Salt Cured Egg Yolk
Introduction
It is a known fact among my friends and family that I hate eggs - the texture, the taste, and most especially the smell. I would rather eat offal than a hard boiled egg. That said, curing is not cooking which may be why I was willing to give it a go.
Curing, most typically associated with meat and fish, is a preservation method in which salt draws out the moisture of the food. Unlike most vegetable fermentation, there is no wet brine. Typically, there is still some fermentation as edible levels of salt inhibit rather than halt bacteria production but the result is a flavorful, drier, preserved product. Think salt cod not pickled herring. Even better, think salami. The same goes for the salt cured egg yolk. Coated in salt and sugar, the moisture is drawn out and the finished yolk is dry and firm.
You can thinly slice or grate it. Imagine egg turned parmesan.
Getting Started: Ingredients, Tools, and Method
50:50 mix of granulated sugar and salt ground together a bit
1 lb of each for 12 egg yolks
0.5 lb of each for 2 egg yolks
make your own quantity choices based on size of curing container and number of yolks… the exact quantity doesn’t matter so much as needing enough to fully encase each yolk.
container to fit your yolks and sugar
pasture raised egg yolks separated and intact
wire rack set in rimmed baking sheet
The initial curing
I had 6 eggs to use so ground 3/4 lbs each of sugar and kosher salt in a food processor until the salt wasn’t so chunky. Maybe 20 secs.
I put half the salt in a layer in cast iron pan (because I wanted nicer pictures not because this is the best container) and made divots for the yolks with the back of a spoon.
I put the egg yolks onto salt in the divots and broke a bunch and made a mess and had to transfer it all to another container. This time I used a square glass food storage container. Then I covered my remaining 3 yolks with the rest of the sugar.
I put the container’s plastic lid on it (but cling film ok) and put in the fridge.
The yolks cure for 1 week.
Rinse and dry
After a week I gently removed the (now firm) yolks, brushed off excess sugar, gently rinsed in cool water, and patted dry with a paper towel.
I sprayed the rack and put it in the baking tray. I put the tray with yolks in a 200F oven to dry for 40 minutes.
Although I used the rack and tray from my toaster oven I dried them in the regular oven because I was afraid being so close to the heat source in the toaster oven would ruin the yolks. I also wonder if a dehydrator set to 200F would work…..
That was it!
Results and Observation Notes
First off, I broke a few yolks in separating them which I don’t often do but whatever. Then I accidentally leaned on the yolks while covering in cling film. Ugh! How does that even happen? I wound up with a different container and a lot of extra sugar/salt mixture.
Once the curing was done I threw away the dry brine because there were bits of egg white mixed. Basically a lot went into the trash.
How did they taste? Despite sounding scary these were good. They were salty and somehow both mild and rich. Not at all sulfur-y. I’ve grated them over asparagus and kale using about half a yolk each time. The flavor is not super strong so although it would be good on plain noodles I don’t think it would be that noticeable over a red sauce. I want to try them in a state where they are more spreadable and then put on a crusty white bread instead of butter.
