Tasso recipes

[MollyB]

I want to try making tasso, but there seem to be very different recipes out there and I'm not sure which to try. The two recipes I'm currently looking at are:

• from Ruhlman & Polcyn's Charcuterie - this recipes uses a dry cure for 4 hrs. and then smokes it with a spice rub with (no paprika is included and it appears to be relatively low on heat)
  
• from Donald Link's Real Cajun - this recipe uses a 2-day brine, 1 day of sitting, and smoking spice rub that has a lot of paprika and some red pepper flakes (along with a lot of other spices - I don't have the recipe in front of me to cite it exactly)
  

I've never actually tried tasso before, so I'm not sure which recipe to go for. Does anyone have any recommendations on which of these recipes to try? Or any other recipes to suggest?

[dls]

I've used the Nola Cuisine recipe several times with very good results. It can be found here.

[Chris Amirault]

I just made a bunch using a modified Ruhlman recipe, adding a bit of thyme and cloves, curing it overnight (~10 hours, I think), and smoking it cold first, not immediately hot. Turned out great.

It may be that your application will determine what makes the most sense. I always add it to gumbo as an accent, not as a main item, so I want it uber-smoky and complex. The speedy cure -- and resulting lack of cured meat depth -- isn't as big an issue for me.

[Tom Gengo]

I just smoked off about 14 pounds (finished weight) of tasso. I use a blend of the recipes in NOLA by Emeril & the one in The Sausage Cookbook by Bruce Aidells. BAsically, I cut pork shoulder into 3/4" thick slices and pickle them in a refrigerated sugar/salt/sodium nitrite/crushed red pepper solution IN A NON REACTIVE CONTAINER. I leave it for about 2 weeks, which yields a very salty product but a very "hammy" taste. Since I only use the meat as a condiment I just cut back on my salt in the dishes containing the tasso. To determine if the meat is pickled to my satisfaction I cut into the middle of a large piece and look for that pinkish color indicating that the sodium nitrite has cured the meat.

I then dry the pieces and place them on a wire rack over a jelly roll pan for 24 hours to develop a pellicle for the maximum adsorbtion of smoke to the surface. Prior to smoking I use the NOLA recipe for the dry rub by use chipotle pepper rather than cayenne to boost that smoky essence. I hot smoke at about 200F for 3 hours with a heavy handed smoke (like Chris A.) AFter cooling the meat to room temp I seal individual portions in a vacuum sealed bag and refrigerate until needed.