Tasso ham

Gumbo with tasso, chicken and pork

Tasso ham (or Tasso for short , German: Tasso ham ) is a meat product of the Cajun cuisine made from pork shoulder, which is cut into slices, dry cured , heavily seasoned and then hot smoked. Tasso can be used like ham or pork knuckle, it is used exclusively as a flavoring component of various stews, mostly in jambalaya or gumbo , or in legume or bean dishes. Spices used are cayenne pepper, marjoram, white pepper and allspice.

The origin of the word is unclear. The term Tasso probably comes from Louisiana French term Tasseau for dried meat, what with the Spanish tasajo may be used (a kind of air-dried meat).

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b John Ayto: The Diner's Dictionary: Word Origins of Food and Drink . OUP Oxford, 2012, ISBN 978-0-19-964024-9 , pp. 366 ( google.de [accessed October 19, 2019]).
↑ Michael Ruhlman, Brian Polcyn: Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking, and Curing (Revised and Updated) . WW Norton & Company, 2013, ISBN 978-0-393-24132-7 ( google.de [accessed October 19, 2019]).

[:0-1] John Ayto: The Diner's Dictionary: Word Origins of Food and Drink . OUP Oxford, 2012, ISBN 978-0-19-964024-9 , pp. 366 ( google.de [accessed October 19, 2019]).

[2] Michael Ruhlman, Brian Polcyn: Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking, and Curing (Revised and Updated) . WW Norton & Company, 2013, ISBN 978-0-393-24132-7 ( google.de [accessed October 19, 2019]).