Tasso Ham

[iso]

Any pointers for making tasso ham?
What kind of cure, rub, & wood?

 

[richtee]

Huh...I have never heard of it... thanks! Something else to learn! Wheee!

 

[iso]

Tasso ham is more of an ingrediant rather than a featured meat dish. It is used mainly in cajun/creole dishes like jumbulya(SP?). I have not seen tasso ham in the PNW. Andeouille sausage is availiable locally albeit not as tasty as that made by the locals in Louisiana.

My understanding that is is not a true ham but rather a pork shoulder that is sliced, cured for a few hours, rubbed with spices, dried, then smoked. The end result is a very smoky strong flavored meat that lends it flavor well in other dishes.

 

[vlap]

Tasso ham is a specialty of Cajun cuisine. In this case, "ham" is a misnomer, since tasso is not made from the leg of a pig, but the shoulder butt. This cut is typically fatty and has a great deal of flavor. The butt, which will weigh 7 to 8 pounds, is sliced across the grain into pieces about 3 in / 7.5 cm thick. These are then dredged in a salt cure, which usually includes nitrates and sugar. The meat is left to cure very briefly, only three or four hours, then rinsed, rubbed with a spice mixture which is sure to contain cayenne and garlic, and hot-smoked until cooked through. Tasso is not typically eaten on its own, but may be found in dishes ranging from pasta to crab cakes, soup to gravy. Appropriate to its roots, tasso is most often found in recipes of southern or Cajun/Creole origin.

 

[fatback joe]

I used this recipe and was happy with it. It was not my own recipe, but don't remember where I got it (somewhere off the net) so can't give credit where it is due. I smoked it with hickory wood at a low temp (like 200) until the internal hit 150-160.

Cut the butt into 1" x 1" by what ever lengths the butt is before apply the rub and then smoke as strips.

8-10 pounds boneless pork butt
5 tablespoons salt
5 tablespoons cayenne pepper
3 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons white pepper
2 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons cinnamon
2 tablespoons garlic powder or granulated garlic

After it the strips cooled, I cut them into cubes and froze most of them in 1/2 lb chunks to use in etouffee and what not.

Edit: forgot to mention that after I applied the rub I let it sit over night prior to smoking. Came out very spicy and tasty.....great addition to the etouffee.

 

[hell fire grill]

This place has a couple good recipies. Just pretend you dont see the words liquid smoke.

http://home.pacbell.net/lpoli/index.htm

 

[richtee]

I think we need a new "green thing" like for fatty here... "liquid smoke" should be defined as "@%#*" .

 

[jbo]

I made Tasso from this site: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Tasso-Ham/Detail.aspx

I used a 10 Lb front shoulder (picnic) instead of a butt and the ham itself turned out great. The rub for it was way too strong for me. I started another one yesterday, and I will not use the rub. The ham was not too salty, or spicy, and was easy and very tasty.