Tea-Basted Roasted Chicken

The charm of this dish is its simplicity. What could be better than a chicken roasted to perfection, golden brown and crisp-skinned, paired with a dusky, dark, tea-based sauce? The sauce takes its inspiration from the yak-buttered tea of Tibet, but in this case the tea is Chinese and the butter is of the American variety. No matter where you are, you can enjoy this dish, infused with the aura of the steppes of central Asia.

1 quart/ 1 liter water
1/2 cup/100 grams Bromley Estate Blend tea leaves
2-inch/5-centimeter piece of ginger root, peeled and sliced into coins
6 cloves garlic, peeled then crushed to release their aroma
1 cup/250 milliliters vegetable stock (homemade or canned will do)
1 large whole roasting chicken (2 to 3 pounds/1 to 1.5 kilograms), well washed and dried
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 teaspoon/4 grams granulated sugar or to taste
2 ounces/60 grams unsalted (sweet) butter

Bring the water to a boil. Add the tea leaves and infuse for 3 minutes. Strain through a fine-meshed sieve into a bowl, extracting as much liquid as possible, then pour into a clean saucepan. Add ginger, garlic, and vegetable stock and return liquid to a boil. Remove from heat, sieve out and discard the solids, and reserve liquid.

Preheat the oven to 450o F/232oC. Brush a heavy 12-inch/30-cewntimeter skillet lightly with olive oil. Salt and pepper the chicken inside and out. Place chicken into heavy skilled and pour about 1/2 cup/120 milliliters of the brewed tea over it. Roast for about an hour until juices run clear, basting with tea mixture every 20 minutes or so. Test the chicken with a meat thermometer; at 170o F/77o C, it is done. Skim the fat from the liquid in the pan. Remove the chicken to a cutting board, carve into 8 pieces, and place on a platter to keep warm. Reduce the basting liquid to coating consistency, adjusting the seasoning to taste. This dish is even more delicious with a generous grind of black pepper. Add sugar to taste.

Off heat, add butter to the reduced liquid in small bits, whisking until blended. Strain sauce through a fine-meshed sieve and pour into a heated sauceboat. Serve immediately. We suggest such accompaniments as wild rice, sautéed portobello mushrooms, and curly (Savoy) cabbage, as desired.

Serves 4.


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