Tasso ham

Tasso ham is a smoked, spiced, and cured meat, a specialty of south Louisiana cuisine.

This cut is typically fatty, and because the muscle is constantly used by the animal, has a great deal of flavor.

The shoulder (also called the butt), which will weigh 7 to 8 pounds, is sliced across the grain into pieces about 3 in (7.5 cm) thick.

The meat is left to cure briefly, only three or four hours, then rinsed, rubbed with a spice mixture containing cayenne pepper and garlic, and hot-smoked until cooked through.

Appropriate to its roots, tasso is most often found in recipes of Creole or Cajun origin, such as jambalaya.