Butterflied Tea Smoked Chicken Recipes

TEA SMOKED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Toast the Szechuan peppercorns in a dry skillet until fragrant, about 4 minutes. Cool slightly, and then crush in a spice grinder or mortar and pestle with the salt and five-spice powder until very fine. Rub seasoned salt all over the chicken thighs. Place in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or preferably overnight.
• Bring the chicken to room temperature about 30 minutes before cooking.
• Line the bottom of a wok, skillet or heavy pot with a double layer of aluminum foil. Mix the rice, tea and brown sugar together and mound on the foil. Set a steamer on top, and evenly space the chicken on the rack. Cover and cook over high heat. Hot smoke the chicken until smokey-brown colored and cooked through, about 12 minutes.
• While the chicken cooks, whisk the Shao-sing wine or sherry, soy, ginger, and sesame together in a small saucepan. Bring to boil over high heat, remove from heat and steep for 5 minutes. Brush over cooked chicken.
• To serve: Dice the chicken into very small pieces. Toss with the scallions and peanuts in a medium bowl. Cut the lettuce leaves into 40 squares or triangular scoops. Place a drop of Sriracha on top of each lettuce cup, and top with about 2 teaspoons of the diced chicken. Squeeze lime juice over the top, and drizzle the remaining soy-ginger sauce over the chicken. Serve.

TEA-SMOKED CHICKEN

Steps:

• In a dry, small, heavy skillet toast peppercorns over moderate heat, shaking skillet, 5 minutes. Cool peppercorns and with a mortar and pestle or in an electric coffee/spice grinder coarsely grind. In a small bowl stir together peppercorns and salt.
• Pat chicken dry and rub inside and out with peppercorn mixture. Transfer chicken, breast side up, to a steamer and steam over boiling water, covered, 25 minutes, or until chicken is just cooked through.
• While chicken is steaming, line bottom and lid of a wok with heavy-duty foil. In wok stir together loose tea and brown sugar until combined well.
• Arrange a metal rack about 2 inches above tea mixture and transfer chicken, breast side up, to rack in wok. Heat wok, covered, over moderately high heat until wisps of smoke begin to appear, 2 to 3 minutes, and smoke chicken, covered, 6 minutes. Turn chicken over and smoke, covered, 6 minutes more. Remove wok from heat and let chicken stand, covered, 15 minutes.
• Transfer chicken to a cutting board and brush lightly with oil.

SMOKY GRILLED BUTTERFLIED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Combine vinegar, oil, garlic, paprika, and salt in a nonreactive baking dish or large resealable plastic bag.
• Remove backbone from chicken using kitchen shears. Place chicken, breast side up, on cutting board, with legs extended on both sides. Press firmly on breastbone to break it and flatten chicken. Add to marinade. Cover dish or seal bag, and refrigerate at least 4 hours (or overnight), turning occasionally.
• Preheat grill to medium. (If you are using a charcoal grill, coals are ready when you can hold your hand 5 inches above grill for just 5 or 6 seconds.) Remove chicken from marinade; discard marinade. Place chicken, skin side down, on grill. Close cover, and grill 15 minutes. Flip chicken, and close cover. Grill until an instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of the breast registers 165 degrees, about 20 minutes more.

BUTTERFLIED TEA-SMOKED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Using a heavy knife, cut the backbone from the chicken; discard. Open the chicken and place on a large cutting board, skin-side up; flatten with the heel of your hand. Rub the salt, chili powder, and five-spice powder all over the chicken. Cover and refrigerate 8 hours or overnight. Preheat a gas grill to high; reduce heat to medium after 15 minutes. (If cooking over charcoal, allow the coals to burn until they are covered with gray ash.) Remove the grilling grate. Combine the brown sugar and tea in an aluminum pie plate and place it directly on the lava rocks of the grill (or coals). Replace the grate and put the chicken on it, skin-side up. Immediately cover the grill and cook 50 minutes without opening it. Flip the chicken and cook about 10 minutes, until the skin is crisp or an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh registers 170° F. Rainy-Day Method: Roast the chicken in a 400° F oven for 40 minutes or until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh registers 170° F.