Attention Emeril lovers and Cajun Cookers....let's make some TASSO!!!!!
How many times have you seen your favorite television cooking show use ingredients that you've never even heard of, much less know where to find? This is where I'm a maniac when it comes to cooking....I GOTTA HAVE THE SAME STUFF or my recipe just ain't right! Well, in some of my Cajun cook books and quite often in Emeril's shows, they use TASSO. Tasso is very much like a spicy cured and smoked ham. Technically, both ham and tasso are pork products, but Tasso is a slightly different cut of meat and it's prepped a bit differently. Tasso, at least in my recipe, is made out of Pork Shoulder (front of pig - Pork Butt) and ham tends to come from the rear leg of the pig (not always, but usually). It's cured with the normal curing salts, but we also add some very pungent spices such as cayenne pepper, black pepper, white pepper, pinch cinnamon, onion powder, garlic powder, and so on.... The final product is an incredible flavor-bomb that you use to add some "kick" to recipes. Generally, it's way too potent to use as the main ingredient in a recipe, but it adds a flavor to dishes that you won't be able to do without once you've tried it. The best part is, it's really easy.......no, really, it is. The procedure in short:
Cut meat
Season meat
Let cure (about 5 days in fridge)
Smoke
That's it. And you've got THE KEY ingredient that makes your cooking stand out at your next pot-luck.
