Cooking with tea leaves......I got to thinkin......

northGAcock · December 2017

Earlier in the week while traveling on bitness, I ran into a Chinese Tea store. I have been enjoying hot tea for about a year now, but have to purchase via mail order as I have no retail stores that sell it in my area. Anyhow, i picked up a couple of Black teas at the store. One was called Lapsang Sonchong, which has a real smoky aroma to it. I got to thinking about the flavor(s) it might impart. I did a google search and was surprised to find a good bit of info out there on cooking with teas. I am going to be trying some over the holidays. Adding to sautéed mushrooms as an example....will be a starting point. Curious if any of you have had any experiences and huge win's to share?

Hoping you all have the best of cooks....over the upcoming holiday season.

Killit_and_Grillit · December 2017

Hmm, interesting concept.

I know when when we were in Afghanistan the Afghan police and Army cooks took all the leftover tea that wasn’t drank and poured it in a big container and left the meat in it. (Yeah, nasty)

But I don’t know if that was a “marinade” or a preservation and anti-bug thing.

northGAcock · December 2017

Killit_and_Grillit said:

Hmm, interesting concept.

I know when when we were in Afghanistan the Afghan police and Army cooks took all the leftover tea that wasn’t drank and poured it in a big container and left the meat in it. (Yeah, nasty)

But I don’t know if that was a “marinade” or a preservation and anti-bug thing.

As a follow up....the Lapsang Sonchong was a surprisingly good tea for the drink. Again it has a great smoky aroma....and i was concerned what that might be like in a tea. I am pleasantly surprised.

BPFBGE · December 2017

I did tea smoke quail in a dutch oven and it was pretty good. I put 2 quail down in one side of the dutch oven and put tea leaves in side of the dutch oven in the egg to get it nice and hot, then place 2 quail on one side of the dutch oven and the tea on the other side once the tea leaves started to smoke i closed the dutch oven and let it cook until i reached 165 degrees. It took about 90 minutes

northGAcock · December 2017

BPFBGE said:

I did tea smoke quail in a dutch oven and it was pretty good. I put 2 quail down in one side of the dutch oven and put tea leaves in side of the dutch oven in the egg to get it nice and hot, then place 2 quail on one side of the dutch oven and the tea on the other side once the tea leaves started to smoke i closed the dutch oven and let it cook until i reached 165 degrees. It took about 90 minutes

Good stuff.....So that I clearly understand.....the tea leaves were applied in a dry fashion...thus the smoking? In other words, the natural juices from the birds with the smoking leaves at some pointed collided and provided you the joy?

BPFBGE · December 2017

Correct. i put the lid on the dutch oven to make sure the smokey taste came from tea leaves and not charcoal.

20stone · December 2017

Killit_and_Grillit said:

Hmm, interesting concept.

I know when when we were in Afghanistan the Afghan police and Army cooks took all the leftover tea that wasn’t drank and poured it in a big container and left the meat in it. (Yeah, nasty)

But I don’t know if that was a “marinade” or a preservation and anti-bug thing.

Tea can be used as part of a brine (like buttermilk or yogurt) and the acidity helps tenderize the meat. None other than Sean Brock uses a sweet tea brine for his fried chicken.

As for tea-based recipes, my BiL talked me into making Tea Smoked Duck (example recipe here - http://nymag.com/restaurants/articles/recipes/teasmokedduck.htm)

It was awesome. However, I did it using a smoke packet of tea, brown sugar and rice (as in this recipe). It turns out that those three things smoking together looking like "rolling coal" and smells like Phish, Willie Nelson and Snoop Dogg all squeezed into Cheech and Chong's van. I kept waiting for all the neighborhood cops and teenagers to show up.

northGAcock · December 2017

20stone said:

Killit_and_Grillit said:

Hmm, interesting concept.

