Why you ask? Well...in my world, just because. But more practically this is a unique condiment and a good outcome for that large meringue that had you wasting a dozen yolks. I found the technique over at StarChefs and have incorporated it into my current menu.
Start by making a Swiss meringue of 85 g Egg white, 38 g Sugar and 87 g Salt. Huh?! 87 g Salt? Yep...salt cured is what I called it, right? Combine all three ingredients, set over a water bath and whisk like any other Swiss meringue, then remove from the heat and whisk until stiff. Line a muffin pan with some of the salty meringue and gently, very gently lay a yolk inside the pillowy next.
You can use any old egg, but goose eggs are good for this one. The fresher, the darker, the better. Cover the yolks with the remaining meringue and set in the fridge for 12-18 hours. Repeat this process one more time. After this cycle, remove the yolks from their nests. They should be relatively firm, but a bit tacky to the touch.
Put the yolks in your fridge overnight, uncovered so they can dry out a bit. Mine were still tacky so I put them in the dehydrator and that really did the trick (an oven set on the lowest temp would work too). Then grate over your dish as you might bottarga or any other salty condiment. I serve it on poached asparagus with sauteed enokitake mushrooms.
What an enchanting idea!!! You do have the most interesting new things to share. I can just taste that lush salty richness over the new asparagus.
ReplyDeleteI was just reading another wonderful blog, and contemplating a lovely tart, wondering what I'd so with all those seven whites!
http://littlecomptonmornings.blogspot.com/2010/05/celebrate-with-strawberries-mothers-day.html
This is one of those rare occasions when you didn't surprise me. I grabbed that one off of Star Chefs last summer also. Good stuff. I also use Sam Mason's Egg Yolk Pate de Fruit for sweet yolk applications. Yolks (he uses duck) with sugar, vanilla and thai long pepper poured into plastic tubes, poached at 76c (169f) for 60 min, cooled, removed from the tubes then dredged in sugar and salt. They can't really be grated like the salt cured but they do very much resemble a pectin gel.
ReplyDeleteSometimes these cool little techniques are forgotten until you need them...so I was glad to find it after forgetting it existed. Rachel - that's a nice blog. She could cook for me anytime.
ReplyDeleteYep. That's why I have folders of clutter, much of which will never again see the light of day, on my computer. I see things like this, save them because they seem cool, sometimes try them, then completely forget about them. I was happy to see this post because I haven't used the technique since a short time after finding it. I liked it but didn't have a specific use for it at the time. I'm now inspired to revisit it.
ReplyDeleteLove. this. It's not likely to ever be completely dehydrated in my climate, though, though it might stand a chance in the fridge.
ReplyDeleteI'm not exactly clear on how I'd repeat the process? I take the yolk out and encase it in new meringue?
That's right Mark. Make the meringue exactly as before. Gently lift the yolk out and place it in its new meringue pillow, cover and let sit. Basically its giving a renewed salt source for the yolk to absorb and its probably not such a bad idea anyway for food safety although with the the high sugar and salt content, I wouldn't be too concerned.
ReplyDelete