Thank you for the examples and showing the difference between salt curing in fermentation and no fermentation. Will the egg yolk become firm like a cooked egg? How would it be used? Would the salt penetrate all the way through or just be on the outside. Can it be rinsed off before use? I can't see how this could be used in baking, maybe egg salad sandwiches?
Answer:
The salt-cured egg yolks come out very similar to parmesan cheese in texture and flavor. Not like a cooked egg, but more like cheese. You dust the salt off the outside, and then they're usually grated over either sweet or savory things (or anywhere you'd use parmesan). The flavor isn't exactly parmesan, of course, but it's in a similar direction.
This is just a variation of home kraut that I am loving...
Curtido is a ferment popular in Central America, similar to (but not the same as) European sauerkraut or Korean kimchi. Like other ferments, this one never comes out the same way twice, but it always tastes great, and can be ready within three days for a fabulous, gut-friendly relish.
1/3 medium white cabbage (one of the denser varieties) chopped/shredded
1/3 medium red cabbage, chopped/shredded
1 carrot, julienned
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 level teaspoon chipotle chilli flakes
1 level teaspoon jalapeño chilli flakes
1 tsp of Mexican oregano (Mexican oregano is in the verbena rather than the mint family, and is stronger than the regular oregano we're used to in the UK, but you can substitute this for two teaspoons of regular oregano)
2 teaspoons freshly ground cumin (I heat the seeds in a dry frying pan before I grind them)
2 teaspoons sea salt
1/2 cup of lightly salted water and apple juice mix (50/50)
-In a bowl mix the cabbage, carrot, onion, salt, chilli flakes, oregano and cumin until evenly distributed. (You can massage the cabbage first if you want to.)l
-Pour in the apple/water mix.
-In a 1 litre Kilner/Mason jar press the vegetables down hard. I use the end of a rolling pin for this, and that gets the juices flowing. You can also use a few whole cabbage leaves to cover the vegetables.
-You need to make sure the curtido is covered with liquid, so if necessary, use the cabbage heart to hold the vegetables down firmly when you close the Kilner jar.
-Keep in a warm place out of the sunlight (in the winter I use the airing cupboard) and place the jar in a bowl to catch any of the liquid that might (and probably will) escape. These ferments can get fizzy quite quickly. Open the lid once (at least) a day to burp the jar.
-This ferment can be enjoyed after as few as three to five days. After about five days I generally place it in a new jar and keep it in the fridge, where it doesn't remain long.
I LOVE curtido! A few years back there was a papusa vendor at our farmer's market from El Salvador, and he gave you curtido with everything. I'd never had it, but boy was I hooked after that.
Agreed!, thanks. I did sub some sweet grape quince wine vinegar for the apple juice part, and had only powdered cayenne last time I made it and it is awesome for tacos. Also I love Curtido with a bowl of fish and rice which is a common breakfast for me. Best
--------"If you are looking at curing meat specifically, Porter Road is one of the best places I know to find high-quality meat."---------
You should check out Northstar Bison. They are even better and have all sorts of so-called "offal" from a variety of animals. Their pork, lamb, and other meats are available rather seasonally, but bison, beef, and elk are nearly always for sale including sausage made from these animals. Their means of humane and environmentally friendly raising and harvesting are exemplary, and they are great people to deal with.
On an unrelated topic, I wish you and your family luck in finding a new home with lots of rooms with doors! (I've never been a fan of open floor plans myself. Give me a labyrinth of hallways and rooms off of them!) So, as beautiful as your present home may be, I can understand why you are looking to move. Best of luck with your search.
When I was a kid (I’m 58 now) we lived near a small town in central Queensland. My father raised pigs and he would send them down to southern Queensland to the abattoir. He would get one or two sent back on the train as ham and bacon. The full side of pork was wrapped in hessian and was not refrigerated. This was the real stuff! The train trip would’ve been all day or longer as it’s now a 7 hour drive. I’m guessing that they used nitrates then but not sure. I smoke my own bacon (have some in the smoker today) and make salami and prosciutto over winter.
Last year I made my own corned beef and it was awesome! We have Reuben Sandwiches every St. Patrick's Day and making my own corned beef was so satisfying. I'm definitely planning on doing it again this year!
On another note, I used to work at a museum with an 1830s village. Visitors looked forward to our yearly pig butchering day. Old folks would bring their grandkids to see the way they used to do it "back in their day". 🥰 We made sausage, rendered lard, salted and smoked sides of pork, and later when we used the salted pork in recipes we had to soak it in a huge kettle. It wasn't pretty. 😂 Another interesting thing I was taught was that after we made sausage we needed to scrub the wooden table down with loads of salt. It made the wood smooth and clean and I've always wondered if it acted as a disinfectant.
Back in the day, I made a venison hard salami and Spanish style dry cured chorizo for couple years, until life circumstances reduced our hunting time and supply of fresh venison. I put pork fat in one year and beef suet the next. It was all good. This inspires me to check out the beef bacon! Thanks.
Ashley - First I have to say that although I a a multitasker that does many things... you are amazing! How can one person know so much?!!! Have you ever made Salted Cod (Baccala)? The salt gets soaked away for 3 days changing the water 3x a day. I bought some this year and have stored it in my 45F degree (sometimes 50F) dark garage well wrapped. As the temps warm up here in CT, I may have to keep it in a fridge. Though I have learned to cook it as a teen, I'm a little nervous as to how long it can safely be stored packaged with salt. Do you know? Internet has many opinions. Your meats are interesting but I am allergic to pork. I might like to try storing beef. (I made pemmican) but is there any other way just to store a London broil for instance. How would you remove the salt?
I read all the comments to make sure my comment was some news of worth maybe. Both my Mom and Grams made kraut. They used a round tall ceramic / or stoneware containers. They were thick, not thin walled crocks with open tops, which They shredded their kraut,into but I don't remember the ratios of water and salt. But vividly recall they both telling me why they were covering the crock containers, with cheese cloth, to keep out unwanted insects. They both set these on the floor. My Grams had more floor spaces from the daily foot traffic in her kitchen, whereas my Mom only had the space underneath our table. It seems like a number of wks and every once in a while they would untie the cheese cloth to check the femation process. But they didn't weigh it down, with anything, that I do recall. I just remembered mom's crock was tall, and wide and yellow colored. She repeatedly tell us to watch our feet placement, while we were sitting for meals.
Oh this bought back some childhood memories of my nan, who had no refrigerator putting down salted green beans for winter as she picked them in the summer.
I've tried making all sorts of pickled and salted foods, but never salted eggs, they sound far removed from the vinegar pickles of the British pub.
Question via email:
Thank you for the examples and showing the difference between salt curing in fermentation and no fermentation. Will the egg yolk become firm like a cooked egg? How would it be used? Would the salt penetrate all the way through or just be on the outside. Can it be rinsed off before use? I can't see how this could be used in baking, maybe egg salad sandwiches?
Answer:
The salt-cured egg yolks come out very similar to parmesan cheese in texture and flavor. Not like a cooked egg, but more like cheese. You dust the salt off the outside, and then they're usually grated over either sweet or savory things (or anywhere you'd use parmesan). The flavor isn't exactly parmesan, of course, but it's in a similar direction.
This is just a variation of home kraut that I am loving...
Curtido is a ferment popular in Central America, similar to (but not the same as) European sauerkraut or Korean kimchi. Like other ferments, this one never comes out the same way twice, but it always tastes great, and can be ready within three days for a fabulous, gut-friendly relish.
1/3 medium white cabbage (one of the denser varieties) chopped/shredded
1/3 medium red cabbage, chopped/shredded
1 carrot, julienned
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 level teaspoon chipotle chilli flakes
1 level teaspoon jalapeño chilli flakes
1 tsp of Mexican oregano (Mexican oregano is in the verbena rather than the mint family, and is stronger than the regular oregano we're used to in the UK, but you can substitute this for two teaspoons of regular oregano)
2 teaspoons freshly ground cumin (I heat the seeds in a dry frying pan before I grind them)
2 teaspoons sea salt
1/2 cup of lightly salted water and apple juice mix (50/50)
-In a bowl mix the cabbage, carrot, onion, salt, chilli flakes, oregano and cumin until evenly distributed. (You can massage the cabbage first if you want to.)l
-Pour in the apple/water mix.
-In a 1 litre Kilner/Mason jar press the vegetables down hard. I use the end of a rolling pin for this, and that gets the juices flowing. You can also use a few whole cabbage leaves to cover the vegetables.
-You need to make sure the curtido is covered with liquid, so if necessary, use the cabbage heart to hold the vegetables down firmly when you close the Kilner jar.
-Keep in a warm place out of the sunlight (in the winter I use the airing cupboard) and place the jar in a bowl to catch any of the liquid that might (and probably will) escape. These ferments can get fizzy quite quickly. Open the lid once (at least) a day to burp the jar.
-This ferment can be enjoyed after as few as three to five days. After about five days I generally place it in a new jar and keep it in the fridge, where it doesn't remain long.
I LOVE curtido! A few years back there was a papusa vendor at our farmer's market from El Salvador, and he gave you curtido with everything. I'd never had it, but boy was I hooked after that.
Agreed!, thanks. I did sub some sweet grape quince wine vinegar for the apple juice part, and had only powdered cayenne last time I made it and it is awesome for tacos. Also I love Curtido with a bowl of fish and rice which is a common breakfast for me. Best
--------"If you are looking at curing meat specifically, Porter Road is one of the best places I know to find high-quality meat."---------
You should check out Northstar Bison. They are even better and have all sorts of so-called "offal" from a variety of animals. Their pork, lamb, and other meats are available rather seasonally, but bison, beef, and elk are nearly always for sale including sausage made from these animals. Their means of humane and environmentally friendly raising and harvesting are exemplary, and they are great people to deal with.
On an unrelated topic, I wish you and your family luck in finding a new home with lots of rooms with doors! (I've never been a fan of open floor plans myself. Give me a labyrinth of hallways and rooms off of them!) So, as beautiful as your present home may be, I can understand why you are looking to move. Best of luck with your search.
Oh my goodness, I just checked them out and how have I never seen them before! They sell goat offal! And elk! And rabbit! OMG, I'm so excited!
When I was a kid (I’m 58 now) we lived near a small town in central Queensland. My father raised pigs and he would send them down to southern Queensland to the abattoir. He would get one or two sent back on the train as ham and bacon. The full side of pork was wrapped in hessian and was not refrigerated. This was the real stuff! The train trip would’ve been all day or longer as it’s now a 7 hour drive. I’m guessing that they used nitrates then but not sure. I smoke my own bacon (have some in the smoker today) and make salami and prosciutto over winter.
You had me at salt-cured lemons, but now you really got me going: salt-cured egg yolks?! Amazing.
I just used my first salt-cured egg yolks (from Ashley's original post). Lovely shaved on my salad, added a tad of protein and salt tang!
I'm gonna ask my farmer friend for some pork belly to try prosciutto. Peace...
Last year I made my own corned beef and it was awesome! We have Reuben Sandwiches every St. Patrick's Day and making my own corned beef was so satisfying. I'm definitely planning on doing it again this year!
On another note, I used to work at a museum with an 1830s village. Visitors looked forward to our yearly pig butchering day. Old folks would bring their grandkids to see the way they used to do it "back in their day". 🥰 We made sausage, rendered lard, salted and smoked sides of pork, and later when we used the salted pork in recipes we had to soak it in a huge kettle. It wasn't pretty. 😂 Another interesting thing I was taught was that after we made sausage we needed to scrub the wooden table down with loads of salt. It made the wood smooth and clean and I've always wondered if it acted as a disinfectant.
Thank you for this article!!!!
Back in the day, I made a venison hard salami and Spanish style dry cured chorizo for couple years, until life circumstances reduced our hunting time and supply of fresh venison. I put pork fat in one year and beef suet the next. It was all good. This inspires me to check out the beef bacon! Thanks.
If pressure cookers make you nervous... :-D
Great resource!
Ashley - First I have to say that although I a a multitasker that does many things... you are amazing! How can one person know so much?!!! Have you ever made Salted Cod (Baccala)? The salt gets soaked away for 3 days changing the water 3x a day. I bought some this year and have stored it in my 45F degree (sometimes 50F) dark garage well wrapped. As the temps warm up here in CT, I may have to keep it in a fridge. Though I have learned to cook it as a teen, I'm a little nervous as to how long it can safely be stored packaged with salt. Do you know? Internet has many opinions. Your meats are interesting but I am allergic to pork. I might like to try storing beef. (I made pemmican) but is there any other way just to store a London broil for instance. How would you remove the salt?
That salt cured egg yolk looks real nice
I read all the comments to make sure my comment was some news of worth maybe. Both my Mom and Grams made kraut. They used a round tall ceramic / or stoneware containers. They were thick, not thin walled crocks with open tops, which They shredded their kraut,into but I don't remember the ratios of water and salt. But vividly recall they both telling me why they were covering the crock containers, with cheese cloth, to keep out unwanted insects. They both set these on the floor. My Grams had more floor spaces from the daily foot traffic in her kitchen, whereas my Mom only had the space underneath our table. It seems like a number of wks and every once in a while they would untie the cheese cloth to check the femation process. But they didn't weigh it down, with anything, that I do recall. I just remembered mom's crock was tall, and wide and yellow colored. She repeatedly tell us to watch our feet placement, while we were sitting for meals.
I had no idea that salt cured egg yolks or beef bacon were even things!
Oh this bought back some childhood memories of my nan, who had no refrigerator putting down salted green beans for winter as she picked them in the summer.
I've tried making all sorts of pickled and salted foods, but never salted eggs, they sound far removed from the vinegar pickles of the British pub.
Definitely on my hit list.
Very cool! I’ll be right over!