Last fall I made a chicken & couscous recipe that called for preserved lemon. I had never heard of that ingredient so I made the trek down to Whole Foods and paid way too much for a jar. It added a brightness and unexpected flavor to the dis my interest was piqued.

A couple of months ago, I saw an article about how to preserve your own lemons. This lead me down a rabbit trail of research and much joy when I found out that this method is easy and requires no special canning equipment and is soooo much cheaper than purchasing from specialty stores.

Here are a few links to recipes that utilize preserved lemons:

ONE POT CHICKEN | RICE BOWL | LEG OF LAMB | QUINOA

Preserved Lemons

This is a great preserving recipe because it requires no special canning equipment. When incorporating into a recipe, make sure to rinse the lemon first to avoid over-salting your dish.

INGREDIENTS

4-5 meyer lemons
8oz glass jar with lid
coarse salt
distilled water

INSTRUCTIONS

Sterilize your jar & wash lemons. To sterilize, Bring a large pot of water to boil and submerge your jar and lid for a minute. Let air dry. Drying with a towel may incorporate unwanted bacteria.
Cut the ends off of your lemons, and quarter, careful to not cut all the way through, leaving one end in tact.
Place 1t salt in the bottom of your jar, and 1t inside the cuts of your first lemon. Squeeze lemon into the jar so you start extracting the juice. Place lemon into jar cut side down and press down with end of spoon. Top with 1t salt. Repeat process until jar is full.
Fill any remaining space with distilled water or additional lemon juice.
Let stand for 4 days in a cool dry place away from direct sunlight. After day 4, transfer to fridge.
After the first week, you can incorporate any additional herbs / spice such as dried red chilli, thyme, oregano, bay leaf, coriander, star anise, cinnamon sticks etc.
Lemons are ready after 4 weeks.

original method found here