Find the recipe card at the end of the post. Make sure to read the content as it contains chef tips, substitution options, and answers to FAQs to help you succeed the first time around!
Make this 2-ingredient Preserved Lemons recipe at home in under 15 minutes! Perfect in marinades, spreads, dressings, salads, chicken, and seafood dishes!
Where are my lemon lovers? Moving into this house I had to become super creative when it came to using lemons as I literally have the tree that #keepsongiving. On don’t get me wrong, I’ve been so blessed to be able to not only freeze enough juice to last a year but also give it to my neighbors, local chefs, and foodies as well.
From lemonade to lemon bars, lemon cake to lemon chicken – I was making everything with lemon. I started to get burnt out on lemon-everything. I was running out of ideas on what else to put lemons in. That’s when I remembered Moroccan chicken. They used preserved lemons in the dish.
I’m no stranger to preserving stuff but I had never preserved lemons. It’s SO EASY guys! Literally, it’s 2 ingredients and about 15 minutes to do.
Well okay, 3 ingredients if you count the lemon juice from the lemons you’re putting into the jar.
Let’s Make Preserved Lemons!
As I said, it’s just 2 ingredients:
Fresh, clean lemons
Kosher Salt
and patience.. this takes about 3 weeks before you can use it.
Slice the tops, and bottoms off of the lemons so they lie flat.
Then, with a sharp knife cut each lemon in half lengthwise but do NOT go all the way through to the bottom. Turn the lemon 90 degrees and cut again but making sure to not cut all the way through. You should now have a lemon that almost ‘flowers’ open.
Now it’s time to Salt
This recipe does use a lot of salt but it’s what’s needed to help preserve it. When you’re ready to use the preserved lemons, you simply rinse the fruit under water washing away the salt.
In a clean wide-mouth pint mason jar, add about 1 tablespoon of salt to fully cover the bottom of the jar.
To each cut lemon, gently open it up and sprinkle 1-2 tablespoon of the salt inside onto the flesh. Then close to help ‘reshape’ the fruit.
Place one whole lemon, cut side up, into the jar.
Using a wooden press or spoon, press down onto the lemon to help push some of the juice out. You are ‘smashing’ it essentially.
Using a wooden press or spoon, press down onto the lemon to help push some of the juice out. You are ‘smashing’ it essentially.
Repeat this step until all of the lemons are in the jar. It will be tight but that’s what you want. If you find that after you put the last lemon in and there’s not enough juice, add fresh lemon juice to ensure that the fruit and peels are covered completely.
Cover with an air-tight lid, shake to help distribute the salt, and set in a warm, dry place for 3 weeks
Patience
This is the part of the recipe that requires patience and almost no TLC.
Every day, give the jars a light shake to help distribute the salt. I would turn it upside down each day – one day the lid was on the top, the next day it was sitting on the lid.
How to know when they are ready
After 2 weeks you’ll start to notice that the flesh has turned almost translucent and the skin just “looks” tender and pliable. That’s when it’s time to refrigerate. Let them chill out in the fridge for at least 24 hours – I find cold is best with these.
What to do with Preserved Lemons
Once you open up the jar, grab out how many you need and run them under cold water. If there are seeds, pitch them – no need to bite down on those.
Chop them up for a Gremolata
Process them into a smooth paste
Blend them into your favorite citrus vinaigrette or marinade
Use to season soups or stews
Add to your favorite chicken or seafood dish
Any Moroccan Tagine
Add to risotto or pasta dishes
What Part of Preserved Lemons To Eat
So other than the seeds, you can eat the rind, the flesh, or both. Now I wouldn’t advise eating them as-is as you’ll notice they are a bit salty (obviously) but added to a dish, they are AMAZING!
The real prized part of these is the rind though the flesh is killer in a ricotta and pistachio spread!
How Long Do Preserved Lemons Last?
If kept in the fridge, this can last at least a year if not longer. And yes, you can totally re-use the liquid/brine.
When it’s empty just add fresh lemons to it and start the process all over again to preserve them.
Make this 2-ingredient Preserved Lemons recipe at home in under 15 minutes! Perfect in marinades, spreads, dressings, salads, chicken, and seafood dishes!
Slice the tops, and bottoms off of the lemons so they lie flat. Then, with a sharp knife cut each lemon in half lengthwise but do NOT go all the way through to the bottom. Turn the lemon 90 degrees and cut again but making sure to not cut all the way through. You should now have a lemon that almost ‘flowers’ open.
In a clean wide-mouth pint mason jar, add about 1 tablespoon of salt to fully cover the bottom of the jar. To each cut lemon, gently open it up and sprinkle 1-2 tablespoon of the salt inside onto the flesh. Then close to help ‘reshape’ the fruit.
Place one whole lemon, cut side up, into the jar. Using a wooden press or spoon, press down onto the lemon to help push some of the juice out. You are ‘smashing’ it essentially. Add another tablespoon of salt and then another lemon. Repeat this step until all of the lemons are in the jar. It will be tight but that’s what you want. If you find that after you put the last lemon in and there’s not enough juice, add fresh lemon juice to ensure that the fruit and peels are covered completely.
Cover with an air-tight lid, shake to help distribute the salt, and set in a warm, dry place for 3 weeks. You must shake the jar daily to ensure that the salt is evenly dispersed throughout.
After 3 weeks you can use or transfer the entire jar to the fridge.
To use, remove one or however many you need from the jar, rinse off the salt, remove the seeds, and chop either just the rind or the rind and flesh in dressings, marinades, bean dishes or whip them up in a blender to make a paste or spread for pasta, soups or on crostini.
In the fridge, this will last up to a year provided that the lemons are covered with that salty brine solution.
Notes
*time does not include the 3 weeks you need to wait for it to preserve
Oh! this is awesome, I have to use this recipe as I always buy lemons quite often… This can be a better way especially when lemons are out of season!
Thank you so much for this recipe
Oh! this is awesome, I have to use this recipe as I always buy lemons quite often… This can be a better way especially when lemons are out of season!
Thank you so much for this recipe