Cured/Preserved Oranges + Lemons
If you have a bunch of citrus fruits lying around… This is a super easy recipe and they last FOREVER! These cured citruses lemons and oranges are are essential to North African cuisines but they’re also used elsewhere to add brightness, salt, and depth to cooked foods, dressings, sauces, and many other dishes. I personally love to use them for cocktails of course (it’s like sweet, adds a little salt, and has the perfect bitterness to them from the peels)!
Makes for a killer preserved Lemon Margarita!
I used mix of citruses fruits including: blood oranges, oranges, mandarin, and lemon
INGREDIENTS
4 Oranges
5 Lemons
2 Mandarins (optional)
GRAIN RATIO
White granulated sugar & salt: 1 cup of sugar to 1/2 tbs salt
PREPARATION
1. Combine salt and sugar in a medium bowl.
2. Wash and cut lemons/oranges/*mandarin into quarters lengthwise.
3. Really pack down the fruits, alternating layers of salt mixture and citrus fruits into a 1-qt. glass jar or nonreactive container. You want to pack it down so there’s not too much air between the layers. (Don’t worry if there doesn’t look like there’s any/enough liquid, after a few days the liquid from the peels and fruits will be extracted by the sugar/salt mixture.
4. Cover tightly (avoid metal lids) and chill for a few weeks and up to 1 year
5. In the beginning weeks you want to shake the jars every couple days to redistribute the mixture (sit back and watch the brine take form).