Tea smoking and pulled pork (natural indoor smoking without a smoker)

        I learned of tea smoking recently. I kind of became addicted to the whole process quite honestly as it smells incredible and results in the most moist and fall of the bones pulled pork that can be achieved completely indoor with your oven, while having an intense natural smokey flavor.

        Tea smoking is actually very cheap. The ingredients you need are so simple and are already in your pantry: sugar, rice, tea bags as the very basic. If you wanna get more fancy, you can add things like ginger or lemon slices, wood chips and spices like cinnamon.

         But as long as you keep the 3 basic ingredients (sugar, rice, and tea leaves), you can be creative and experiment with the add ons but you don't have to. 

         Those 3 basic ingredients are essential for tea smoking. The sugar acts as the fuel that burns and creates the natural smoke. The rice keeps the sugar burning to ensure continual smoke and the tea leaves add the flavor to the meat. Result?? Literally fork tender, fall of the bones smoked meat like pulled pork, brisket etc...

         I have tried this method on pork shoulder, baby rack ribs and pork loin strips, all very successfully and all uber tender.

******* It can be done with veggies if you're vegetarian or vegan but requires an on the stove cooking method *******

Baby back ribs

 

Brisket

 

Pulled pork sandwich

Tea smoking (indoor natural smoking in your oven) method:

-  1/2 cup sugar (I use cheap sugar as it will all burn so I don't want to waste my more expensive organic sugar)

-  1/2 cup dry rice (again I use the inexpensive kind)

-   5 to 6 tea bags*******

- 1 roasting pan with rack *

******* For the tea bags, every time my husband drinks tea and uses a tea bag, I let it dry and then store it to do my tea smoking later.

It's a great way to do something with those used tea bags instead of throwing them away. Double winner. *******

       Optional add ons can be sliced lemons or ginger, wood chips, cinnamon powder or sticks, aromatic spices or dried cherries or strawberries.

* For the pan, I bought a roasting pan with a rack from Target. I got an extra large size so I can smoke ribs and lots of meat.

1/  Spread basic ingredients and add ons if desired.

 

 

For this example, I had a good deal on meaty pork loin chops.

                              Or

2/ Lay raw meat with rub on the rack

3/ Use A LOT of foil !!!!!!!

         Don't be skimpy in that step OR your house will be completely filled with smoke!! Secure the many many foil sheets on the pan TIGHTLY so the smoke stays inside the pan. I probably use close to 10-15 sheets of foils and I STILL have a little smoke in my home.

                                  

4/ Place the pan on the burners and turn on both bottom and upper oven burners on 6.

           >>>>>>  Turn your vent on high and smoke the meat for 30 minutes. Keep an eye to make sure the smoke stays in!

5/ Carefully place the plan in a 225F oven for 2 hours.

6/ (Optional) - after 2 hours carefully open the foil corner and pour 1/2 cup of orange juice in the pan. 

            >>>>>>    But regardless, cook for another 2 hours at 225 F

* Or 1h30 of oven cooking and another 30 min burner smoking (repay step 4) for more intense smoking. However it is not necessary as it will be smoked plenty).

                             Or

TA-DA!!! Notice how the rice, sugar, tea and everything else turned to black ashes??? 

Now Rejoice in an unbelievably tender and smokey meat.

 I used the leftover for pulled pork sandwiches and put my husband in BBQ heaven (he's from Texas!)

 

Enjoy and please let me know how it turned out!!! :)

Zei

Make 11 oz of Homemade Vanilla Paste for $4.02!!

      Baking with vanilla adds a whole other dimension to making desserts. It makes them so much more decadent and enhances all the flavors. You can add it to almost anything from cakes, brownies, cookies, ice cream, tiramisu etc...  I LOVE it in my homemade vanilla ice cream,.
    And when it comes to vanilla, there are so many options: vanilla extract, vanilla sugar, beans and of course vanilla paste. 
      

          But what is vanilla paste? It's a very sweet, fragrant, and potent dark and thick syrupy consistency. Because of the vanilla bean concentration, this is definitely potent so 1/2 tsp to 1 tsp goes a long way.

           Buying vanilla paste can be pretty expensive because of the high bean concentration. On Amazon, one of the cheapest options is $10.86 for a 4 oz jar (with shipping).

          But making your own home made vanilla paste is really super easy and doesn't cost much for natural wholesome ingredients (less than $5 for 8 oz!).  And the best part??  You only need 3 ingredients!!!

           Yes, just 3: Water, sugar and vanilla beans.

           But the key to the lower cost of this paste is in the vanilla beans. Do NOT buy them at the grocery store!!!! They overcharge for just a few beans and you can end up paying $12 to 15 for just 2 or 3 of them!

           The secret is to buy online from a reputed seller (see link below).  Since I love to bake, I purchase my vanilla beans in bulk. I buy 30 Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla Beans from a US seller for $16.87, including shipping.  That ends up costing me 56 cents for 1 Vanilla bean. A bargain, especially considering grocery store prices!

          Of course, if you don't need that many, you can also buy less, like 10 vanilla beans for $8.32 including shipping (83 cents a piece).
             
I have bought from them many times and they strive for quality, good customer service, are affordable and are in the USA. I highly recommend you check them out.

           For this vanilla paste, recipe, you will only need 6 beans and so at 56 cents each x 6 = $ 3.36

TIP:   When you scrape your vanilla pods when making ice cream or other baking, do NOT discard the beans as you can use the leftover for this paste recipe or even put them into your sugar to make vanilla sugar! :)   So yummy

            For the sugar, I always have this brand in my pantry: Sugar Florida Crystals: Organic Cane Sugar (3lb).  I buy it at Walmart for $ 3.98, which is a great deal for the quantity and quality. It is of amazing quality, is natural and goes well with baking but also hot drinks, ice cream making etc...  I HIGHLY recommend it and you can even find it in the organic section of your local grocery store but it is slighly more expensive than Walmart (about $5.99).

For this recipe, you only need 1 cup or 8 oz, which ends up costing you 66 cents (3.98/6 cups or 48 oz).

That's how this recipe ends up costing 66 cents (sugar) + 3.36 (vanilla) = $4.02
A great deal for a super simple recipe.

Here is the recipe:

    -  1 cup Organic cane sugar (described above)
    -  1/2 cup + 1 tbsp Water
    -   6 vanilla beans (chopped up)



  Combine the water + sugar into a pot. Cook on low heat and stir consistently.
        Do not leave unattended as sugar WILL burn. But this is what it will look like.

After 6-7 minutes, the color will be more of a dark amber

Chop the 6 beans into smaller pieces and grind everything up.  (I use my KRUPS coffee grinder) 

  

     For the container, I'm all about re-cycling so I am re-using my 8oz Trader Joe's Fig butter jar (delicious by the way).



                   

                   
  

       The end result will be thick and honey like. (Be careful it is scorching HOT!). Let cool until warm before pouring into jar.

Mix the grinded vanilla powder and syrup and Ta-DA!!!!!!   Result? Thick, dark (almost black), super vanilla-y fragrant and delicious!!

I really hope you enjoyed the recipe and I sincerely hope you give it a try!!

Zei

P.S:  If you end up with a light brown almost beige color like so <<<<<<<<    You probably overcooked the sugar but no worries! Just add 1 tbsp of water and reheat the glass jar in the microwave (without the lid!) for 2 minutes. While very hot (handle with care), mix everything well and let cool completely before storing.