Tea-Cured Salmon

This dish makes a fantastic starter for dinner parties...we promise it'll keep your guests satisfied before dinner.  We used Silver Needle Tea Co's Beautiful Golden Eyebrow, a lapson souchong tea perfect to add smokiness to the salmon.  
And so easy to make -  three ingredients in three steps!

Recipe is from tastingtable.com
Originally published on June 17th, 2013

Serves 8/Preparation time:  10 mins

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons of Silver Needle Tea Co.'s Golden Beautiful Eyebrow
¼ cup kosher salt
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
One 1¼-pound piece center-cut, skin-on salmon, pin bones removed

Preparation:

1. Cure the salmon: To a spice grinder or coffee mill, add the Lapsang souchong tea and pulverize until very fine. Transfer the ground tea to a small bowl and stir in the salt and sugar. Pour half of the tea cure into an 8-inch container. Set the salmon on top, skin side down. Pour the remaining tea cure over the salmon and pat lightly to evenly coat the surface. Cover the container and refrigerate for at least 8 hours and up to 12 hours.

2. Remove the salmon from the refrigerator and rinse it under cold water, letting the water remove the excess tea cure (don't rub the salmon to remove the cure). Blot the salmon dry with paper towels and set it on a cutting board.

3. Use a very sharp knife to slice the salmon paper-thin on a bias and against the grain. Arrange on a platter and serve.

Enjoy!

Tea Cookies

We love anything with tea and these cookie are especially yummy.  Silver Needle Tea Co's High Mountain Oolong is used for this recipe. These cookies are perfect to go with tea anytime of the day, or make a bunch to share with friends.

Recipe is from Lovescool.com, Kelli Bernard and Andrew Lin

Approx 25/Preparation time:  20

Ingredients:

3/4 cup (2.25 oz) Confectioners sugar
5 oz Unsalted butter, cut into cubes
1 3/4 cup (8.5 oz) All-purpose flour
3 Large egg yolks or 4 small ones
1.5 TBS ground High Mountain Oolong Tea
1 cup Granulated sugar (for coating)

Preparation:

1.  Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
2.  Whisk the confectioner’s sugar and Oolong tea together in a bowl.
3.  Add the butter and Oolong tea/sugar mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix until smooth and light    in color.
4.  Add the flour and mix until well combined.
5.  Add the egg yolks and mix just until the eggs are fully incorporated and a mass forms.
6.  Form the dough into a disk and chill in the refrigerator until firm (about 30 minutes).
7.  Roll the dough out to ½” thickness.
8.  Cut the dough with a cutter.  ie. heart shape or leaf shape.
9.  Toss each cut cookie in a bowl of granulated sugar to coat.
10.  Place the sugar-coated cookie on a parchment lined pan. Bake at 350F for 12-15 minutes, or until slightly golden around the edges.

*Use your hands if you don't have a stand mixer, and don't use electric blender...it doesn't work, we've tried it.

Tea-Grilled Wings

We keep coming back to this tea marinated wing recipe for summer BBQs because it’s such a crowd pleaser!  Black teas are great for this recipe, and we recommend Silver Needle Tea Co’s Golden Beautiful Eyebrow for that extra smoky flavor and richness.

Recipe is from Culinary Tea by Cynthia Gold & Lisa Stern
Originally published in the 2013 May/June issue of Tea Magazine

Serves 6/Preparation time:  30 mins

Ingredients:

5 tbs loose-leaf black tea leaves, divided
1-1/2 cups boiling water (about 212F)
1/2cup soy sauce
3 tbs tasted sesame oil
3 tbs Asian fish sauce, such as nam pla
6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 tbs Asian chili sauce, such as Sriracha
Fresh ground black pepper to taste
18 wings

Place 3 tbs. tea in a glass measuring cup or bowl.  Add boiling water and steep, covered, for 6 minutes.  Strain and set aside to cool.  Discard the tea leaves.

Finely grind the remaining 2 tbs. tea in a spice grinder or with a mortar and pestle to equal 1 tbs. ground tea.  Transfer to a medium bowl.   Add the soy sauce, sesame oil, fish sauce, garlic, chili sauce, and black pepper to taste.  Stir in the cooled steeped tea.

Trim the wing tips.  Cut the remaining wings at the joint to separate.  Place wings in a re-sealable plastic bag,, then pour in the marinade.  Seal bag and coat fully.

Refrigerate overnight or for up to 3 days, turning every 12 hours.

Note:  The wings need to marinate overnight before grilling, so plan accordingly.