Tradition is expansive when it comes to defining tea. People brew pots of the stuff from all manner of botanicals – herbs, spices, flowers, aromatics, and of course, the fragrant leaves from whence its name comes. The tea leaves themselves, on the other hand, are pigeon-holed. Other than tea-brewing, tea-smoked chicken, and a few far-flung desserts, they rarely emerge from their boxes for any other kind of recipe. But if you think about the characters of your favorite teas – the burnt rubber tire smokiness of lapsang souchong, the grassiness of sencha, the marmalade scent of Earl Grey – it makes sense to play around with them more in the kitchen and consider tea leaves as you would a spice.
The key to doing this is to use high quality teas with assertive personalities. Think loose teas here; anything that comes in a bag probably won’t cut it. Then match the flavor and fragrance of the tea with the dish you’re thinking about cooking for dinner. Try rubbing lavender scented tea made into a paste with garlic all over a leg of lamb before grilling. Or, perhaps, adding a little bit of roasted barley green tea to a pan of chicken curry. Once you get your head around the concept, the possibilities are endless. For this recipe, the plump pink shrimp that one might ordinarily serve with lemon get a citrus boost from brining in Earl Grey tea. After the salty soak, more of the tea is infused in butter, which makes a cooking medium so intense that it turns itself into a perfumed sauce as soon as the shrimp hit the pan. A squeeze of lemon, some chopped fresh herbs, and naturally, a little garlic, complete the picture. And a pretty picture it does make.
Earl Grey-Brined Shrimp with Bergamot-Lemon Thyme Butter
Serves 4
2 fat garlic cloves
1 1/2 pounds extra-large shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 tablespoons kosher salt
2 1/2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons Earl Grey or bergamot black tea
1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
6 sprigs lemon thyme
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
Freshly ground black pepper
Fresh basil leaves, large ones torn, for garnish
1. Smash and peel one of the garlic cloves. Put it in a pot with 2 1/2 cups water, the salt, 2 1/2 tablespoons of the tea and the peppercorns. Bring to a boil, then pour it into a bowl and let steep for 5 minutes. Add 2 cups of ice to cool the liquid down.
2. Using a fork, prick the shrimp all over. Add the shrimp to the tea brine and refrigerate for 2 hours.
3. In a small pot over the lowest heat possible, melt the butter – do not allow it to brown. As soon as the butter is melted, stir in the remaining 2 teaspoons tea and the lemon thyme, pressing upon the thyme a few times to bruise the leaves. Allow mixture to infuse for 15 minutes. Strain the butter through a fine-mesh sieve, pressing out solids. Discard the herbs and tea.
4. One by one, take the shrimp out of the brine, dunking them back in if necessary to wash off any tea leaves. Lay the shrimp out on a paper towel-lined plate; pat the tops of the shrimp dry with more paper towels. Mince the remaining garlic clove and add it to a small bowl with the lemon juice and zest.
5. In a large skillet over medium-low heat, warm about three-quarters of the butter. Add the shrimp and cook until pink on both sides, about 4 minutes. Stir the minced garlic-lemon mixture in during the last 30 seconds of cooking. To serve, drizzle the shrimp with the remaining tea butter (or use a pastry brush to brush the butter on the shrimp), then top with black pepper and basil leaves.
Etc…
- Feel free to play around with different teas here – green tea and lapsang souchong would also probably be excellent.
- I served this with a simple salad of fregola tossed with halved cherry tomatoes and basil and the combination was amazing. The sweet, juicy tomatoes, in particular, went gorgeously with the tea-imbued shrimp.
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