Tasso Ham

Tasso ham is  quick cured and smoked pork shoulder (boston butt). It’s very easy to make and is an important ingredient in dishes like Gumbo, Shrimp and Grits, soups and gravys. Again, as you’ll hear me say through out this blog, a high quality cut of pork is important. Quality ingredients give you quality product. Small heritage and organically fed breeds tend to not have the dried out lean meat that the mass produced breeds do and therefor are going to have more flavor and more fat. Fat is good. Maybe not good for you but good when you are making things with pork. Get fatty, well marbled pork. Period. If the hog is high quality the fat on it will also be high quality. Trust me, there is a difference. Ok back to the Tasso.

This recipe calls for a boston butt weighing around 3 pounds. The boston butt is a cut from the front leg of the hog at the shoulder. It is a muscle group that sees heavy use and that gives the meat a nice marbling and a stronger pork flavor. Have your butcher debone the butt which will make slicing it much easier. Slice the butt into 1 to 2 inch thick slices. I tend to do 1 inch because the cure has more surface area to act on, and the meat doesn’t spend that much time in the cure.

Prepare the cure.

• 2 lbs. Kosher salt
• 1 lb. light brown sugar
• 2 Tbsps. onion powder
• 1 Tbsp. clove, ground
• 1 Tbsp. bay leaves, ground
• 1 Tbsp. mace, ground
• 1 Tbsp. allspice, ground

Mix all the ingredients evenly and cover the slices of pork so that all of the surface area of the pork is in contact with the cure.

Place the pork in the refridgerator for about 3 – 3 1/2 hours. Wash the cure from the pork thoroughly and place on a wire rack over a sheet pan. The pork should feel like it has been dried out somewhat and tougher to the touch.

Set the pork on the wire rack back in the refridgerator for 3 days uncovered. After three days take the pork out and prepare the rub and prepare your smoker with hickory and / or oak for smoking at around 200° f.

Tasso Seasoning

• ¼ cup white pepper
• ¼ cup cayenne
• ¼ cup marjoram
• ¼ cup allspice

Cover the dry cured pork with the rub.

Smoke the pork at 200°f until the internal temperature reaches 150°f. Remove the pork from the smoker and use right away in many different recipes or seal with a vaccum sealer and freeze until you need it.

So there. Yet another simple recipe that delivers fantastic results. I’ll be making gumbo or maybe shrimp and grits this weekend with some of the Tasso. I’ll post how it goes.

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