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Lapsang Souchong Brine

Posted on | February 2, 2009 | 2 Comments

I’ve said it before: I’m through with winter. But as my budget won’t quite allow for that trip to the Caribbean, I have to find my escape to warmer places in the kitchen. This past weekend, I wanted smoke. Endless varieties of delicious foods simmering over a low charcoal fire. I had to have it. Problem is, I don’t own a grill or, being a city dweller, have access to safe place to store a grill even if I did own one. And, I’m not a big fan of those stovetop smokers, despite what friends tell me. The smoke has to go somewhere, and in my small kitchen, somewhere invariably means out into the rest of the house. So, what do to? I had 6 pork chops in the freezer that we’re calling my name and begging that I didn’t even approach the store again until I’d considered there plight.

Fully convinced of their worthiness, I considered the preparation. Being that I don’t like to over season pork, but I like it to have depth of flavor, I knew I was going to have to prepare a simple brine. Where to get the smoke, though. Then it hit me: Tea. And to be more specific, smoky tea. Long ago, a friend prepared a steaming cup of Lapsang Souchong for me. It smelled like liquid campfire, and I couldn’t quite make it through the entire cup. But work for flavoring meat; providing smoke without actually using wood or any sort of fire? I had to find out.

I went to a great local tea store here in D.C. called  Teaism and picked up a small bag of Organic Lapsang Souchong loose leaf tea.

When I arrived home, I prepared the simple brine and then added 3 heaping teaspoons of the tea. after about thirty seconds, I took the brine off the heat and let it cool on the stove top.

Two hours later, or so, I added about 8 ice cubes to the brine to completely cool it, and then added my pork chops and let them sit in the brine overnight (though I think 5 hours, or so, would do if you made the brine in the morning and wanted the chops for dinner).

This afternoon, I tried one of the chops and they indeed tasted smoky, but without any of the associated tanins one finds in many teas.They also had the savory, slightly sweet and herbal properties of the brine.

The experiment was a huge success. If you live in the city, in a small apartment, and want to bring a smoky, grilled flavor to your dishes, I highly recommend you check this out.

Check back in the coming days as I’ll have the full recipe for tea-brined pork chops with sauteed apples in a balsamic glaze.

Lapsang Souchong Brine (makes enough brine for three whole pork tenderloins and about 30 pieces of chicken. Reduce accordingly depending on amount you need)

• 10 cups of water
• 1 cup of kosher salt
• 1 1/4 cup of brown sugar
• 1 whole head of garlic, mash the cloves with the flat side of a knife
• 4 crushed bay leaves
• 1 tablespoon of whole black peppercorns
• 3 heaping teaspoons of Lapsang Souchon loose leaf tea (don’t add if just making the basic brine)

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