This is for all the food nerds out there - but also for lovers of delicious food. If you have tried these before, then you understand the crave for them, but if you are curious as to what all the fuss is about - dive in and have a go - you may just find that it is what you have needed but didn't know about.
Cured yolks - little bullets of umami goodness that add a boost of flavour to a dish - much like grating parmesan cheese over the bowl of steaming pasta!
To get started, you just need a few simple pantry ingredients, and a fair amount of patience. While you wait the excruciatingly long 7 days for the curing process to take place, you can get started on the list of dishes you will need to make in order to grate these bullets and enjoy them at the highest degree! Pasta is at the top of my list - simple, carbonara style, with a grating of cured yolk just before serving!
Recipe:
Equal portions of Fine cooking salt, and fine sugar - I used 300g of each to cure 6.
Aromatics of your choosing - my staples tend to be a cinnamon stick, star anise, coriander seeds, cumin or fennel seeds and juniper berries, and pepper - but feel free to play around with what suits you. You can also cold smoke them as well, have a bit of fun!
Method
To get started - have a tray or container ready that will accomodate the amount of yolks you are looking at curing. For me, I just do 6 at a time - which gives me enough egg whites to make some meringues too - but if you want to do more, just make sure you have enough mix to cover them top and bottom.
In your tray, lay down a layer of the curing mix and spices, then make indents using the egg shell, and drop the yolks gently into their own spaces so they are snug. When you have laid them all to rest, just gently cover them with the remaining mix, and cover, or wrap the container and leave in the fridge for 6-7 days. you want them to be firm, and no longer tacky. If not ready yet - put them back in, and continue the wait.
When you are happy with the firmness, dust off the excess salt/sugar mix, and gently rinse under cold water to remove the excess. Prepare a baking tray with baking paper over a wire rack, then place the yolks on the tray, and put into a low heated oven - 90C or less until they completely dry out - overnight is usually the best option here.
When completed, they will be ready to use! You can wrap and store excess yolks in the freezer for future use - just get them to room temp and dry out if required before using again!
I am definitely hooked on this - I love the Umami flavour, and cheese, so was always going to be a fan of this from the start.
Happy curing, and I look forward to seeing all of your options when you get your own batch curing too!
Jo