TEA-SMOKED CHICKEN Recipe

How to make it

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• 1. Line large soup kettle, Dutch oven, or wok with at least two long sheets of heavy-duty aluminum foil so that there is a 2- to 3-inch rim of foil all the way around pot, (illustration 1).
• 2. Spread rice, sugar, tea, cloves, anise, and orange zest evenly over bottom of pan. Set wire rack over these, making sure that there will be about an inch of space all around chicken (any less and it will not brown well). Alternatively, set two empty tuna fish cans (tops, bottoms, and labels removed) on opposite sides of pot, and bridge them with two metal skewers (illustration 2).
• 3. Rub chicken cavity and skin with salt and pepper. Use 3-foot length of kitchen twine to tie legs together. Run twine around thighs and under wings on both sides of bird, pull it snug, and tie firm knot at neck; snip off excess twine.
• 4. Place trussed chicken on rack or skewers (illustration 3). Use layer of heavy-duty foil to make a tent shape over chicken; crimp this foil to about halfway around rim of foil lining wok or pot. Stick instant-read thermometer through foil lid and into the leg or thigh and finish crimping top piece of foil to completely seal the smoker (illustration 4).
• 5. Heat pot over high heat until tea mixture begins to smoke. Once smoking starts, reduce heat to medium-high. Smoke bird, making sure a thin, steady stream of smoke emerges from opening made by meat thermometer, until chicken registers 170 degrees, 45 minutes to 1 1/2 hours, depending on size of bird. Once chicken is done, carefully remove pot from heat, unseal foil, and remove chicken. (If you want to crisp the skin, simply coat the cooked chicken with a little sesame oil and roast it in a 450-degree oven for about 5 minutes.)
• 6. Let chicken rest 10 minutes, carve, and serve. For cleanup, fold foil back on itself to reseal; cool foil ball to room temperature, then discard.
• Note: Steps to Stove-Top Cooking
• 1. Line a heavy-duty soup kettle or wok with at least two sheets of heavy-duty aluminum foil, leaving a couple of inches sticking up over the top.
• 2. Spread the dry smoking mixture evenly over the bottom of the covered pot and place the rack on top of the mixture. If you do not have a rack that fits into your wok or pot, you can make one by laying two metal skewers across two empty cans the size tuna fish comes in.
• 3. Lay the trussed chicken on top of the rack or skewers. Use another sheet of heavy-duty foil to tent the chicken; crimp it together with the foil that lines the pot or wok until you are halfway around the pot, then insert a meat thermometer through the foil and into the leg or thigh section of the bird.
• 4. When thermometer is in place, complete crimping the top sheet of foil to the bottom sheet in order to completely seal the smoker.