The author: Galina Gosteva
The popularity of cured egg yolk, which not only the chefs have been experimenting with over the past three years, using them as a kind of seasoning - a natural flavor enhancer, has forced them to be mentioned in the “2017 trends”.
Immediately I warn you - phobias about Salmonella and cholesterol - this is not here.
Actually, the idea arose, as they say, from Chinese cuisine with its thousand-year-old and simply salty eggs, with the difference that the eggs do not salt or ferment entirely in the shell, pouring them with brine, but using a dry salting of yolks alone. There were even terms similar to the Italian salted caviar of mullet or bluefin tuna (egg's bottarga) or salted salmon from Scandinavia (graved eggs). But it is in the west. We so salted vobla and in general any small fish and, of course, fat.
The technology and the execution itself is extremely simple and generally accessible to anyone. In the process of "dry" salting of different duration (from 1 day to 2 weeks), water, which contains quite a lot, about 70%, is removed from the yolks to one degree or another. The remaining fats in the yolks (unsaturated and saturated fatty acids), proteins, a small amount of carbohydrates and vitamins are concentrated in the product, which due to the removal of moisture acquires a more concentrated "meat" taste, which is so valued as an enhancer. Changes and texture. Depending on the exposure time and the residual amount of moisture, the yolk is compacted and acquires the properties of a thick sauce, spreading paste, or aged cheese, which can be cut or grated.
Let's get started
Curing mix consists, as a rule, of salt and sugar. The most commonly recommended proportion is 50/50 by weight. There is a proportion of 75% salt / 25% sugar. But it seemed too sweet to me, and I took 80% / 20%.
For salting, or rather dehydration of yolks will require quite a lot of mixture. The recipes are different, but on average, 6-10 yolks require about 1-1.2 kg of curing mixture. In my case, carefully mixed - 800g of simple rock salt and 200g of regular sugar.
Pour half of the salt into suitable non-oxidizing dishes, so that the layer at the bottom is at least 1 cm.
And make recesses for each egg. Wash eggs thoroughly with warm water and separate the whites from the yolks.
I decided to experiment and diversify a bit the taste of eggs. I put in each hole about ¼ tsp. seasonings. In this case - dried garlic in two grooves, in the other two - chili seasoning, and two left as is.
Spreading the yolks, I sprinkled them on top for another ¼ tsp. seasonings.
And covered with the second half of the salt.
Leaking them covered with foil and put them in the fridge for a week.
A week later, "unearthed."
And wiped off excess salt with a damp cloth. In principle, they can already be used.
But the chefs recommend washing the yolks completely from the salt and drying it in the oven at 100 ° C for a couple of hours. (I think this partly removes the risk of Salmonella.) Special gourmets recommend a little smoked eggs.
I used the dryer and left the yolks at 65C for 4 hours.
The final product has a "cheese" consistency, a pronounced salty "meat" taste or taste "umami". Garlic and chillies are easy to read in flavor.
It is recommended to keep it for up to a month in the refrigerator in a “breathing” container or in paper. You can freeze, wrapping each separately in the film.
Now the main thing - why all this. Salty yellow works as a natural flavor enhancer and does not go anywhere, but, on the contrary, its nutritional value becomes more concentrated.
The chefs recommend such yolk to rub 1pc per serving (you can, instead of salt):
- in pasta together or instead of cheese (or just pasta)
- a little more liquid, smearing yolk (after two days of aging) - in sauces such as mayonnaise and hollanda and salad dressings
- in vegetable soups (or in green soup instead of traditional egg)
- leafy vegetable salads
- boiled or steamed vegetables
Or something like that.
