Ingredients
- 1-3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons kosher salt
- 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
- 12 large eggs, separated, whites reserved for another use
Directions
- 1. Mix the salt and sugar together. Spread half of the mixture in the bottom of a 9-by-12-inch baking dish. Make 12 small indentations to hold the yolks. Carefully place a yolk in each indentation and cover them with the remaining salt and sugar mixture. Cover and refrigerate for 1 week.
2. After 7 days, brush off as much salt and sugar as possible from the yolks. Lay a double thickness of cheesecloth on a work surface. Line the yolks up on it side by side, leaving space between them. Roll up the yolks in the cheesecloth. Using butcher’s twine, knot the cheesecloth between the yolks (as if you were tying off sausage links).
3. Let the roll hang in a pantry or other enclosed cool area for 1 week. After that, the yolks can be held in an airtight container for up to 2 months.
More from Heritage:
• Homemade Steak Sauce Recipe
Excerpted from Heritage by Sean Brock (Artisan Books). Copyright © 2014. Photographs by Peter Frank Edwards
In his much-anticipated first book, Heritage (Artisan Books, 2014), the Emmy-nominated, James Beard Award-winning chef Sean Brock presents all of the sublime dishes that have made him one of America’s most acclaimed chefs. Born and raised in rural Virginia, Brock is an emissary of Southern food and culture. He introduces his favorite heritage ingredients, such as Carolina Gold rice, Sea-Island red peas, heirloom corn, and sorghum, and the purveyors who supply him with ingredients he reveres. Brock’s domain may be in the American South, but preserving one’s heritage and regional heritage ingredients should be a mission for people everywhere. This uniquely personal tome is a testament to all that has made Sean Brock the world-renowned chef he is today.
I bet cured egg yolks were invented because someone had more eggs on hand than they knew what to do with. It’s a simple idea: use salt and sugar to cure the yolks. I shave cured yolks over salads or vegetables and anywhere you might use Parmesan cheese. Use them to garnish egg dishes too.