Homemade Tasso

[NePaSmoKer]

Some homemade Tasso heavily seasoned. Gots to sit in the fridge for 3 days, then 1 hour in front of the fan and then 1 hour of smoke and some heat. Going to be good in some red beans and rice.  Like RR says----------yummo



nepas

[Wildcat]

Looks nice! ;)  Forgive my ignorance, but what is Tasso? ???

[NePaSmoKer]

Looks nice! ;)  Forgive my ignorance, but what is Tasso? ???

Tasso, a highly seasoned, intensely flavored smoked pork, adds a wonderful flavor to a variety of dishes, from soups to jambalaya to pastas and seafood dishes. Easily obtainable in Louisiana or by making it yourself.

nepas

[LilSmoker]

Sounds delicious!  ;)

[NePaSmoKer]

Here is an another way to make Tasso.

1 7-10 pound cured picnic ham
DRY SEASONINGS MIXTURE:
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon white pepper
2 tablespoons cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon salt
2 tablespoons Spanish paprika
3 tablespoons granulated garlic
2 tablespoons onion powder
3 tablespoons brown sugar

Cut strips of meat 3 - 4 inches long by 2 - 3 inches wide and 3/4 inch thick. Coat the strips of pork generously with the dry seasonings mix. Skewer meat with a metal smoking rod and arrange so that a good flow of smoke can reach all sides evenly  Hang tasso in the smoker or place on racks and smoke at 150F for 5 - 6 hours. Meat should be slightly moist and completely smoked throughout. Alternate Method Shoulder bone can also be smoked along with the tasso. These bones can be used in Red Beans, White Beans, Gumbo and other dishes.  Tasso is probably the most important smoked meat seasoning used in a Cajun cooking. Tasso is a highly seasoned slice of smoked pork shoulder (along with any extra scraps and pieces of pork). It is used as the primary smoked flavor for many traditional Cajun dishes. The best tasso is slightly dryer than a regular smoked ham however, not as dry as a jerky. It also has a lite sweet taste and is about twice as hot (Cayenne or Tabasco Pepper Seasoned) as regular smoked sausage.

And all this from a yankie  lol
Hey I been around

nepas

[Wildcat]

Thanks.  Sounds like it might be just a little too spicey for me.  I may give it a try since what ever you put it in may help to tame it somewhat. ;D

[iceman]

Nepa;
Good sounding. Throw in a Pig knuckle or two seasoned with the same spice. Mom always did that for red beans on Sunday. Man it added flavor. I've got some old time sausage recipes if your interested from down in Dem Parts of the country. Brings back good memories when ever we make them. Glad to hear someone else likes LA. food. ;D Just got done with a batch of Boudin last week.

[PetersCreek]

Just got done with a batch of Boudin last week.

Man, oh man.  We gotta talk.  Haven't had that in forever.  I'm headin' Louisiana way come April, though.

[iceman]

Just got done with a batch of Boudin last week.

Man, oh man.  We gotta talk.  Haven't had that in forever.  I'm headin' Louisiana way come April, though.

Any time my man. Vampyr and I have been playing with the Caputto flour in pizza lately too. Home made Italian sausage, home made sauces, it don't get any better. Anytime you want to make sausage let me know.

[Gizmo]

Looks like I am going to have to get into the sausage making gig now.  I have used it in a few LA recipes I brought back from my 3 days at the New Orleans Cooking Experience. 

Wildcat, usually Tasso is the mildest ingrediant in the disk when it comes to CAJUN.

Iceman, you'll have to post your Boudin recipe.  I had a friend that I worked with many years ago.  She would make an almost yearly trip to LA to visit family.  Knowing how much I like sausage and spicy things, she would always bring me back some andoullie and boudin.

There is a place in LaPlace (Jacobs) that sells great sausages and are well known for their Andouille but the shipping costs about as much as the product does.  I haven't tried to order from them for several years so maybe they have been able to negotiate better shipping costs by now.  It would be fun to try to make some and have the LA crowd around here give it a taste test. 

[Wildcat]

I have eaten a lot of Cajun and have been to New Orleans many times.  It is only a little over 3 hours from where I live.  I just never learned all the names of the Cajun food.  I pay attention to what is in it.   Most of what I have tried has been spicy but not always hot and on all but about 3 occassions has been very good.  I do like things warm but not enough to put blisters in the mouth. :)

[NePaSmoKer]

Ok today is the 3rd day of Tasso being in the fridge. Tonite I take out and put it in front of the fan for an hour or so till it dries some, then hitting the BS. I will post some pics later.

I frequent New Orleins often and when there I like this place and their items  http://www.savoiesfoods.com/

NEPAS

[Gizmo]

From my brief history lesson/story while in New Orleans, I learned I had the same misconception about Cajun and Creole food as most.  That misconception being their food is spicey hot.  What I found out is that traditional is spicey but not necessarily hot.  The cultures were big in the use of spices to add flavor and variation.  This was more evident when back before refrigeration, a lot of the meat  the plantation workers were given to eat (which was not often, or they were able to salvage from the wealthy) was not fresh, other wise known as rotten or ill flavored.  Heavy spices were common to mask the ill flavors.  The heat spice was more modern variations from the comercialization of Cajun food and that is what is now more known.   Hopefully my memory is not further propegating ill knowledge and I have done justice to the traditional Cajun and Creoles with their fine gift of spice and flavorings. 

[Wildcat]

The non-hot or mild-hot cajun food is very good and is what you find in LA the most.  At least in the better places.  Some are very hot.  True cajun food is exceptionally good in my opinion. ;D

[NePaSmoKer]

Being I have some spanish in my (roots) I grew up eating alot of mexican food. The spice is different among foods. Cajun is diff from Creole and both diff from mexican and then even there is tex-mex spice. Ahhh listen to me jabberin. Just my $0.2 worth.

nepas