Preserved lemons take some time to make but they add a very unique flavor to recipes. I have been wanting to make a Moroccan Chicken Tagine for a long time and I was excited to see that these lemons turned out really well. I didn’t know what to expect–I honestly thought that the lemons would get rotten and moldy. After about 4 weeks, the pith of the lemon darkened so I knew they were ready to try out. Some recipes recommend an even longer time to preserve so I was a bit early. It’s kind of hard to describe the flavor. It’s still very lemony but the most surprising thing was that the bitterness mellowed a lot so you can eat the rind. I stuck with plain lemons, but you can add spices like cloves, coriander seeds, peppercorns, cinnamon sticks, or bay leaves.
Preserved Lemons
(Makes 1 Quart)
Printable Version
Ingredients:
- 8 lemons, cleaned and dried
- 1/2 cup salt
- sterilized 1 quart jar
Directions
- Pour 2 tbsp. salt into the bottom of the jar.
- Cut the tip and the ends from the lemons exposing some of the white pith.
- Cut the lemons as if you were going to cut them in half lengthwise, starting from the tip. Keep the lemon attached at the base. Make another cut in a similar manner, so now the lemon is quartered.
- Generously sprinkle salt all over the inside of the lemons.
- Pack the lemons into the jar so tight that the juice is squeezed from them and fills up the jar.
- Seal the jar and let sit at room temperature for three days.
- Move the jar to the fridge and let sit for a minimum of three weeks.