Tasso Ham Recipes

Steps:

• To Make the Brine: In a medium bowl, combine curing mixture, sugar, pepper, 2 tablespoons onion powder, 2 tablespoons garlic powder and water. Mix until the salt and sugar are dissolved in the water.
• Pour brine over pork. Allow pork to soak in brine for one week in the refrigerator.
• Remove pork from brine, then discard brine. Rinse and pat dry the pork.
• Preheat an outdoor smoker for 200 to 225 degrees F (95 to 110 degrees C).
• To Make the Rub: In a medium bowl, mix together the mace, 2 tablespoons garlic powder, 2 tablespoons onion powder, paprika, sage, thyme and honey.
• Evenly coat the pork with the rub and work it in with your fingers. Place a roasting rack in a drip pan and lay the meat on the rack.
• Smoke at 200 to 225 degrees F (95 to 110 degrees C) for 12 hours.

Steps:

• Heat the coconut oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until soft, about 3 minutes. Add the tasso ham, red pepper, celery and jalapeno and cook until soft, about 2 minutes. Add the corn and thyme. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, for another 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes, half-and-half and vegetable stock. Simmer until the sauce is reduced and thickened, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Stir in the parsley and add salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Steps:

• In a large saute pan, over medium heat, add the oil. When the oil is hot, add the Tasso and saute for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the corn, onions and bell peppers. Season with salt and cayenne pepper. Saute for about 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 15 to 18 minutes, or until the corn is tender. Add the cream, stir, and remove from the heat.

Steps:

• For the Seasoning Mix: Combine the seasoning mix ingredients in a small bowl.
• For the Chicken with Tasso: Sprinkle the chicken pieces with 2 tablespoons of the seasoning mix and rub well with your hands. In a heavy 4-quart pot, preferably nonstick, heat the olive oil over high heat until it begins to smoke, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add the chicken, in batches if necessary, skin sides down first, and large pieces first, and cook until the skin is brown, about 4 minutes. Turn the pieces over and cook just until the other sides are brown but the chicken is not cooked through, about 4 minutes. Remove the chicken from the pot and set aside. To the same pot add the onions, celery, peppers and all the tasso. Stir well and scrape the bottom of the pot loosen the brown bits left from the chicken. Continue to cook, stirring frequently, for 3 minutes-the colors are so bright they're almost glowing-then add the remaining seasoning mix and the garlic. Stir well, then cover and cook for 5 minutes. Uncover and stir well, you'll see that the vegetables are beginning to brown and stick slightly. Scrape the bottom of the pot to loosen any sticking material, then re-cover and cook for 4 minutes. At this point the vegetables are medium brown and may be sticking hard, so add 1/2 cup of stock and deglaze the pot by scraping to loosen all the material on the bottom. Add the flour and stir until the white is no longer visible, adding a little more stock if necessary to help absorb the flour. Scrape the bottom of the pot one more time, then cover and let the mixture cook for 3 minutes. Warning: do not do this if your pot does not have a good thick bottom. A thin pot will heat too quickly and your mixture will definitely burn, so reduce the heat and watch closely to be sure that the food doesn't burn. Your cooking time may have to be a little longer to make up for using less heat. But if you do have a good heavy bottomed pot, you'll discover that flour moistened with the juices from the vegetables and tasso creates a wonderful flavor when it is allowed to brown in this way. Uncover, add the remaining 2 1/2 cups of stock, and scrape the bottom of the pot well. Bring to a boil, return the chicken and any accumulated juices to the pot, and return the liquid just to a boil. At this time, the broth is reminiscent of gumbo, but very salty from the seasonings. Reduce the heat to medium, recover and cook, stirring and scraping the pot occasionally, until the chicken is fully cooked, about 25 minutes. Serve over rice.

Steps:

• In a hot pan, sauté the shrimp, Tasso ham, red pepper, mushrooms, onion, garlic, and scallions for 2 minutes.
• Deglaze the pan with white wine and simmer.
• Add parsley, lemon juice, chicken stock, thyme, cayenne pepper and seasoning; reduce to a simmer.
• Whisk in the whole butter and serve over warm pasta immediately.

Steps:

• Separately, chop / prepare all ingredients necessary as defined above and set aside.
• Heat a large heavy pot (cast iron / enameled cast iron) on medium high until pre-heated. Add some oil and saute each meat separately and in batches to brown nicely. (A pain, but worth it, I promise). Start with Andouille, then Tasso, and chicken. Some of the meat will stick and that is perfect. It imparts a rich flavor that is important to your gumbo. After browning, set aside.
• ROUX: This is a critical step that requires constant tending. The goal is to cook this flour until it is somewhere between brown and black without burning it.Go for the color of a Hershey's kiss or darker. It is required to make the gumbo you want to make and well worth it. This takes me 45 minutes to an hour to get the right color. Each time I make gumbo I try to get it darker and darker. Don't be afraid to turn the heat up and down even if it take you longer. Better to take longer than to burn it. If you have black flecks, you have burned it and must start over. (You can do it perfectly though!).
• Add 2 cups oil and 2 cups flour to the.
• Pour the 2 cups oil and 2 cups flour into your pot. Stir slowly, consistently until it is brown / black. (It will happen. Just keep going.).
• When the roux has reached the desired color, add the chopped celery, onion and peppers and stir constantly for 8-10 minutes. Be careful not to burn. Cast irons hold heat well, so feel free to lower your temperature and just cook longer).
• Add chicken stock one ladle / cup at a time, stirring in between each addition to keep temperature and to make sure your roux doesn't break).
• Add all meats and drippings (except shrimp) and reduce to simmering uncovered for three hours stirring delicately and occasionally. Add shrimp and cook for 15 minutes more.
• Taste a little to adjust seasonings to your preference and then refrigerate in pot for three - four days.
• Reheat when ready to serve. Serve over rice topped with fresh parsley. Allow each diner to sprinkle their own file' for thickening and flavor.

Steps:

• 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 overnight (preferable a couple of days).
• Prepare a smoker. Place the pork strips on the grill or rod (whichever your smoker uses) and smoke until done, 5 to 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.