Uva Tea-Smoked Chicken Thighs with Black Pepper
Chicken thighs smoked over Uva Ceylon leaves and finished with cracked black pepper — the tea's menthol-eucalyptus pungency infuses straight into the meat.
Tea-smoking is a classic technique usually reserved for Lapsang Souchong, but Uva Ceylon's naturally pungent, menthol-eucalyptus character makes it an unexpectedly excellent smoking leaf in its own right. Instead of the heavy pine-smoke flavor of Lapsang, Uva imparts something brighter and more aromatic — closer to smoked herbs than to a campfire.
The technique relies on smoldering, not burning. Dry Uva leaves, combined with a little brown sugar and uncooked rice, are heated in a covered wok or roasting pan until they begin to smoke, and the chicken sits above them on a rack, absorbing the aromatic smoke rather than direct heat for the first stage of cooking.
Cracked black pepper is the natural finishing partner here, echoing the bold spice character Uva pairs so well with at the table. A simple soy-and-ginger marinade beforehand adds savoriness without competing with the tea's own assertiveness.
Finish the thighs in a hot oven or on a grill to crisp the skin after smoking, then rest briefly before serving. The result is a chicken dish with a genuinely distinctive aroma — smoky, peppery, and faintly cooling all at once — that tastes like nothing you'd get from wood chips alone.
Ingredients
- 8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
- 1/2 cup loose-leaf Uva Ceylon tea
- 1/4 cup uncooked white rice
- 3 tbsp brown sugar
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp grated fresh ginger
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp neutral oil
- 2 tsp cracked black pepper, plus more to finish
- 1 tsp salt
- Lime wedges, for serving
How to make it
- 1Marinate the chicken: whisk soy sauce, ginger, garlic, oil, half the black pepper, and salt in a bowl. Add chicken thighs, coat well, and marinate at least 30 minutes (or up to overnight, refrigerated).
- 2Line a wok or heavy roasting pan with foil. Mix the Uva tea leaves, rice, and brown sugar and scatter in the bottom. Set a wire rack above the mixture so the chicken sits just clear of it.
- 3Place marinated chicken thighs skin-side up on the rack. Cover tightly with a lid or foil and heat over medium-high until the leaves begin to smoke, then reduce heat to medium-low and smoke for 20 minutes.
- 4Transfer the smoked chicken to a baking sheet and finish in a 220°C (425°F) oven for 12–15 minutes, or sear skin-side down in a hot pan, until the skin is crisp and the internal temperature reaches 75°C (165°F).
- 5Rest 5 minutes, sprinkle with the remaining cracked black pepper, and serve with lime wedges.
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