{Handmade} PRESERVED MEYER LEMONS

I started coming across recipes for preserved lemons awhile ago (on Pinterest of course) and knew I wanted to try my hand at making them one day. I had never eaten them before, but had seen them used in recipes on cooking shows and in my fancier cook books. Do you have fancy cook books too? You know, the ones where the recipes call for $10 chunks of illusive cheeses you have to do three loops through the deli and dairy sections to find...not that this has happened to me or anything you usually don't muster up enough courage to cook from unless it is a special occasion, your fancy-pants friend is coming to town, or you are feeling extra adventurous.

Well, when our dwarf Meyer lemon tree produced four lemons during the first season, (he wasn't even supposed to fruit until next year, the over achiever) I knew exactly how I wanted to savor these gems...preserved lemons! I skimmed through a recipe for preserved lemons for a basic game plan:

http://www.simplebites.net/spiced-preserved-lemons/ By Marisa @SimpleBites

Then went for it...


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~PRESERVED LEMONS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Materials:

1.5 pint size Mason jar 
4 Meyer Lemons, washed
5 tbs. white sea salt
25-30 black peppercorns


Procedure:

Slice lemons in half lengthwise, then slice each half in quarters lengthwise.

Add 1 tbs. salt to the bottom of the jar. Top with  8 lemon wedges & top with 1 tbs. salt. Repeat three more times, adding peppercorns halfway through.

Shake gently to get the juices flowing. Store in a cool, dry place for 2-3 weeks. Shake once or twice a day to mix the salt, peppercorns and lemon juice throughout. Open the jar lid every few days to allow gas pressure to escape. After 2-3 weeks, move jar to the fridge and you can start using. They will keep for up to a year.

Hypothesis: 

These preserved Meyer lemon slices will be delicious on top of fish before grilling or broiling, added to tuna and chicken salad, chopped up in couscous and quinoa, added to salad dressing, and more!

Results:

It is day three, and they are looking good so far: