Cured Egg Yolks

Cured egg yolks! I read about these the other day and knew I had to try them. Guess what? They are super duper easy. The hardest part is waiting until they are done curing. Once they are cured the yolks are firm enough to grate with a cheese grater. They can be sprinkled over pretty much anything you would put Parmesan over, plus more. My favorite use so far is sprinkled over roasted baby potatoes along with some chive flowers. Adds a ton of color along with a delicious salty/umami flavor.

The fun thing about curing egg yolks vs. something like salmon is they are so cheap to buy you can try multiple recipe variations. I have only done 3-4 egg yolks at a time, so that is what my recipe is for. You could easily double or triple it. But starting out I don’t know why you would need 12 cured egg yolks. I added three variations I have tried, from the basic to a couple more interesting ones.

Couple tips on these. You want to remove as much white as possible without damaging the yolk. If white is left on, it will be ok just look a little less pleasing (like my photo up top!). I recommend pulsing any flavor combination in the food processor to completely blend everything, especially if you use bonito flakes. If you plop a yolk down and it breaks and starts to leak out, quickly cover it with the salt/sugar mixture. It will still cure up just fine if you do this. It won’t look as pretty, but totally works. I broke quite a few and they ended up ok! Once you plop it, don’t move it. Every yolk I tried to adjust would break.

CURED EGG YOLKS

3-4 egg yolks

1/2 cup salt

1/2 cup sugar

1. Combine salt and sugar, pour 1/2 into a shallow container. Use a spoon to create divots for the egg yolks. Separate yolks from whites (use whites in a cocktail!). Gently plop each yolk into a divot. Completely cover with remaining salt/sugar mixture. Cure in the fridge for 7 days.

2. After 7 days, gently remove yolks and rinse. Pat dry. Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Cook yolks for 30 minutes on a wire rack until they are dry and firm to the touch. Refrigerate and use within a couple of weeks.

VARIATION 1

1 tsp. MSG

1/4 tsp. black pepper

1/4 tsp. white pepper

1/2 tsp. pink pepper

VARIATION 2

1 sheet nori toasted lightly and finely ground

VARIATION 3

1 cup (.2oz) bonito (katsuobushi) flakes finely ground

Grated over roasted potatoes with chives.

Eggs on eggs! Grated over deviled eggs.