We keep hearing about this tea-smoking technique for infusing flavor and are determined to give it a try for ourselves. It's even one of Skye Gyngell's toolbox recipes! We know that it's done indoors using a tightly-lidded roasting pan and a handful of tea leaves, but not much beyond that. Have you ever tried it?
Tea leaves give off an aromatic smoke when burned. If trapped inside a cooking vessel, this smoke can flavor foods like fish, chicken, and duck with delicate, tea-like flavors. That's the idea behind tea-smoking, and as far as we understand it, it's not so much a cooking technique as it is a flavoring technique.
The basic process sounds simple. You combine loose-leaf tea (usually a black tea) with a little sugar and an assortment of other spices like cinnamon or peppercorns, and toss these into the bottom of a wok or roasting pan. You set a wire rack inside the pan so the food is suspended above the tea, add the meat itself, and put the lid on. A few minuets over medium-high heat on the stove-top and your food becomes infused the smoky tea flavor.
Our biggest question and concern is how much actual smoke this process creates. Most recipes specify to have an exhaust fan running, but don't show too much concern about filling the house with smoke or setting off smoke alarms. Perhaps we'll wait for summer when we can open all the windows before cooking!
Still, this technique is really intriguing to us. We like the idea of using different teas to flavor dishes in different ways. And we really like that we can do this indoors without a charcoal grill!
Check Out These Recipes!
• Tea-Smoking: Video Tutorial from Fine Cooking
• Coconut Noodle Soup with Tea-Smoked Shrimp from Fine Cooking
• Tea-Smoked Duck Breast from Epicurious
• Tea-Smoked Roast Chicken from Food & Wine
• Green Tea-Roast Trout with Spinach from The Washington Post
What's been your experience with tea-smoking?
Related: Taste Boosters: 8 Ways to Add Smoky Flavor to a Dish
(Image: Screenshot from Tea-Smoking Video Tutorial from Fine Cooking)
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My husband just did this with a recent Asian bacon he made: http://low-on-the-hog.blogspot.com/2011/02/charcutepalooza-2-basic-dry-cure-asian.html
It turned out delicious!
if your smoker lid is tight fitting, there is not much smoke released into the house.
I've used a deep steam table tray with a cover to pretty good effect, and they're available at restaurant supply stores for a not a lot of money. some foil to hold the smokeables and a bit more under a folding steamer rack work pretty well. just don't put the smoke producing stuff under the food being smoked.
you can't seal it totally, or the vessel will explode, (or at least deform badly.) I once did it in an old dutch oven, but it took forever to clean it properly afterwards.
the one thing about using teas to smoke is that you are really not so much as flavoring as scenting the food. so if you want to experiment, take a few leaves and toast them and see if you like the scent. if you do, bingo. I used a metal spoon over a burner with a couple of flakes in it to experiment. with an electric stove top, just drop a leaf or two on the burner element.
I remember making this Barbara Tropp recipe many years ago. It turned out amazing. It involved lining a wok with heavy duty foil and crimping the foil over the wok cover. I didn't have any problems with smoke inside the house---but when it was time to open the wok cover I uncovered it outside.......
http://www.fastrecipes.com/recipe/tea-and-cassia-bark-smoked-chicken-2009051728807/
i've done this with chicken before - using a foil-lined wok - and it worked great. there is smoke, but with the wok covered it's pretty much contained. i dont have an exhaust fan and it didn't set off my smoke alarm, if that helps! warning, line your smoking vessel well! burnt sugar is v hard to get off and could ruin some pans.
i used a recipe similar to this one: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Tea-Smoked-Chicken-100901