Preserved Lemons

Name: Preserved Lemons
Total time: 42 d 25 min
Yield: Makes 4 lemons
Ingredients: 12 Meyer lemons (4 whole, scrubbed and dried, 8 juiced to yield 1 1/2 cups), plus extra juice if needed; 1/2 cup Diamond Crystal kosher salt

Time

25 minutes, plus 6 weeks preserving

Yield

Makes 4 lemons

Ingredients

Ingredient check list

12 Meyer lemons (4 whole, scrubbed and dried, 8 juiced to yield 1 ½ cups), plus extra juice if needed

½ cup Diamond Crystal kosher salt

Test Kitchen Techniques

Why This Recipe Works

We use Meyer lemons since they are thinner-skinned, sweeter, and mellower than supermarket Eureka lemons. We quarter the lemons and fill each one with just 2 tablespoons of kosher salt—enough to cure them without making them salty. After placing the lemons into a jar, we cover them with fresh lemon juice and let them sit. In about 6 weeks, they will be soft, deflated, and ready to use in recipes from vinaigrettes to pan sauces.

Before You Begin

Don’t substitute table salt for the kosher salt. We prefer to prepare this recipe with Meyer lemons, but regular lemons can be substituted. If using regular lemons, choose smaller fruit with thin skin (thin-skinned lemons will yield to gentle pressure). Also note that because regular lemons have thicker peels, they may take two to four weeks longer to soften.

Instructions

Cut 4 lemons lengthwise into quarters, stopping 1 inch from bottom so lemons stay intact at base.

Working with 1 lemon at a time, hold lemon over medium bowl and pour 2 tablespoons salt into cavity of lemon. Gently rub cut surfaces of lemon together, then place in clean 1-quart jar. Repeat with remaining lemons and salt. Add any accumulated salt and juice in bowl to jar.

Pour 1 1/2 cups lemon juice into jar and press gently to submerge lemons. (Add more lemon juice to jar, if needed, to cover lemons completely.) Cover jar tightly with lid and shake. Refrigerate lemons, shaking jar once per day for first 4 days to redistribute salt and juice. Let lemons cure in refrigerator until glossy and softened, 6 to 8 weeks. Preserved lemons can be refrigerated for up to 6 months.

To use, cut off desired amount of preserved lemon. Using knife, remove pulp and white pith from rind. Slice, chop, or mince rind and pulp as desired.