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.
This is
what it looks like after it comes off the smoker without Prague
Powder.
This is what
it looks like after it comes off the smoker using Prague
Powder. This tasso was made with pork shoulder.
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