to try it. Best pot a red beans I think I ever made.

I have tried the last two years two or three times and could never get what I was looking for. But I am limited in time available to experiment due to the weather as well as the new demand for other smoked meats. As to the #2, I think Poli try's to stay with traditional methods and according to Pop they never saw any #1 cure, everything was done with #2. So that could well be the reason for the #2. But he also said they never really cured the tasso, just rubbed it down with whatever spices were left over and hung to dry with the bacon and hams. Its was always the greenest of the meats.
 
 
. Oh and listen, take the time to try making a tasso cream sauce. You could put that on a cow patty and it'd be delicious. Great on spinach or stuffed squash, spaghetti, etc. etc. etc...........LOL it would be great on cardboard.....LOL
I need an education on this tasso cream sauce you speak of!

Soaking beans tonight and will start them tomorrow morning before work!  Spaghetti, now that just sounds darn good!
 
Well I didn't find a board post recipe on the tasso cream, but here is an andouille cream sauce. I am still having troubles with my cookbook copy. Some dim witted Computer geek deleted bit and pieces of my computer to fix a problem he just thought I had, it was a software conflict with my browser but not with my cookbook, I lost a lot.

But heres the andouille cream sauce:

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/178767/baby-spinach-w-andouille-cream-sauce-foamheart

I bet you can figure it out from here. One suggestion, use a box grater on the coarsest grate, grate the tasso vice cubing or slicing. Its going to be a bit too tuff cubed or sliced.
 
Sorry for the late reply, I somehow un subscribed to my own post.

Yes, I used butt for the tasso here. I had some in a pot of beans last nit and it was amazing! I purposely didn't season the beans just to see how well the tasso worked, I ended up adding a bit of salt and a touch of chili powder, but my wife even agreed, it would have been fine without adding.
 
Thanks for the info CrankyBuzzard!  I have recently discovered tasso as a seasoning meat.  My GF and I are new tasso fans.  She is now a pickled pork convert, the pickled pork available today seems different from what we grew up on.  I'm also 50 so the food memories may be skewed.

Mike 
 
I found a NOLA CUISINE recipe... does this look like it... It sure looks good to me...


Tasso Cream Sauce Recipe

2 Tbsp Usalted Butter
1/2 Cup Tasso, Finely Diced
2 Tbsp All Purpose Flour
1 1/2 Cups Half & Half
Kosher Salt, to taste
2 tsp Fresh Lemon Juice
2 Dashes Hot Sauce (I use Crystal)
1 Dash Worcestershire Sauce
1/2 Cup Mexican Crema Agria, or Creme Fraiche

Add the butter and Tasso to a small saucepan. Saute until lightly browned, incorporate the flour, stirring constantly for 2 minutes. Add the cold half & half, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer, cook for 5 minutes. Season with the salt and add the lemon juice and the sauces. Just before serving whisk in the crema and warm through.
 
Howdy Dave!

That may not be the one, but I'm going to try it!

Gracias sir

Mike5051,

I'm pushing 50, and I assure you, foods have changed! That's one of the reasons I've gotten so deep into making my own stuff.
 
On Sunday I smoked 5 of the 10 pounds, and last night I smoked the other 5.

This recipe definitely improves with the longer curing time. This 5 pounds lost more water in the bags and the cure looks to have completely penetrated.

I started with 5.2 pounds of meat, and after cure, smoke, and dry time, I ended with just under 4 pounds.

Again, the flavor is amazing!


The bride and I love pinto beans, so I'm gonna soak some tonight and make another pot with this new batch.
 
I have found the longer the curing time, the better the flavor also... especially bacon... My tasso is my first batch... I will try a longer cure on it....
 
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