Homemade preserved lemons are easier to make than you’d think! Moroccan preserved lemons are commonly associated with Northern African cuisine, but they’re popular in Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cooking too. An ancient method to keep lemons from spoiling has become a cherished flavor - a complex flavor and soft, silky texture that is incomparable.
The brightness of this pickle has lately elbowed its way out of Morocco’s tagines.
For example, I use the pulp and juice in the marinade for chermoula chicken and slices of the preserved lemons in beef or chicken tagine stew. You can make that same stew vegetarian-friendly, in case you were wondering!
The prep time is quick, but note that you’ll need to wait at least a month before you can enjoy your preserved lemons.
What Are Preserved Lemons?
The haunting flavor, all but ubiquitous in countries throughout the Middle East and North Africa, comes from preserved lemons, or lemons that have undergone a pickling process to extend their shelf life.
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That said, I'm pretty confident that, once you taste them, preserved lemons will start sneaking their way into a lot of your cooking.
Sometimes a plain squeeze of lemon juice on top of a dish is not enough, and that’s when we want to use preserved lemons. They add BIG flavor.
Long ago, as lemon trees spread from Morocco to India, so did the want and need to preserve them. Before refrigeration, preservation almost always happened through salting and/or fermentation.
This is the traditional historical recipe I’ve based mine off of… except I use weight measurements for consistency. I plan to let mine ferment for a month; then they will keep in the fridge indefinitely. I’ll probably use them in salads and light, fresh meals on hot days this summer.
To use these fermented lemons, you can chop and use them as is for a source of lemon flavor and salt, or you can rinse the lemons. I mostly discard the pulp, then rinse the rind well to chop and use anywhere I’d use lemon zest.
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It doesn’t take much fermented lemon to add a delicious bright lemon flavor to recipes.
Ingredients You'll Need
Here's what you'll need to make your own batch of Moroccan preserved lemons:
- Lemons - You’ll want to have at least 10 large ones on standby for these Moroccan preserved lemons. You’ll start by adding 6 lemons to the jar, then use the juice from 4 more to cover the fruit.
- Salt - Use kosher or sea salt.
- Fennel Seeds - A spice to add warm, licorice-like sweetness to the fruit.
- Ground Coriander - A floral spice with a citrus note similar to the fruit’s seasoning.
- Black Pepper - Some recipes use the whole peppercorns, but I find that’s more for aesthetics than how to make preserved lemons with a bit of spice to them!
Instructions
Follow these steps to create perfectly preserved lemons:
- Wash and dry the lemons. Cut an X into 6 lemons: starting from one end, slice lengthwise downward almost to the base, turn the lemon 90 degrees and repeat, keeping the quarters together.
- Combine the Seasonings. Add the spices and salt to a bowl and whisk together. Prepare the Lemons. Rinse and dry the fruit. Take one and slice lengthwise from the base to the opposite end, turning 90 degrees and repeating the motion to carve a deep X into the fruit. Don’t cut all the way through. Repeat with 5 more of the lemons for a total of 6.
- Push the seasoned salt into the lemon.
- Pack the Jars & Store. Pack the 6 fruits into a sterilized jar - the less space between them the better.
- Add More Lemons If Desired. After 5 days, the fruit should have softened enough to make room for more lemons! If desired, add as many as will fit into the jar.
- Make sure to then cover the lemons with juice from remaining 6 lemons (or more if needed) and let the spices settle.Store in a cool, dark place. The lemons will soften slightly and juice will be released. OPTIONAL: After 5 days add as many more additional salted lemons as will fit into the jar (See Note 1). Pack the lemons so tight that they won't dislodge as they soften and preserve. They will be ready after one month of preserving. Rinse the brine off of the lemons prior to use. The thicker the skin of the lemon, the longer to it will take to preserve. Meyer lemons are best in the States as they are sweeter and thin skinned.
- Rinse & Enjoy.
