Any real pig enthusiast will happily extol the virtues of tasso ham until the cows come home. Juicy, soft, and salty, tasso ham is prime pork cut from the shoulder blade of the pig, providing truly rich and silky ham for everyone to enjoy.
Tasso ham is typically cooked in the cajun style, with plenty of red pepper, garlic, and herbs.
However, that’s not all there is to it. If you’re cooking with tasso ham, there are plenty of mouth-watering dishes that you can whip up. For a tasso ham recipe that will always please the crowd, check out our top suggestions.
1. Smoke Your Tasso Ham Recipe
Before you can start throwing tasso ham into all of your kitchen concoctions, you’ll need to know how to make it from scratch.
Tasso ham owes its smoky flavor to the unique way that it is smoked. If you can perfect this technique at home, you’ve got yourself a winner.
Check out this essential guide on how to make your very own tasso ham from scratch. Once you have this part nailed down, you can try out any tasso ham recipes that your heart desires.
2. Tasso Ham Jambalaya
We could not publish a guide on tasso ham cooking without including a recipe for jambalaya, the ultimate cajun soul food staple. This detailed recipe for Jambalaya from D’Artagnan might seem complicated, but it is definitely worth it.
Of course, you’ll need to include your shrimp and sausage, but it’s the tasso ham that is the real star of the show. For a dish that will always go down well at parties, tasso ham jambalaya is the way to go.
3. Tasso Ham Soup
Any soup, chowder, or bisque will benefit from the comforting boost provided by a generous serving of tasso ham. As the cold winter nights approach, you’ll want a soup recipe that will see you through until spring.
The Instagram soul food chef @Louisiana_Woman has a stellar recipe for bean soup that involves plenty of diced up tasso ham. You can’t really go wrong with that.
4. Tasso Ham Pasta
When cooking tasso ham, you will probably notice that it has a texture, marbling, and flavor that is similar to Italian meat staples such as prosciutto or pancetta.
Therefore, it should not come as a surprise that there is a wealth of recipes for classic Italian pasta dishes such as carbonara that make deft use of tasso ham. There are many great examples to choose from, but Kenneth Nolan’s NOLA carbonara is the winner for us.
5. Shrimp, Grits, and Tasso
It would simply be wrong to write anything about tasso ham without giving a shout out to that most comfortable of southern dishes, shrimp and grits. Louisiana style shrimp and grits use tasso ham without exception, often as part of the sauce.
While shrimp and grits can be a labor of love, the right recipe will get you there. For soul food beginners, we recommend Bon Appetit’s shrimp and grits recipe, which makes ample use of that sweet, sweet tasso ham.
More Recipes for You
Now that you have found a tasso ham recipe that works for you, it’s time to keep learning. For classic Italian recipes for every member of the family, we’ve got you covered. Make sure to check out our mouth-watering pasta recipes today.
