Preserved Lemon

I am making my first batch ever of preserved lemons. Anyone have any tips or ideas on the science of what is happening in the preservation process? Also I noticed some recipes call for sugar and salt vs just salt, and some call for topping off with olive oil rather than lemon juice. Any experiences or thoughts, welcome...

Hi,

Kitty Morse is the Julia Child of Moroccan Cuisine. This is her method for preserving lemons.

Good luck!

Regards,

A Moroccan friend advised me to top mine off with lemon juice and to cure them in the refrigerator. He does them in his pantry located in the interior of an 18th century farmhouse with stone walls almost two feet thick. They only refrigerate milk and some cooked meat leftovers. But in our climate, he said do it in the fridge.

I generally just mash as many as I can into a wide mouth quart mason jar and then top off with lemon juice after a couple of days.

I have not liked preserved lemons that have oil in them, at all, or other seasonings, which are sometimes used.

Preserved lemon rind, mint, olive oil, marinate some loin lamb chops, grill, salt and pepper, you're in heaven.

The ones I have include bay leaves... can't remember what else is in them. I wasn't able to find Meyer lemons in winter, but they still came out pretty good. You want the thinnest-skinned lemons you can find, because the pith ain't that tasty, and the flesh gets scraped away when you use the preserved lemons.

The brine is a nice start for a salad dressing, by the way.

While it would be nice to use Meyer lemons, I can't afford it and also wonder if they would stand up as well to the preserving process, which softens everything.

I try to use organic lemons. And juicy ones. A thick skin doesn't make any difference except in how hard it is to smash them into the jar. When you remove and use them, the pith is easily scraped away from the skin along with the pulp.

I like to include a little of the pulp in a salad dressing, not so much the brine, that's more for a marinade, at least in my book.

Re: Juicy lemons

Hi,

Last September, I had to make some lemon tartes for Culinary Historians. I was with Bob S when I selected the lemons. Bob S pointed out the juicier lemons will have some sponginess or give to them. The stiff ones are less juicy. This was a pointer he learned from Cook's Illustrated, which after Bob S highlighted it I have been using to success.

Regards,

We made our first batch of preserved lemons this Summer. There were so many different recipes/procedures that A2Fay finally gave up waiting for me to decide which recipe I wanted to use and just went ahead and made it. The method she used is very similar to the one in Cathy2's link.

Here are some notes that may be of some help:

She didn't cut off the tips/ends. Since the lemons were rather large, she made three slits, i.e., the lemons were sixth-ed instead of quartered. For this reason, she said, she didn't do the 'classic' slit from both ends style described in the Morse version. The point is to get the insides well salted. She used kosher salt.

She used a jar that she washed well, dried and then microwaved on high for two minutes (lid was not microwaved). The jar wasn't really sterilized, but she took the following precautions anyway (we don't know if it was necessary or not but it's what she did): put the insides-salted lemons, using a clean (dry!) spatula when necessary to push them around. Also in taking them out use always a dry spoon. From our experience with Indian pickles, any 'wetness' leads to spoilage - this is probably because it is more likely for microbes to be in the moisture.

In addition to the salt in the lemons, she sprinkled salt on every 'layer' of lemons she put in. At the end she also squeezed the juice of a lemon (≈1/3 cup) into the jar. We left it by the window (in the sunlight) for two weeks (probably didn't need that long), and every morning I would swish it around. After that it has been in the refrigerator for a little over three weeks now.



We used a couple to make a chicken "tagine" with lemons and olives. Only the lemon skins (with some pith) was used, the flesh was discarded.
We used Moroccan olives (Bari foods) which tasted a little soapy, but which, upon blanching for 60 seconds and then using in the dish was excellent (better than Kalamatas (unblanched) which we also used for comparison).

This may be a little off the subject, but... the July 2005 issue of "fine Cooking" has a recipe for Lemony Morroccan-Style Chicken Kebabs. They have a shortcut called "Preserved" lemons in a hurry. It entails microwaving the lemons. The lemons are not salty like the real deal, but they were quick and easy, and the kebabs were a hit at our house.

i use kitty morse's recipe. and i think its essential to use organic lemons for health reasons as you are eating the peel. i love these and use them in many non moroccan dishes, including tuna salad, pasta with goat cheese and olive oil, rice dishes. whenever you want to include the taste of lemon and salt, use your preserved lemons(sparingly because they are very salty). justjoan

There are also recipes for preserved lemons "on the quick" which call for freezing them at some point to achieve the right texture. I think Kitty Morse has such a recipe in one of her cookbooks.

My method is similar to the above-posted ones, with the addition of olive oil. Preserved lemons are easy peasy. You don't need to measure your ingredients or anything. Cut your lemons into quarters, but not all the way through (just like in the pictures). Get a handful of salt and generously salt the insides of the quarters (you really can't oversalt these things). Smush 'em in a jar. Go on to the next lemon. After you got a nice fit for your four or so lemons, squeeze in the juice of three lemons, and top off with olive oil to make a nice protective seal.

That's it. With all the acid and salt, ain't no bacteria growing in there anyway. You just don't want your lemons sticking their skins out of the brine and become exposed to air.

I was wondering if anyone knew of a place in Chicago where I could buy preserved lemons. All my googling has yielded is recipes to make them myself, which I'm less interested in presently (though I'll try it one of these days!). Anyway, if anyone has seen them sold anywhere, I'd love to know.

I'm pretty sure they had them at the Whole Foods at Ashland and School last time I was there.

