Quickly Cured Egg Yolks

Eggs are a wonderful addition to almost any meal. They can be fried, scrambled, frambled, boiled, and now, cured. Curing the eggs removes the moisture naturally found in egg yolks, leaving the flavor and adding a delicious saltiness. Once cured, the egg yolks are easily grated and can be sprinkled over any dish.

Step 1: Things You'll Need

Gather the following materials:

• Eggs (as many as you'd like to cure)
• White Sugar*
• Salt*
• Tupperware

*NOTE: Your sugar and salt ratio can vary depending on the resulting flavor you'd like your egg yolks to have. Some people cure completely in salt, I like to use a sugar and salt blend. The sugar nicely complements the salty taste in the final product. For this Instructable I used 1 1/2 cups white sugar and 1 cup of salt.

Step 2: Separate Your Egg Yolks

Separate the whites and the yolks for your eggs. You'll only need the yolks for this Instructable.

Here is an excellent Instructable if you need help separating your egg yolks.

Step 3: Mix Your Salt & Sugar

Combine your salt and sugar. Mix thoroughly.

Step 4: Base Layer

Pour some of your salt and sugar mixture into the bottom of your tupperware. This will serve as your base curing layer so you'll want it to be fairly thick.

Step 5: Nesting

Using the back of a standard teaspoon, make depressions in your salt and sugar base layer. These will be your "nests" for your egg yolks. Make sure to make enough depressions for all of your yolks.

Step 6: Add Your Yolks

Gently place your yolks into the depressions. Remember that egg yolks are fragile and can easily split open so take your time in transferring the yolks to the curing mixture.

Step 7: Cover

Once all of your yolks are placed, cover them with the remaining salt and sugar curing mixture. Make sure the yolks are fully covered to insure proper curing.

Step 8: Store & Wait

Place a lid on your tupperware, sealing the eggs in for the long cure. Place the tupperware in your refrigerator.

Let your yolks cure for at least four days in their salt and sugar cure before looking at them.

Step 9: Excavate Your Eggs

Carefully dig out your egg yolks from the cure. They should be firm, so you don't have to worry about breaking them open in this process.

Additional Notes: Some folks like to further cure their egg yolks after this step by hanging them, suspended in cheese cloth for an additional 7-10 days in a well ventilated location. This is optional. This Instructable was designed to be a faster version.

Step 10: Wash Them

Rinse your egg yolks with water to remove the salt and sugar cure that stuck to the exterior.

Step 11: Done!

You're done! Your yolks have now taken on a salty taste and will be a welcome topping to any dish. Using a grater or microplane, grate your yolks over your next pasta dish or salad for a hearty and delicious addition.

To store your yolks, keep them in the fridge in an air tight container. They should last for a couple of months.

Comments

[maka]

I'm curious - you say they can last in the fridge for a couple of weeks, but other sources say three months; why do you feel they're only good for two weeks? Am I missing something? (I've been keeping mine for months since I started making them a couple of years ago.)

[kelleymarie]

Good to know Maka! I wrote two weeks because that is as long as mine have lasted so far (before they are consumed!) and I didn't want to put longer since I didn't know. I've done a bit more research now and it seems like you are right, they can last for several months! :) Good to know! Thank you.

[jeanniel1]

Sounds like the same for making Grav Lox!

[kelleymarie]

It's very similar! Good eye jeanniel1!

[plantprof]

Can they be cured sufficiently to allow storage without refrigeration? [Thinking "dry" food for camping and backpacking, like dried fruit.] Is this a reversible process? Could you reconstitute them by soaking in several rinses of water so they return to at least a somewhat normal consistency?

[kelleymarie]

Hi plantprof! I don't think the process is reversible but I say that without having tried it. I haven't tried them outside of refrigeration either, I imagine if you did a more thorough drying process (hung in cheese cloth in your fridge to completely dry and cure) that they might be more stable outside of the refrigerator....all good thoughts though!

[treymartin82]

Could these be used in the with the coffe mug cakes? Most of them call for just the yoke. Also how long would they last out of the refrigerator?

[ted_ferguson]

no, you need liquid yolks for any baked good. These have the texture of a firm cheese.

[Gjinja]

This is a wonderful 'ible' & is much appreciated... I have cured many things but never thought to try egg yolks, great idea! While in theory you may hear many say otherwise, in practice curing in salt only usually produces a VERY salty taste. Obviously salt is the primary curing/dehydrating element and is necessary but I highly recommend using additional spices, sugar, etc in most everything you cure. Playing around & experimenting with various combinations (keeping meticulous notes & measures) can be fun & enables you to discover some things about your own tastes you may not have been aware of before. I look forward to trying some different spices with my egg yolks. Thanks again, good luck! :)

[e-beth]

I made a version of this with just salt. It was very salty, even after washing. When I grated it over pasta, it only added a salty flavor, no egg yolk taste. I used a chicken egg, maybe if you used a bigger egg, you would get more yolk flavor?

[kelleymarie]

Bummer! Mine definitely still had a distinct egg flavor. As far as a bigger egg, or maybe a different egg, I would think the flavor could increase. Or maybe an egg fresh from a chicken instead of from the store? I know when I eat eggs directly from my parents chickens they generally have a much richer and heartier flavor.

[Hannah Lee]

did you used water for this or just pure sugar and salt ?

[kelleymarie]

Hi Hannah Lee,

I just used sugar and salt. Have you incorporated water before? If so, how?

[Qleffingwell]

Here's another tip. You can
put the egg the egg whites in a bowl and cook it in the microwave on 15 second increments sun top it is done. It's a really easy way to ha

[kelleymarie]

They were surprisingly hard, almost the consistency of cheese when grated. If you cured them longer I imagine they would only get harder as more moisture is drawn out. I would bet it would grate more as a powder and less like ribbons.

[tomatoskins]

I've never heard of this before. It sounds quite interesting! How hard do the yolks get? What happens if you let the cure for longer?