Preserved Lemons
I know Queen Bey wrote a whole album about making lemonade, but like… this is just better. It’s a way for your future self (let’s say in the dead of winter, or I dunno… a rude, mid-March snow flurry!) to thank your present self for having the forethought to pack some sunny flavors away in a jar. Like opening a Roth IRA in your fridge (this simile is a bridge too far)…
It all sounds verrrrry niche, chefy, and bougie… PRESERVING LEMONS… like something only Alice Waters would do. But I promise you it’s NOT all those things, and you absolutely should try it! It’s a great project to do with the kids, and it truly couldn’t be simpler.
You’re essentially going to pack as many lemons as you can into a clean jar with some salt and sugar (other spices are optional). Then just leave it for a month. Done.
As the salt cures the lemons, they release their juices, their rinds soften, and they take on this bitter/salty/sweet/umami taste. Ever had a delicious tagine at a restaurant? Chances are that flavor you can’t quite put your finger on is a preserved lemon. They add a taste you just can’t get from freshies, and have a not-quite-sweet floral note. You can switch up the flavor profile, too. Depending on the other spices you add to the salt mixture, they can be spicy, tangy, and perfumey (which my computer is telling me is not a word).
You may ask, “Anthony, when/how would I ever use a preserved lemon??” So glad you asked…
I will never make any kind of beans without preserved lemons ever again. Full stop.
They will transform soups from good to great.
Since you can eat both the rind and the flesh, chop ‘em up and toss them with pasta & parm. HELLO Instant Dinner!
Mix a chopped one into yogurt with some dill for an instant dip
Whirred up with chickpeas and tahini to make a killer hummus
Toss slices with crispy potatoes alongside a roast chicken
Add brightness to long-braised meats, salad dressings, vinaigrettes, salsa verdes, etc.
See? They’re as versatile as a Denver gay’s Grindr profile. Sure, you could use a regular ol’ lemon for any of these applications, too, but a preserved lemon adds nuance and mystique to your dish. And you’re no basic bish! You’re a sophisticated, grown adult human who enjoys the finer things in life (especially when they’re actually super cheap to make and may actually *save* money in the long run?).
I live in Los Angeles now, and like most (literally every) Angelenos, I have a Meyer Lemon tree in my yard. Every year, I’m like, “Please take my lemons! Take these oranges, too!” But nobody wants them, because OF COURSE they also have citrus trees in their yard.
Dappled: Baking Recipes for Fruit Lovers; Avery/Penguin Random House, 2019
One day, I was perusing through one of my favorite cookbooks, Dappled: Baking Recipes for Fruit Lovers by the fruit/pie queen of Los Angeles, Nicole Rucker. She owns a fantastic pie shop in DTLA’s famous Grand Central Market called Fat + Flour. Since Nicole also used to be the pastry chef for the famous Gjelina Group (Gjelina, Gjusta, GTA), she knows a thing or two about coaxing the very best flavors out of fruit. On page 214 of the aforementioned James-Beard-Award-nominated cookbook, she has her go-to recipe for Preserved Meyer Lemons.
You start by washing everything (duh), then combining salt, raw sugar, bay leaves, whole cinnamon sticks, black peppercorns, fennel seeds, and coriander seeds in a large bowl. She also calls for two dried Chiles de Árbol, but I only had a Guajillo in my pantry, so I deseeded it and ripped it into smaller pieces.
The next step is to cut 6-8 lemons (however many you can fit in a quart-size mason jar) into quarters without going all the way through, leaving them whole, but with crevices for the salt to get in and do its curing thing.
Toss the lemons in the salt/spice mixture, and kind of open them up and cram the spices into their interiors like so…
Then, using a cocktail muddler or the back of a wooden spoon, pack them—and the salt mixture—into a clean jar as tightly as possible.
Leave them at room temperature for a month, and boom. You’ve made preserved lemons. Rucker says they’ll keep in the fridge for at least 2 years!!
Preserved Lemons á la Nicole Rucker
Preserving lemons in a salt mixture may seem like a very niche thing to do, but it makes a world of difference in the dishes you cook and they last forever! I am lucky to have a Meyer lemon tree, and thus, a glut of fruit to use up each year. So I turned to LA’s fruit and pie queen Nicole Rucker’s cookbook, Dappled: Baking Recipes for Fruit Lovers, for an A+ recipe for Preserved Meyer Lemons. She says her favorite way to use these preserved lemons is to simmer them in a big ol’ pot of beans with lots of olive oil… and I can’t say I disagree!
Makes 1 quart
Ingredients:
6-8 Meyer lemons (or regular lemons)
1 cup (250g) fine sea salt
3 Tablespoons raw turbinado sugar
2 cinnamon sticks
2 whole fresh or dried bay leaves
2 dried chiles de árbol
1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
½ teaspoon coriander seeds
½ teaspoon fennel seeds
Method:
Wash a 1-quart jar with very hot water and allow it to air dry. Wash the lemons and trim the ends off each one. Cut a cross shape into the top of the lemon, slicing down three-quarters of the length of the fruit and creating quarters. Keep the bottom of the lemon intact.
In a large bowl, combine the salt, sugar, cinnamon, bay leaves, chiles, peppercorns, coriander, and fennel and toss with the lemons. Push the seasoned salt into the lemon segments and pack the lemons as tightly as possible into the prepared jar. Use a cocktail muddler or a wooden spoon to compact the lemons as much as possible.
Store the jar at room temperature with a loosely tightened lid. You can weigh the lemons down with a fermentation weight or a cup, but there isn’t much need for that after the first week. They will release juices and the salt will begin to melt over time. The lemons will be ready after about 1 month of preserving, and will keep stored in the refrigerator for about 2 years. Always rinse off the lemons before using them, as they will be very salty. Both the flesh and the rind are edible.
*Notes
From Dappled: You can preserve lemons in just the salt and sugar. The spices are not required, but I highly recommend them. You can substitute Eureka or other lemon varieties for Meyer in equal measure. The preserving process takes at least one month.