Once the jar is full make sure all the lemons are submerged in lemon juice. Place a lid on the jar and allow the lemons to cure at room temperature for 4 weeks. You can allow the lemons to cure for up to a year at room temperature. Once opened, store in the fridge indefinitely. Rinse off any excess salt and brine before using the preserved lemons in recipes.
The lemons have to be cured for at least 1 month but then they will keep for many months in the fridge, where their flavor intensifies over time. They are preserved whole but only the peel is used in cooking, the flesh is discarded.
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Tips for Success
- Glass Canning Jar - Make sure it’s sterilized before beginning. Wash well in hot, soapy water and then boil for 10 minutes for good measure.
- The most important thing to remember is that a thicker-skinned fruit will take longer to preserve and that the idea of preserved lemons is to eat the whole fruit - so the flavor is just as important as the exterior.
- After a jar is opened, the preserved lemons need to be refrigerated.
- If the fruit begins to take on a more foul sour scent, if its texture becomes mushy or slimy, or if the jar’s lid starts bulging, they have likely gone bad.
Choosing the Right Lemons
What are the best lemons for preserving? I recommend Meyer or Eureka lemons. Eureka lemons are one of the two most common types you’ll find in the store, along with Lisbons, and are an easy choice. I personally prefer Meyer because they’re thin skinned and particularly sweet and not at all bitter.
Wash six lemons (you may not use all six, but it's good to have extras on hand). Organic, pesticide-free lemons are best, but any nice, bright, unbruised lemons will work.
How to Store Preserved Lemons
Store in the refrigerator indefinitely; these lemons also keep at room temperature for a year.
You can keep your homemade preserved lemons at room temperature, but I prefer to store them in the fridge. There, they will last at least one year, and I've even used them after two years.
How Are Preserved Lemons Different?
How are preserved lemons different from fresh ones? They’re a bit like lemons without the bite. The taste is distinctly “lemony,” but there isn’t that sharp, mouth-puckering sourness you associate with citrus. Instead, they’re more salty than sour - though still sour to a degree.
Additionally, the rind becomes very soft and easy to bite into.
Believe it or not, what you're going to use in your cooking is the rind and the white pith…yes, that stuff we are always told not to use. But the month in brine has changed everything, and the slight bitterness remaining in the pith is a major part of the extraordinary flavor.
Do Preserved Lemons Need to Be Fully Covered?
Yes. After adding the first 6 lemons to the jar, you want to fill the container with enough lemon juice so the fruit is completely covered. Let it spill a bit out of the top if you have to! If you find they don’t reach the top, use a smaller jar.
How to Use Preserved Lemons
Now that you have this wonderful condiment, what can you do with it?
Rest assured, once you try it, you will find yourself adding preserved lemon to dishes I haven't even thought of. But remember to salt these dishes a bit less, because the lemons will add salt even after rinsing.
Here are some recipe ideas:
- Couscous Salad With Dried Apricots and Preserved Lemon
- Pickle Lemonade
- Sautéed Chicken With Meyer Lemon
- Mostarda
- Skillet Chicken and Pearl Couscous With Moroccan Spices
- Chermoula
- Lu’s Bloody Mary
- Moroccan Chicken Salad
- Lemon-Garlic Kale Salad
- Pickled Carrot Slices
- Chicken With Artichokes and Lemon
New York chefs add the minced peel to salads and garnish fried seafood with it; the cured-lemon flavor is particularly friendly to salmon, carrots, olives, parsley and potatoes. The lemony brine is great in a bloody mary.
You can also use some in place of lemon slices in my Chicken Tagine recipe.
Pickled lemons can transform your lunch sandwiches; just add them as you would any pickled vegetables.
Or, if you’re using as a garnish and you’re short on time, fried lemons work as a substitute.
PRESERVED LEMONS- How to EASILY and EFFECTIVELY use delicious PRESERVED LEMONS!
Nutritional Information (Estimate)
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator.
Nutritional analysis per serving (2 servings):
- 115 calories
- 1 gram fat
- 37 grams carbohydrates
- 4 grams protein
- 884 milligrams sodium