Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Scott Robinson's Tasso Ham

I have a few favorite foodstuffs that I like both eating and cooking with. Not coincidentally, they all take time to make, they are best made when you are using pristine raw ingredients, and they all reflect the area in which they were made. These special products are cheese, wine and charcuterie. It's the last product that I want to talk about today. I've been curing and smoking bacon for a couple of years, however its just recently that the charcuterie projects have gotten a huge shot in the arm by Sous Chef Scott Robinson taking our charcuterie ball and running with it. We were able to sample his first project today, an amazing tasso ham. We sourced some great pork from local butcher Wayne Nell and Sons and Scott took it from there. A four hour cure, packed with spice and smoked for about three and a half hours. The resulting product was the perfect blend of great pork, heady spices, amazing apple smoke and great technical skill. I couldn't be happier with this first product and can't wait to see what else Scott has up his sleeve. I hope I don't eat the stuff before we can put it on the menu!!!

3 comments:

ostman said...

You're making me hungry...

I'm enjoying the blog; hope you go back a bit and eventually do share info on the Beard dinner with us.

Andy

Chef Andrew Little said...

I suppose I could go back and reflect on going to the Beard House. Honestly, from the time we got back at the end of August until right about now we have been running, running, running. If you have any specifics you would like to know about the experience, please post them and I'll do my best to fill you in.

ostman said...

I'd be interested in hearing about who is watching you work, how you receive feedback, etc. Basically, an overview of what the visiting chefs experience.

Andy Smith