Tasso sauce

I made a great sauce with some diced tasso. It is perfect for fried eggs and toast.
Fry about a 1/4 cup of diced tasso in a 1/4 stick of butter. Once it is browned, remove the tasso and add 3-4 tablespoons of flour. Make a dark roux over medium high heat. Once roux is ready, add 1/8 cup of onion. Once onion is clear, add 1/8 cup of green bell pepper. Add 1/8 cup of stock, I used some vegetable stock I made this week, and turn up the heat a little. Add browned tasso and add more stock if sauce gets too thick. I only cooked the sauce for several minutes until the sauce was thick enough for my tastes.
I poured the sauce over two over medium fried eggs and served with toast.
One could use poached eggs or even use the sauce as a filling for a crepe or an omelette. The sauce could even be served over smoked pork loin or baked chicken.The main thing is to have fun and enjoy your food!
And I do highly recommend buying your own charcoal smoker and making your own tasso. If you make a lot at once, your smoker will pay itself off just from the tasso alone. A nice chunk of tasso can cost up to $5 in the store. You can get a pork butt that will make 6 or 7 nice pieces of tasso for $5.

David Torkanowsky

The New Orleans pianist kicked off a new series here in New Orleans last night.
Held by the Louisiana Humanities Center located at 938 Lafayette St., the "Professors" series is going to focus on the New Orleans Piano Tradition.
Torkanowsky opened with what he said was one of the oldest jazz songs around. A tune by Buddy Bolden. I need to remember the exact title and will update when I do. It was a great opener and the little upright that Torkanowsky was playing sounded great so I knew we were in for a treat.
Next up was a beautiful rendition of Fats Waller's Jitterbug Waltz. Torkanowsky introduced the song by reminiscing about the first time he heard it performed. It first entered his ears through the playing of Ellis Marsailis whose influences were apparent. This may be the first time I heard the tune performed in this setting.
In honor of the Proffesor, Torkanowsky recounted a short memory of Proffessor Longhair which was followed by a wonderful tune that he believed was influenced by the 'Fess's love of Carribean music. Apparently 'Fess was a big time Tonk player and would hung out with Carribean musicians on the docks. The title of the track was not announced and even though it was vey familiar, I am not sure of the name. Guess I need to listen to some more 'Fess!
Ending the short(way!) was Sunny Side Of The Street a la James Carroll Booker III. The song was done as Booker did it. The real treat was the story. Apparently on one of Booker's studio sessions, he was giving the engineer or the producer a hard time(surprise!) and they ended up having touse the takes they had. If one listens closely there is apparently a click during a piano take. Not a glitch but the sound of Booker's false teeth hitting the ivories!
Only Booker.
The interview portion which followed was nothing new to my ears. If you want to know what was said, look around for any online interview of Torkanowsky and you will hear it all.
There was a question posed however that has piqued my interest. An audience member mentioned a New Orleans pianist by the name of Ed Frank. With a little research, I realize that I actually own an lp of his but have never listened to it! Here it is:












I'll have to check it out soon. Hope I can find it!

To close the night, Torkanowsky chose two songs that have no relation to New Orleans whatsover. He performed a medley of John Coltrane's Naima and Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most. I heard a lot of Dave Burrell in the former and a lot of Don Pullen in the latter. Torkanowsky didn't use their techniques and perhaps I my ears heard Burrell in Naima because of my appreciation for his renditions of the song with David Murray. Pullen's gorgeous treatment of ballads came to my head during the end of the medley.


No mention of Fats Domino the entire evening.

Not sure what was going on but the evening seemed to be cut short by a commitment to a gig at Snug Harbor that Torkanowsky seemed to be itching to get to.

Here is a link to a James Booker video that I enjoy!

Tasso

Tasso is a wonderful delicacy from the heart of Louisiana Cajun country.
I recently used the following recipe to make my own in a Brinkman charcoal smoker.

• 4 pounds boneless pork butt
• 2 tablespoons kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons cayenne pepper
• 1 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoons white pepper
• 2 tablespoons paprika
• 1 tablespoons cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons garlic powder
  

Trim the pork of all excess fat and cut it into strips about 1 inch thick and at least 4 inches long. Mix together the seasonings and place in a shallow pan. Roll each strip of pork in the seasoning mixture and place on a tray. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 24 hours.

Heat smoker to around 225 degrees F. Place the pork strips on a grill and bring temp down to right under 200. Smoke for 3 to 4 hours. Remove the meat and let it cool completely, then wrap well in plastic and foil.

The Tasso came out wonderful and is great in many dishes. I have used it with chicken in jambalaya(a baked jambalaya using Paul Prudhomme's recipe) and in a sauce to pour over fried eggs.The sauce is a basic roux with bell pepper and onion. Stretch it with some vegetable stock and it you have a great sauce for fried or poached eggs.

I'll get some pictures taken as soon as I can!