Tea Smoked Chicken

An exotic Asian recipe that uses tea as the main ingredient for smoking chicken. The tea leaves lend their rich brown color and aroma to make this a truly unique dish. 

Ingredients: 
2 lbs. chicken 
½ cup china black tea leaves 
2 tablespoons brown sugar 
2 tablespoons rice wine 
2 scallions 
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger 
2 teaspoons salt 
1 ½ teaspoons crushed Szechwan peppercorns 
Sesame oil 

Directions: 
Cut the scallions into 2 inch long pieces and flatten with the side of a cleaver. 
Combine wine, salt, brown sugar, scallions and ginger and peppercorns in a large bowl. Place the chicken in the bowl and rub the mixture all over the chicken. 

Marinate the chicken overnight in the refrigerator. Discard the marinade and tuck the scallions and ginger inside the chicken. 

Get the smoker up to a temperature of about 250 deg. F. Place the chicken inside and leave about a ¼ of the tea leaves on the embers. Allow it to smoke. After every hour, add a ¼ of the tea leaves. Take out the chicken from the smoker once it has cooked through. Just before serving, brush the chicken with sesame oil. Cut into pieces and serve. 

Tips: 
Insert a thermometer into the thickest part of the chicken breast to check if it has cooked. Remove the chicken from the smoker when the thermometer reads 170 deg. F.