Have you ever thought of incorporating tea snacks into your baking routine? If ever you were going to introduce tea to a lunch or dinner party, these smoked chicken pieces would be the way to do it.
Smoking with tea is an age-old way of preparing and even preserving food. When dry tea leaves mix with a little sugar and sit over high heat they end up burning, and that’s what we want.
INGREDIENTS:
- 20 whole chicken pieces
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 tbsp grated fresh ginger
- 1 tbsp Mrs Oldbucks Pantry Yellow Box Honey
- 3/4 cup low-salt soy sauce
- 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup loose leaf Berrima Black Tea
- Sesame seeds as garnish
Notes: It’s important to have a good kitchen exhaust fan for this recipe as it does “smoke”.
METHOD:
- Rinse chicken pieces and pat them dry.
- Place garlic, ginger, honey, soy sauce and apple cider vinegar in a blender and process for 20 seconds to create a marinade. Pour marinade into a large baking pan. Add chicken pieces and toss to coat with marinade. Cover pan and refrigerate at least two hours.
- Line a large roasting pan with heavy-duty aluminum and sprinkle the sugar and tea on the foil. Place a cake or wire rack in the pan and arrange the marinated chicken pieces on top of the rack. Cover tightly with a lid or extra foil.
- Set the pan over high heat for 30 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and resist the urge to lift the lid or foil cover off the pan. Keep the wings covered for 20 more minutes so they have time to infuse with the tea smoke created by the high heat. For more browned, crisp chicken pieces, coat with a little sesame oil, set on a foil lined baking sheet, and roast in a 200 degree oven for about 5 minutes.
- Serve with sprinkled sesame seeds. Great with peanut or mustard sauce.
