Tasso anyone

We usually haul some back on each trip to New Orleans,but it is easy to make.

This is from Chef Alex Patout,friends of our family in New Iberia.

Here is Chef Alex Patout's recipe:

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
Trim the pork of all excess fat and cut it into strips about 1 inch thick and at least 4 inches long. Mix together the seasonings and place in a shallow pan. Roll each strip of pork in the seasoning mixture and place on a tray. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least overnight (preferable a couple of days).
Prepare your smoker. Place the pork strips on a grill or rod and smoke until done, 5-7 hours. Don't let the smoker get too hot. Remove the meat and let it cool completely, then wrap well in plastic and foil. The tasso will keep well in the refrigerator for up to 10 days, and it also freezes very well.

We try to keep the smoker about 180� and pecan is the traditional wood in that area.

It is now being used to flavor a lot of cream dishes,added to seafood,and grits.

Yeah, that's what I've been looking at. The five tablespoons of cayenne and six of pepper lead me to believe it might have a little kick to it. Thanks for the smoking tips.

Did a search on Tasso, found several.

Here's one:

Tasso

What kind of results would you imagine using the above listed spices and a spiral cut ham, then smoke per usual?

I've smoke spiral ham that were cured and used a rub and found them to be too salty.
Backed off on the salt with all other rub ingredients and it was tasty. Rolled it over asparagus and swiss with a bit of cabbage and served it with a light marinade.
Then it disappeared

Rubn Goodwood

That sounds good, but anything with asparagus and swiss would be good. I'm just looking for things to do with several spiral cut hams I got cheap.

Shark fishing if you got them REAL cheap

I smoke pre-cooked spiral hams quite a bit... without any additional rub. They really taste great and are usually pretty cheap.

Sometimes add a sauce when serving... like a cranberry or a raisin sauce.

Good stuff to know, wonder if a pre-cooked ham would be a good place for a newb to start. You really can't mess it up too bad.

I'm not sure I'd try to make Tasso, with "pre" smoked meat, as the seasonings won't penetrate like they would with unsmoked food.

PB's are cheap enough.

quote:

Originally posted by doogster:
Good stuff to know, wonder if a pre-cooked ham would be a good place for a newb to start. You really can't mess it up too bad.

Not as easy as you might think. The spiral cut hams dry out almost instantly. I'm going with SmokinOkie on this one and just stick with PB. I like a good ham sandwich every now and then so I'll reserve the spiral for that.