Salt-Cured Egg Yolks

Melt-in-your-mouth goodness! Tastes like cheese. Excellent grated over pasta. Simply heaven!

When you have a recipe that uses only egg whites, what do you do with the egg yolks? I can come up with several suggestions but here, right now, is one I'd like to share. Salt-cured egg yolks! They're so good that you may just have the opposite problem -- what do you do with the egg whites?

It's a very simple recipe. You need to plan ahead, though, as you would need curing time. Make it 3-4 weeks in advance and you'll have some good cheese-like orbs for use on your pasta, salad, sandwich and anywhere you'd normally grate cheese.

First off, you'll want to use a container with a lid big enough to hold your egg yolks with enough space around them. This recipe is for a dozen egg yolks but you can cut or double up as needed. Mix salt and sugar well (see recipe below) and put half of the mixture in the container. Spread mixture evenly. Make some wells for the egg yolks.

Carefully lay an egg yolk in each of the wells, leaving some space around them.

Use the remaining half of the salt-sugar mixture to cover the eggs. See photo below where I started from the top left corner.

Create little mounds, ensuring the egg yolks are fully covered.

And now we start the waiting game ...

Cover container and refrigerate. Leave to cure for a week.

Then more of the waiting game ...

Continue to cure, this time outside of the fridge. Line a wire rack with 3 - 4 layers of cheesecloth. Brush off the salt-sugar mixture from the egg yolks then lay them on the cheesecloth.

Look at how beautiful they are!

Cover with 3 - 4 layers of cheesecloth. Let it sit at room temperature for 2 - 3 weeks. You will know they're ready when centers are firm.

Voila! You're ready to enjoy your beautiful, tasty, melt-in-your mouth cured egg yolks!

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Salt-Cured Egg Yolks

Ingredients

1 dozen egg yolks
3 cups kosher salt
3 cups sugar
1 tsp cayenne pepper, optional
1 tsp grated black pepper, optional
1 tsp dried herbs, optional

Directions

Assembly

Combine salt and sugar. Add other spices or herbs, if using, and mix well.
Spread half of the mixture in a container with a lid.
Make some wells for the egg yolks.
Carefully lay an egg yolk in each of the wells, leaving some space around them.
Carefully spoon the remaining salt-sugar mixture over the egg yolks, creating little mounds. Ensure the egg yolks are fully covered.
Cover the container.

Curing Process

Refrigerate the egg yolks in the covered container. Leave to cure for one week.
Line a wire rack with 3 - 4 layers of cheesecloth. Brush off the salt-sugar mixture from the egg yolks then lay them on the cheesecloth.
Cover with another 3 - 4 layers of cheesecloth. Let it sit at room temperature for 2 - 3 weeks. You will know they're ready when centers are firm. Store in an airtight container up to 1 month.

Serve

Grate over pasta, salads, baked potatoes, open-faced sandwiches.

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Happy cooking and eating!

Anna