Preserved Lemons, A Work In Progress
I don’t have a recipe to share, just the beginnings of a process. While I’m mostly there in muscle work, the wait has just begun.
The story starts with ten Meyer lemons, four of which are present in the shots below. They were gifts from my sister, who gave them to me, freshly purchased from the farmer’s market, right before Chris and I left for the airport. The precious bundle became part of my check-in baggage, wedged carefully under the seat ahead of me much to the amusement of the passenger to my left. Clearly he didn’t realize they weren’t ordinary lemons.
For days, I contemplated what I would make, all the endless possibilities, but my mind had already made itself up. It was going to be preserved lemons. I’d been thinking about making my own for awhile, but my hangup has always been the fact that the jar would be sitting on the counter at room temperature for days. Doesn’t botulism develop under such conditions?
But how exactly does botulism develop in a jarful of acid and salt? Reason conquered dramatics. Plus, I sterilized my jar.
So, without further ado, a free form how-to on making preserved lemons, gleaned from multiple sources (but I like the pictures here the best.)
You start with a sterilized jar (I’m not sure how necessary this step is, but do it just to be safe) and however many of these babies you think will fit in it snugly. (I ended up misjudging, thinking I could fit four lemons in a 12-oz. mason jar when it only fit three. But my lemons were huge.) Make sure to scrub them very very well, because the peel is what you’ll be eating.
Chop off the tops, then slice each lemon into four segments…
… stopping a little short of the end so that they’re still attached.
Then, using non-iodized salt (iodized imparts an unpleasant taste), stuff each lemon with about 1 Tbsp of salt. Rub the salt all over (but watch those tiny paper cuts and hangnails as they will sting!), jam it in.
Cover the bottom of the jar with a layer of salt, and then squelch a lemon in. Push it in hard, so that the juices squirt out.
Between lemons, add more salt, and spices if you decide to use them (some choices include whole black peppercorns, cinnamon sticks, dried bay leaves, cloves, coriander seeds). I would spice sparingly.
In the end, I managed to fit three lemons in the jar very snugly. (I considered preparing a second jar, since I’d already prepared a fourth lemon, but in case the jarring doesn’t go well, I’d like to have lemons left over to make other delicious things with.) And they were very juicy, so I was able to cover the lemons with the juice. If the wedges are not covered, squeeze in more juice until it covers the wedges. Make sure there’s some air space left behind (I’m afraid my jar is too full, but let’s see, shall we?).
Screw on the lid, and you’re done!
Now, The Wait. Leave the jar on the counter for the next few days, giving it a shake every now and then to distribute the salt and juices. Transfer the jar to the fridge and let it sit another month or so. Give it a shake every now and then.
Alright, in true journalistic fashion (this is very serious reportage here), I’ll report on the progress of my preserved lemons every week or so and give you guys an update. (This is kind of like a reality show, isn’t it?) And when they’re finally ready… well, those tantalizing thoughts are best buried in the back of the mind, but I’ll be featuring recipes here, that’s for sure!
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Maple Barbeque Chicken Bites
Here’s a little Superbowl inspired treat for you. I realize it’s not a sweet, but it does have maple syrup in it and barbeque sauce, and bacon. Come on, you can’t go wrong with bacon. Just so you know, I was not born into a sports loving family, not did I marry into one. The closest I get is every four years my husband watches World Cup Soccer and I may watch a game or two, but we are not fanatics about it. So Superbowl day is just another day for me. I just had this idea for a chicken appetizer and thought it would make a great game day snack for those that party it up.
Apparently I didn’t notice the bottle of mayo was upside down when I took the picture. Silly me!
You can cook your bacon anyway you like, in the oven, in the microwave, or on the stove-top. You just need to chop it into little bits after it is cooked. As for the chicken, you can use fresh cooked chicken (about 2 cups), but I just used canned chicken. It doesn’t taste that much different when cooked and it’s a time-saver.
This recipe is based on the Pampered Chef Lemon Herb Chicken Ring I used to make all the time for parties. It’s an easy recipe to make and adaptable. I used to make the ring on a round stone, but I got rid of my stoneware a while back, because I got tired of trying to clean it. Now I just use a perforated pizza pan. It works just as well. I lay out all the crescent triangles in a circle with each piece slightly overlapping, then I use a small roller to seal them together and stretch them out a bit.
Then I spoon the filling onto the wider part of the triangles and spread it out evenly with a spatula. Next I started tucking the points of the triangles in towards the center of the ring and under the wide part of the triangles. Not all the filling will be covered by the crescent rolls. In the end, you should have a nice crescent wreath.
After it is baked, it will be a nice golden color. You need to let it cool off a bit before you cut it up into appetizer sized portions.
See all those bits of bacon. Nom, Nom! It tastes great just as is, but I wanted to make a dipping sauce to go along with it. I used the same barbeque sauce and maple syrup that I used in the ring to make the sauce.
The maple syrup really enhanced the flavor of the barbeque sauce, especially the smoky flavor. I can see this sauce poured over quite a few dishes. I only made a little bit of sauce for dipping or drizzling over each slice. If you are going to slather it on, I suggest doubling the sauce recipe.
My husband and daughter really enjoyed these Maple Barbeque Chicken Bites with the dipping sauce. We ended up having them for dinner. I had placed them in the fridge this afternoon and just warmed them back up in the oven before serving. I even warmed up the sauce a little in the microwave. Ooh, it’s so delightfully tangy and sweet. A perfect compliment to the Chicken Bites. Bacon, chicken, barbeque sauce, and maple syrup, my new favorite flavor combination.
Maple Barbeque Chicken Bites
by The Sweet Chick
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Keywords: bake appetizer entree sandwich snack bacon maple syrup chicken barbeque sauce Super Bowl American
Ingredients (24-26 servings)
For the chicken bites
- 1 can (10 oz.) chunk white chicken (or two 5 oz. cans), drained
- 4 slices cooked bacon
- 1 cup (4 oz.) shredded Swiss cheese
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons Kraft Original Barbecue Sauce
- 2 packages ( 8 oz. each) refrigerated crescent rolls
For the dipping sauce
- 1/4 cup Kraft Original Barbecue Sauce
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
Instructions
For the chicken bites
Preheat oven to 375° F.
Finely chop the cooked bacon and chicken. Place them in a medium size bowl.
Add shredded cheese, mayonnaise, maple syrup, and barbecue sauce. Mix by hand until well blended.
On a round pizza stone or pizza pan, arrange crescent triangles in a circle with wide ends overlapping in the center and points toward the outside.
With a small roller, or by hand gently flatten out the wide ends and seal the overlapping pieces together.
Spoon the chicken mixture onto the widest end of the triangles and spread evenly with a spatula.
Bring points of the triangles up over the filling and tuck the ends under the wide ends of the dough at the center of the ring. (Filling will not be all covered.)
Place in oven and bake for 15 minutes or until crescents are golden brown.
Remove from oven and let cool a few minutes before cutting into appetizer sized pieces. Serve warm.
For the dipping sauce
Whisk together the barbecue sauce and maple syrup until well blended. Serve room temperature or slightly warm.
Recipe adapted from Lemon Herb Chicken Ring – The Pampered Chef Season’s Best Recipes – 2002
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