Tasso Phase I

Nola Cuisine Tasso Recipe

I've had an interest in making Tasso ever since I read about it on the most excellent food blog, Nola Cuisine. However, I didn't have a smoker so all my Tasso dreams went up in smoke (which I didn't have.)

That's all changed with the arrival of my most recent obsession, the Cookshack Smoker. I've been looking for things to smoke! (er, don't quote me on that, kthx.)

I've already done fish, ribs and a chicken, just for practice, you see, and now I'm ready to get serious. To be totally honest I don't even know what Tasso is, but if Danno says it's good then that's enough Kool-Aid for me Fortunately, Chef Google knows all about Tasso and would tell you that it's lean strips of pork, highly seasoned, smoked and it's used in small quantities to flavor beans (think red beans and rice), soups, gumbos and anything else that would benefit from spicy porky goodness, like a bowl of Cheerios. That's enough for me, fire up the smoker!

Not so fast. Making tasso is del-i-cate or you'll ruin the spell, as the Wicked Witch of the West said. It takes three days to let the rub sink in, then a few hours of air drying and about 4 hours of smoking.

"Tastes like chicken" is something I'm not looking forward to hearing after all this! Not likely, either, considering my ninja Ham Ribs-fu. It's gonna be ham-licious.

Full report in a few days.