I usually make my own (and there are "quick" methods, that only take 7 days, if you don't want to wait 30). But there are places to order them online, such as http://www.tagines.com/

I would imagine there are stores that carry preserved lemons, as well, but I haven't searched them out as yet, since they last for a while once you've made them.

Good luck finding them.

You might want to try and call Middle Eastern Bakery and Grocery

1512 W. Foster
(773) 561-2224

Best,
Michael

I'll second the Whole Food suggestion. At the store on Ashland, they're generally in the fridge case opposite the cheese counter and adjacent to the deli section.

I haven't tried them from WF, but I seem to remember that they cost about $1 each, which is a deal considering that to do it from scratch you need 4-5 Meyers lemons and the juice of about a dozen more. Last time I preserved them, I probably spent at least $2 per preserved lemon when all was said and done.

What's the recipe for? I love love love chicken with preserved lemons and olives, but would recommend almost any Paula Wolfert recipe that calls for preserved lemons.

Hi,

There is an earlier thread on preserved lemons, which I have merged this thread into. So do scroll up to read the earlier information, which you will find of interest.

Regards,

Anyone have good recipes which USE preserved lemons (I just inherited some) aside from the suggestions above?
Thanks.

Interesting that this thread should pop up: I found another form of preserved lemon that I'd never noticed before at Marketplace on Oakton, in with the dried figs in the produce section: whole dried lemons. They looked more like seed pods than like dried fruit. Anybody know how to use these?

Mhays wrote:Interesting that this thread should pop up: I found another form of preserved lemon that I'd never noticed before at Marketplace on Oakton, in with the dried figs in the produce section: whole dried lemons. They looked more like seed pods than like dried fruit. Anybody know how to use these?

Grind them with a mortar and pestle or in a spice grinder, and use with salt and pepper as a poultry rub.

Hi,

I checked out Kitty Morse's website to find she has a book pending on recipes for preserved lemons. She spoke at Culinary Historians a number of years ago of growing up in Morocco. You can get on her e-mail list for more information: www.kittymorse.com

Regards,

I have the Kitty Morse cookbook, Cooking at the Kasbah. It's a good one & I refer to it a lot.
Here's a modified recipe from Anissa Helou's Cafe Morocco:
(I modify it in that I like to brown the chicken and cook the onions first. The recipe calls for rubbing the chicken with spices and then adding onions and water and boiling the whole thing at once, which in my opinion makes for very white, flaccid chicken pieces and less flavorful sauce b/c you haven't created any fond on the bottom of the pan.)

Tagine of Chicken with Olives and Preserved Lemon

Saute a whole, cut up chicken (abt 3 lbs) in some olive oil/butter mixture in a heavy pot. After browned, remove & set aside, and add 2 thinly sliced, medium sized onions and cook until translucent.

Add 1 minced garlic clove, 1/2 tsp ground ginger, 1/4 tsp each of ground cumin and paprika, a pinch of saffron, and some salt and pepper, stir to release oils, and then add the browned chicken pieces and coat it with the spices and onions. Add one bunch each of parsley and cilantro.

Fill halfway with water, and add a cinnamon stick. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer until chicken is cooked through.

Transfer chicken to a plate, keep warm, discard cinnamon stick. Boil liquid uncovered about 10 minutes more, and then add one chopped preserved lemon with juices (or more to taste), and about a cup of mixed olives. Return chicken to sauce and adjust seasoning if needed.

Funny this should come up. I preserved some lemons about 6 months ago (salt method). I finally got around to using some of them last night! I never refrigerated the product, nothing seemed "off", and I'm still alive today, so I am thinking that not refrigerating them is acceptable. Anyway, I made coucous, boiled it with a cin. stick, added cooked and cubed squash, sauted onion and fresh parsley. Really good!

Thanks for the suggestions. I'm planning to try a tagine next. Last night I made pasta with chopped preserve lemon, roasted garlic, parsley, parmesan and bread crumbs. Turned out pretty tasty.

"While it would be nice to use Meyer lemons, I can't afford it and also wonder if they would stand up as well to the preserving process, which softens everything."


Found Meyer lemons at TI on Clybourn Tuesday for $1.99/lb. No idea if this price is good or not but I was able to purchase 6 for $2 so not too if the experiment goes bad.

On day two the lemon juice does not cover them so I was wondering if some regular lemon juice would be okay to cover them or if it would ruin the delicacy of the Meyers. I don't want to do the olive oil.

Whole Foods also has my namesake lemons.

On day two the lemon juice does not cover them so I was wondering if some regular lemon juice would be okay to cover them or if it would ruin the delicacy of the Meyers

I'd guess it would defeat the purpose of using Meyers. I also wonder whether the rind of Meyers is too thin for it to be effective as a preserved lemon.

We just recently started carrying preserved lemons at The Spice House. We had Kitty Morse in to do a book signing, and I was making a dish with preserved lemons. I did not have enough time to make them, I must have gone to 10 stores before I found them at Sur La Table. When I talked to Kitty, she said this was a terrible brand. So I recently found a source, via an email contact, no less, that ended up being a member one of the highest quality family farms in Tunisia. These preserved lemons are hand-made by Les Moulins Mahjoub. They are brined with red chilies for added flavor and a little kick of heat. We are having a Retail therapy night in our Evanston shop next Thursday, 6-9, and our culinary school graduate manager is supposed to be making a lamb appetizer with the preserved lemons in one form or another if anyone wants to drop in and try them. My work can really be so much fun!

CG,

Do you have any preserved lemons without chilis?

Regards,

This farm family only seems to make them this one way, with the chile peppers. I think many of their dishes include both preserved lemons along with harissa so the chiles are a natural addition.