Tasso

tasso

Tasso

Many cultures have a version of some kind of seasoned smoked pork they use in dishes. This is ours.  Tasso is not pretty to look at, but boy is it good.  Traditionally, tasso was made from leftover pieces of pork when the pig was butchered, and the spices and smoking were ways of preserving the meat.  Tasso is spicy but not hot and once you try it you’ll be hooked.  If you've had great jambalaya in Louisiana and wondered why the jambalaya everywhere else is mediocre, it's probably because the mediocre jambalaya didn't have any tasso it it.  You can buy tasso on the internet or in markets in Louisiana, but homemade tasso is so much better.  It adds a great flavor to a variety of dishes, from soups to jambalaya to pastas and seafood dishes.

Tasso is usually made with pork shoulder.  Don't try to make tasso out of some really tender cut of pork.  All recipes I know of use it cut into small pieces, and when you add it to a recipe it ends up cooking again.  If it isn't a little chewy it will fall apart. Here's a few notes about supermarket tasso versus homemade tasso.   First, if you can find tasso in a supermarket it will be called "tasso ham".  Don't let the name fool you.  Almost certainly, it's not ham, it's shoulder.  Second, supermarket tasso will almost always be pink and unless you add Prague powder #1, homemade tasso will be dark brown after it is smoked.  Prague powder #1 has sodium nitrite in it.  I think that most people will agree that tasso treated with Prague Powder #1 is nicer to look at.  I'm not going to get into whether sodium nitrite is good or bad for you, that's your decision to make.  I've written this so that you can make your tasso with Prague Powder or without it.

  
Seasonings For Tasso Without Prague Powder
10 lbs
trimmed pork butt (shoulder)
2½ tbl salt
1½ tbl brown sugar
1½ tsp cayenne pepper
1 tbl black pepper
1 tbl paprika
1½ tsp cinnamon
1 tbl granulated garlic


Seasonings For Tasso With Prague Powder
10 lbs
trimmed pork butt (shoulder)
2 tsp
Prague Powder #1
2 tbl salt
1½ tbl brown sugar
1½ tsp cayenne pepper
1 tbl black pepper
1 tbl paprika
1½ tsp cinnamon
1 tbl granulated garlic

Trim the excess fat off the pork and cut it into slabs about ¾" inch thick.  Mix the seasonings together.  Sprinkle the seasonings evenly over all the pieces of pork.  Place the seasoned pork in a resealable plastic container or a large plastic or glass tray. Put the a lid on the plastic container or aluminum foil on the tray to seal it it and refrigerate at least overnight (preferably 2 to 3 days).

Get your smoker heated to between 200° and 220°. Use pecan or oak, not hickory. Place the pork in the smoker and crank up the smoke.  Leave it in the smoker for 4-5 hours. Make sure there is lots of smoke but don't let the smoker get above 225°. Remove the meat and let it cool completely. Put it in resealable bags or vacuum seal it. It keeps forever in the freezer.

This what mine looks like just before going on the smoker.  This tasso was made with pork loin.  I recommend you use pork butt (shoulder) instead.

tasso2

  This is what it looks like after it comes off the smoker without Prague Powder.

tasso3


This is what it looks like after it comes off the smoker using Prague Powder.  This tasso was made with pork shoulder.
Tasso

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