The thick and creamy sauce infused with the spice of Cajun pork tasso hits you with a wallop of smoky flavor as you taste the first bite of my crispy Romano Chicken Breasts with Tasso Cream. Another bite, please!
This Romano Chicken Breasts recipe featuring a cream reduction spiced with Richard’s Pork Tasso explodes with flavor. (All photos credit: George Graham)
If you’re not from around these parts or at least traveled to Cajun country, you’re probably wondering what tasso is. Oh, you’re in for a treat, as well as a lesson on one of the secret weapons of Cajun cooking. That’s right, tasso is a culinary weapon: Packed with spice and punched with smoke, this pork hand grenade of flavor explodes in any dish it’s thrown into. And I’m locked and loaded!
Richard’s Pork Tasso brings smoky flavor to the rich sauce in this chicken dish.
I’m packing my favorite Richard’s Pork Tasso. A well-known brand in Acadiana, Richard’s Cajun Foods based in Church Point, Louisiana has a long heritage of sausage-making, and their Pork Tasso is available almost everywhere throughout the region. Perfectly spiced and smoked, this fully cooked chunk of boneless pork adds a depth of flavor to the intense cream sauce in my Romano Chicken Breasts.
While this dish is delicious in every way, it’s the simplicity of this recipe that appeals to me. Just a slather of mayo on the already deboned chicken along with a coating of freshly grated pecorino Romano cheese, and it’s ready for the hot oven. Easy enough? And the pan gravy takes a quick five minutes to whip up; just enough time to whip your guests into a frenzy of anticipation.
Get a package (or two, or three) of Richard’s Pork Tasso, and discover your new secret weapon.
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 4 large boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1 cup mayonnaise, plus more if needed
- 2 cups finely grated pecorino Romano cheese
- 1 (8-ounce) package Richard’s Pork Tasso
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 pint heavy whipping cream
- 1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
- Preheat your oven to 400ºF.
- In a large cast-iron skillet or heavy baking pan, coat the surface with olive oil.
- Lay the chicken breasts on a cutting board and slather the top of each with a generous coating of mayonnaise. Sprinkle (or roll) the chicken with the Romano cheese until it is thickly coated. Place the chicken into the skillet and bake uncovered until the internal temperature registers 170ºF in the thickest part, about 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and place the chicken on a platter to rest.
- In the same skillet, use a wad of paper towels to wipe the bottom of the pan and absorb most of the grease from the mayonnaise. Over medium-high heat, add the butter and let melt.
- Remove the tasso from the package and chop into thumb-size slices.
- Add the tasso to the pan and, with a spatula, scrape up the bits of chicken and cheese from the bottom of the skillet. Keep moving the tasso around the pan and cook just until it begins to brown, about 5 minutes.
- Add the cream and stir it around the pan. As it bubbles and releases steam, you will begin to see it thicken; keep stirring. Add Cajun seasoning and black pepper along with the basil and thyme. Once the sauce has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon, add the chicken back to the pan. Once the sauce is simmering, move the pan to the center of the table and serve family style with lots of French bread for sopping.
This post is in partnership with Richard’s Cajun Foods. All opinions and selections here are my own. Thank you for supporting the affiliate sponsors who make this blog possible.
Romano Chicken Breasts with Tasso Cream–a flavor explosion!
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“Pork hand grenade of flavor” is such a poetic and accurate description! I’m laughing, but it’s so true!