Recipes By Rich: Chai Tea Salmon January 15 2015

Cured or Smoked Salmon has always been a favorite in my family, especially around the Holidays or special occasions where there tends to be a beautiful platter of appetizers, cold meats and cheeses. It is almost a certainty that when I see a Salmon and Bagel plate on a brunch or breakfast menu, that is what I am going for.

You will need:
2 sheet pans - equal sized cookie sheets work best
Aluminum Foil
Plastic Wrap
Weights such as 3-4 large cans of Tomatoes or a Brick
A very sharp and thin slicing knife

This Chai Cured Salmon is incredibly simple to make, has a wonderful hint of spice from the Chai and is an elegant and versatile addition to breakfasts, brunches, lunches, appetizers and more. Get a nice fatty piece with the skin still on from your local fishmonger and tell them you'll be curing it. They will pick out a nice piece for you.

Ingredients:
1.5 to 2 lb Fresh Salmon Fillet (I used Atlantic Salmon for this recipe)
1 cup Kosher Salt
1/2 cup Turbinado Sugar
3/4 cup Too Soul Tea Original Chai

Directions:
Rinse the Fillet and pat completely dry on both sides. Overlap a cookie sheet with Aluminum Foil. Make sure you have enough to completely fold and seal the Salmon as a package when complete. Then, line the foil with Plastic Wrap.

Mix the Salt, Sugar and Chai Tea well in a bowl and then spread a medium thick layer on the Plastic Wrap and place the Salmon skin side down on the Salt cure mixture. Take the remaining mixture and pack tightly around the top side of the Salmon.

Fold the Plastic Wrap tightly around the Salmon to create a package and then do the same with the Aluminum Foil. Place the second cookie sheet on top of the Salmon and place flat on a shelf in the refrigerator. Weight the top down with a brick or several cans of tomatoes or something similarly heavy.

Cure the Salmon in the refrigerator for 48 to 72 hours.

Remove Foil and Plastic Wrap and rinse well under cool water in the sink. Gently pat completely dry. The Salmon will have developed a slightly rubbery top crust. This is easily removed with a few parallel slices with your sharp knife.

Slice the Salmon in very thin strips keeping your knife at only a very slight angle to the fish. Serve immediately.

Suggested accompaniments:
Rye bread with Creme Fraiche, Dill and a squeeze of Lemon
Bagels, Cream Cheese, Thinly Sliced Red Onion and Bagel
Scrambled Eggs and Buckwheat Pancakes
Quinoa with Lemon Zest
Pasta with Capers and Cream Sauce

Recipe conceived and happily tested by Too Soul's In-House Chef, Richard Soucie

Recipes By Rich: Too Soul Oolong Pork Loin June 10 2014

Too Soul Oolong Pork Loin
Makes two large pork loins

Ingredients:
2 large pork loins
1 1/4 cups Loose Leaf Oolong Tea
2 Tbsp Loose Leaf Oolong Tea
1 Tsp. Whole Fennel Seed
1 Cup Long Grain White Rice
Kosher Salt (to taste)
3/4 cup Light Brown Sugar
Water

Brine the pork loin one day in advance.
Add 6 quarts of water to a large pot or container in which the two pork loins can lay next to each other.
Add 3/4 cup brown sugar, 3/4 cup kosher salt, 1 teaspoon fennel seed and 2 tablespoons Too Soul Tea Company loose leaf Oolong
Stir vigorously until sugar and salt have thoroughly dissolved
Add pork loins - they should be fully submerged in the brining solution. If not, add a bit of water to cover or change containers to one more suitable to the task.
Put in refrigerator and let brine overnight.

Prepare foil smoking packets -
Pull two 15 inch sheets of aluminum and lay them on top of each other. In the center, mound one cup of the rice, 3/4 of a cup of brown sugar and 1 1/4 cups of Oolong tea. Fold the package up loosely so that smoke can escape.

Prepare the grill.
For this recipe, I used a standard charcoal grill and indirect heat.
Once the coals are bright red and ready to use, pile them up on one side of the grill and place the smoke packet on top of the coals.
Place the loins on the opposite side of the grill and cover the grill with its lid. Open the vents to approximately 1/4 or 1/2 way open.

DO NOT LIFT LID FOR A MINIMUM OF 35 MINUTES. You should observe a heavy cloud of smoke which will begin to thin out and eventually become a mere trickle of wisp. After about 35-40 minutes your pork loins should be ready. Although safe to eat at 145 degrees, they will taste better if you cook them up to approximately 160-165 degrees ensuring that the Oolong smoke has had time to impart as much flavor as possible to the meat.

Remove from grill and let rest for 5-7 minutes and ENJOY.

Recipe conceived and happily tested by Too Soul's In-House Chef, Richard Soucie

Recipes By Rich: Too Soul Tea Honeybush Flank steak May 28 2014

Too Soul Tea Honeybush Tea Flank Steak with Sichuan Peppercorn

With this dish, you will deliver to your delighted guests, awesome flank steak with a floral zing from the Sichuan Peppercorns, accented with the Too Soul Tea marinade bringing with it sweet, tangy floral notes. A pleaser for the steak lovers.

Ingredients:
1lb flank Steak
4-5 tsps Too Soul Honeybush Tea
¼ Red Onion
Sichuan Peppercorns
Olive Oil
8 oz. Balsamic Vinigar
Salt
Corn or Potato Starch as needed

Recipe:
To prepare a marinade for the flank steak.
Bring 4 cups of water to a boil and add 5-6 teaspoons of Too Soul Tea Honeybush Tea. Let cool leaving tea in the liquid.
Finely dice the 1/4 red onion
Place flank steak in a shallow baking dish, add red onion and cover with tea leaving tea in the marinade. Reserve the marinade.
Let steak marinade 4-6 hours or overnight covered in the refrigerator.
Remove meat and allow to return to room temperature. Pat dry and rub with olive oil.
Sprinkle with Salt and generously season with ground Sichuan Peppercorn

To prepare the sauce:
In a small sauce pot, reduce 8 ounces of balsamic vinegar to approximately 1/4 the volume or the consistency of pancake syrup.
Strain the marinade free of tea leaves and red onion.

In a separate pot, bring the marinade to a full rolling boil and reduce to approximately 1 cup.
Add 2 full teaspoons of the balsamic syrup you made to the tea reduction and whisk vigorously bringing to a boil. Add additional balsamic as needed but be careful not to overpower the floral notes of the tea.

Reduce mixture further and add cornstarch / water slurry as needed to thicken.

Prepare the grill:
Prepare gas or charcoal grill for medium high direct heat with space for indirect cooking.
Grill the flank steak on direct heat on both sides to produce a nice crust on the outside and then move to indirect heat. Follow normal cooking procedures to get flank steak to your desired temperature. Approximately 4-5 minutes per side for Medium.
Carve into thin slices against the grain of the meat.

Serve with the sauce. 

Have a steamed vegetable of your choice on the side with your favorite beverage and Enjoy!

Recipe conceived and happily tested by Rich Soucie