Tasso is a heavily flavored, smoked pork product. It adds a unique and wonderful taste and aroma to soups and stews. I buy it in the grocery store and haven't made it. I am not well set up for smoking. I did find the following recipe at uglybrothers.com if you are inclined to give it a try:
Basic Tasso
Traditional Tasso is made from pork but that has been cut into strips approximately 2 x 4 x 1 inch thick. The Ugly Brothers often use boneless pork strips.
Pig Meat
3 parts plain salt
2 parts Brown sugar
2 parts fresh black pepper
1 part cayenne
1 part white pepper
2 parts paprika
1/2 part celery seed
1 part onion powder
1 part garlic powder
1/2 part cinnamon
1/2 part mustard seed
Coat heavily and refrigerate 2-4 days before smoking. Heavy smoke at 200-225 until internal temperature reaches 165.
If you don't want to make it and can't find it in your store, places like
www.cajungrocer.com will ship it to you.