John Currence, Mississippi Grilling Master, Smokes a Ham

Our Summer Grilling Guyd featured an interview yesterday with Master Griller and Chef John Currence on the secrets of slow cooked BBQ. 

Today, he serves up a smoky recipe for pork. It requires patience and some skill, and you’ll need a smoker or a grill that can adapted for smoking.

RECIPE TASSO HAM

Ingredients:

5 tablespoons smoked paprika

2 tablespoons cayenne

2 tablespoons onion powder

5 teaspoons garlic powder

1 tablespoon dried sage

¾ teaspoons ground cloves

2 tablespoons dark brown sugar

¼ cup salt

5 pounds pork cheeks (trimmed of fat) or pork butt, cut into 4-ounce pieces  

Preparation: Makes 5 pounds.

In a small, stainless-steel bowl, combine the paprika, cayenne, onion and garlic powders, sage, cloves, brown sugar and salt.

Coat the pork cheeks evenly with the spice cure mix.

Wrap the meat in 3 – or – 4 piece batches tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 5 days.  

In a smoker with a separate firebox, build a hot wood fire. When ready to smoke, remove the pork cheeks from the plastic wrap and hot-smoke at 200°F until the tasso reaches an internal temperature of 155° F.

Remove from the smoker and store in the refrigerator, wrapped in plastic, for up to three days. Alternatively, this can be vacuum sealed and frozen for up to four months.

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