Salted Preserved Lemons Recipes

PRESERVED LEMONS RECIPE

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Cut off and discard the stem ends of the lemons.
• Cut each lemon into quarters lengthwise, but not all the way through. Leave enough rind at the end to hold the fruit together, about 1/2 inch. If you do go too far and a lemon falls into quarters, don't worry. It's still completely usable; it just won't look as pretty sitting in the jar.
• Over a large bowl to catch the juice, use your thumb to carefully squeeze out the juice from each lemon quarter. Go ahead and really smash the lemon to get all the juice out.
• Over the same large bowl into which you've squeezed the lemon juice, sprinkle the inside of each juiced lemon with kosher salt (about 1 tablespoon per lemon), working as much of the salt as possible into the lemon flesh as you go, packing the crevices with lots of salt.
• Close the lemons, and place them in a quart-size sterilized glass jar with a tight-fitting lid. Make sure the lemons are packed in tightly so that they can't move freely. Compress the lemons as you add them to the jar, squeezing them in to release more juices.
• Pour the salty juice you collected in the bowl over the jarred lemons. Add more lemon juice, if necessary, to cover the lemons completely. Then add a generous sprinkling of salt (about 1 teaspoon).
• Seal and set the jar on the kitchen counter or other cool, dark spot for 7 days, shaking and turning daily.
• After two or three days, open the jar and compress the lemons to release more juices. If you have room to add another lemon, do so. The idea here is that tightly packed lemons won't be able to rise to the surface. Do this for the first week until the jar is packed as full as possible and the lemons stay completely submerged in juice.
• Transfer the sealed jar to the refrigerator and leave undisturbed. The lemons will be preserved and ready to use once the rinds are very soft, in about five weeks. You can continue to preserve them longer if you like, up to a year or more.

PRESERVED LEMONS

Steps:

• Wash 10 of the lemons thoroughly and dry them completely (reserve the remaining 3 to 4 lemons for juicing). Cut off about 1/4 inch from the tip of the 10 lemons, then cut them almost all the way into quarters, keeping the ends attached.
• Mix the sugar and 3/4 cup salt in a small bowl. Gently open each quartered lemon, use a small spoon to fill it with the salt mixture and close it back up. Place the lemons and remaining salt mixture in a large bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 6 hours and up to overnight. After this time, the lemons will have released some of their juices and become squishy.
• Transfer the salted lemons and oregano if using to a sterilized quart glass jar with tight lid, pressing them tightly into the jar; you want as little space between the lemons as possible. Squeeze enough juice from the reserved lemons (about 3/4 cup) to fill the jar with lemon juice. You may need more or less juice, depending on the size of the lemons.
• Refrigerate the lemons, turning the jar upside down every few days and then placing it back in the refrigerator right-side up, until the rinds are soft, 3 to 4 weeks. You can keep the preserved lemons in the refrigerator for up to 6 months.

QUICK PRESERVED LEMONS

Steps:

• Trim the ends off the lemons. Slice each lemon into 8 wedges, removing any seeds as you go. Reserve as much of the juice as possible.
• Layer the lemon wedges in a wide-mouthed 16-ounce canning jar, covering each layer with salt. Pack the jar as tightly as possible, pressing down to release the lemons' juice as you go and leaving about 1/4 inch of headspace in the jar.
• Cover the wedges with the reserved lemon juice from the cutting board and the ends. If your lemons do not release a significant amount of juice, top off the jar with the juice of another lemon.
• Stash in the refrigerator for 4 days, then flip the jar over and age another 4 days before sampling. The peel should be nice and soft. Rinse before using.

PRESERVED LEMONS

Steps:

• Scrub 3 to 5 organic lemons, enough to fit snugly in a medium jar with a tight-fitting lid (have 2 to 4 more ready on the side). Slice each lemon from the top to within 1/2 inch of the bottom, almost cutting them into quarters but leaving them attached at one end. Rub kosher salt over the cut surfaces, then reshape the fruit. Cover the bottom of the jar with more kosher salt. Fit all the cut lemons in, breaking them apart if necessary. Sprinkle salt on each layer.
• Press the lemons down to release their juices. Add to the jar the peppercorns and bay leaves, then squeeze the additional lemons into the jar until juice covers everything.
• Close the jar and let ripen at cool room temperature, shaking the jar every day for 3 to 4 weeks, or until the rinds are tender to the bite. Then store it in the refrigerator.
• To use, remove a piece of lemon and rinse it. (Add more fresh lemons to the brine as you use them up.) The minced rind is added at the very end of cooking or used raw; the pulp can be added to a simmering pot.