How to Make Moroccan Preserved Lemons with Sea Salt
Moroccan preserved lemons are so easy to make! This is the best way to preserve lemons, and the whole lemon is used. You only need two ingredients, lemons and sea salt. This recipe takes about 10 minutes to prep and four weeks of fermentation time.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Fermentation Time: 4 weeks
- Total Time: 672 hours 10 minutes
- Yield: 32 Ounces
- Method: Fermentation
- Cuisine: Moroccan
Ingredients
- 1300 grams fresh lemons (about 8 to 10 small lemons)
- 200–250 grams sea salt
- 2 extra lemons for juicing (if needed)
Instructions
- Wash all of the lemons, and weigh out the salt in a bowl
- Cut the ends off the lemons, then starting at one end, cut each lemon into quarters, without cutting all the way through (see photos above).
- Over a large bowl, fill the crevices of the lemons with copious amounts of salt. Fill each lemon with salt until all the salt is used up.
- Start packing the whole lemons into a clean, large jar. A quart mason jar worked well for me, but depending on the type of lemon you use, you may need a bigger jar. You will have to wedge them in as tightly as possible, and lemon juice will be released in the process.
- Once the jar is full make sure all the lemons are submerged in lemon juice. If you need to, juice two lemons and add the juice to the jar.
- 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. They will darken the longer they cure.
- Once opened, store in the fridge indefinitely. Rinse off any excess salt and brine before using the preserved lemons in recipes. You can discard the pulp and use the well-rinsed rind anywhere that you’d use lemon zest.
