Tasso Tasso de boeuf

Tasso is an old method of preserving meat that is almost no longer used today; except in the country. It's one of our Taino Indians cooking heritage.
Tasso can be made of any kind of lean strip of meat heavily seasoned, dried and either fried or grilled, but never smoked. Although it can be used as a seasoning for vegetables and soups,its not like the famous Cajun tasso , but it's more of beef jerky type only not as chewy, tasso can also be used for sandwiches,salads and,pastas.
In Haiti Tasso is mostly made with beef or goat occasionally with turkey. The very distinctive and delicious flavor of the meat is carried on today in a modern version.

3 lbs of fresh brisket, flank steak, pot roast
cut into 1/4 to 1/2 inches slices
juice of 2 sour oranges
juice of 2 limes
4 cloves of garlic finely chopped
2 scallions finely chopped
1 tabs of salt
2 scotch bonnet pepper chopped
4 sprigs of thyme
1tsp of ground cloves (yes this is correct, one teaspoon)
1 tsp of ground black pepper
1/4 of a cup oil

Place meat and the rest of the ingredients in a large plastic bowl, cover, let marinate at least 4 hours or overnight in the refrigerator.
When the meat is well marinated it can be put to dry in the sun for 2-3 days or until the meat is totally dried without any moisture and it will be ready for frying or grilling.
The other way to proceed is to place the meat in a pan , add enough water to cover it ( about 3 cups) boil until meat is cooked but not tender, because it's going to be cooked again. Drain meat , reserve the cooking broth to make sauce ti Malice. At this point it's ready for frying or grilling  Fry meat in hot oil quickly to obtain a nice golden color, but not too long so the meat doesn't dry up too much, or grill 3 inches from the fire to obtain a  golden color.
Tasso is usually serve with fried plantain, , avocado salad, acrats, red beans and rice, sauce ti malice, pickliz




Enjoy