I know when when we were in Afghanistan the Afghan police and Army cooks took all the leftover tea that wasn’t drank and poured it in a big container and left the meat in it. (Yeah, nasty)

But I don’t know if that was a “marinade” or a preservation and anti-bug thing.

Tea can be used as part of a brine (like buttermilk or yogurt) and the acidity helps tenderize the meat. None other than Sean Brock uses a sweet tea brine for his fried chicken.

As for tea-based recipes, my BiL talked me into making Tea Smoked Duck (example recipe here - http://nymag.com/restaurants/articles/recipes/teasmokedduck.htm)

It was awesome. However, I did it using a smoke packet of tea, brown sugar and rice (as in this recipe). It turns out that those three things smoking together looking like "rolling coal" and smells like Phish, Willie Nelson and Snoop Dogg all squeezed into Cheech and Chong's van. I kept waiting for all the neighborhood cops and teenagers to show up.

Too funny....will meet that in mind. Appreciate the link.

Richard Fl · December 2017

Here is a tea leaf smoke I like with duck.
http://www.greeneggers.com/index.php?option=com_simpleboard&func=view&id=596159&catid=1

Carolina Q · December 2017

One of the very first recipes I saved when I started learning to cook was for a tea-smoked chicken. In fact, it calls for Lapsang souchong tea! It's from Gourmet magazine and is still out there on Epicurious. Unfortunately, I never tried it! As I recall, I used to have a pic of it and it looked great, but the pic is long gone and there is none on Epicurious. Anyway, try it and report back.

https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Tea-Smoked-Chicken-100901?id=100901&printer=true

northGAcock · December 2017

Carolina Q said:

One of the very first recipes I saved when I started learning to cook was for a tea-smoked chicken. In fact, it calls for Lapsang souchong tea! It's from Gourmet magazine and is still out there on Epicurious. Unfortunately, I never tried it! As I recall, I used to have a pic of it and it looked great, but the pic is long gone and there is none on Epicurious. Anyway, try it and report back.

https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Tea-Smoked-Chicken-100901?id=100901&printer=true

Perfect. Appreciate it brother. Hope to do this sometime over the weekend.

Thapco · December 2017

Is that the tea they call "cat tea" or something like that? Has something to do with cats in the trees

Carolina Q · December 2017

northGAcock said:

Carolina Q said:

One of the very first recipes I saved when I started learning to cook was for a tea-smoked chicken. In fact, it calls for Lapsang souchong tea! It's from Gourmet magazine and is still out there on Epicurious. Unfortunately, I never tried it! As I recall, I used to have a pic of it and it looked great, but the pic is long gone and there is none on Epicurious. Anyway, try it and report back.

https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Tea-Smoked-Chicken-100901?id=100901&printer=true

Perfect. Appreciate it brother. Hope to do this sometime over the weekend.

Cool! I hope it works for you. I just read a few of the comments/reviews, but they made it sound worth doing. Also, unlike for pizza, in this case, the egg would be an excellent choice for a cooking device... unless you LIKE having a house full of smoke!

northGAcock · December 2017

Carolina Q said:

northGAcock said:

Carolina Q said:

One of the very first recipes I saved when I started learning to cook was for a tea-smoked chicken. In fact, it calls for Lapsang souchong tea! It's from Gourmet magazine and is still out there on Epicurious. Unfortunately, I never tried it! As I recall, I used to have a pic of it and it looked great, but the pic is long gone and there is none on Epicurious. Anyway, try it and report back.

https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Tea-Smoked-Chicken-100901?id=100901&printer=true

Perfect. Appreciate it brother. Hope to do this sometime over the weekend.

Cool! I hope it works for you. I just read a few of the comments/reviews, but they made it sound worth doing. Also, unlike for pizza, in this case, the egg would be an excellent choice for a cooking device... unless you LIKE having a house full of smoke!

Wife want let me do that any more. Made me grow up quite a few years ago!

Cooking with tea leaves......I got to thinkin......

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