Preserved Meyer Lemons

Preserved Meyer Lemons, originally uploaded by chrisfreeland2002.

Meyer Lemons are an odd citrus. They look like a lemon and taste like an orange...a kinda lemony orange. According to Wikipedia they originated in China, where they are grown as ornamental plants, and were introduced into the US in 1908 by Frank Meyer, who worked for the US Department of Agriculture. They are thought to be a cross between a lemon and a mandarin orange or sweet orange.

So, ok, they have a cool horticultural background and all, but what the heck do you do with them? Especially 2 bags of them?? (I'm a sucker for "2/$5" kinda sales, by the way, and often find myself overstocked like this.) I turned to the internets for help and found a good recipe for Preserved Meyer Lemons from epicurious.com (Gourmet December 1999). My thought here was "If I can't think of what to do with them now, I'll preserve them until I can." That and Tagert's been making marmalade lately, so I had to get in on the fun of not canning things in Ball jars, too.

I made a batch as written and they turned out great. In this preparation they're almost like olives because they're in a lemony brine and the rind of the lemon really softens. Be careful, though! Don't pop an entire chunk in your mouth like Tagert did - they're reeeeeally salty and strong.

I read the reviews and saw some chatter about adding other ingredients to the brine. That sounded fun so I made another batch, but this time added the following to each jar:

• 2 crushed green cardamom pods
• 1 tsp multicolor peppercorns (black alone will work just fine)
• 1 dash red pepper flakes
  
• 1 sprig of fresh thyme

I removed the thyme after the 5 day brining period. I thought it might not hold up for the year (with refrigeration) indicated in the article as the Use By date. I dunno...I'm certainly no expert on this and would hate to be handing out botulinum-laced hostess gifts.

I've added chunks to dishes that needed to have their acidity and flavor cranked up a bit. Oddly enough I have yet to try the recipe for Moroccan Chicken with Preserved Meyer Lemons and Green Olives from the original article.

Chris Freeland
cfreeland27 (at) gmail.com

Lamb Shami Ka-meatball with Bombay BBQ Sauce

I mashed up 2 different recipes to pull this together. I used a traditional meatball recipe but swapped in components from Lamb Shami Kabobs - lamb and seasonings like cumin, mint, and garam masala give this dish a distinctly Indian flavor. The Bombay BBQ Sauce can be as difficult or easy as you want to make it (and when you're crunched for time, I vote for easy).

Lamb Shami Kabobmeatball
2 eggs
2 cups oatmeal
12 oz can evaporated milk
1.5 lb ground beef
1.5 lb ground lamb
1 cup chopped red onion
5 T mint, chopped
2 tsp salt (I prefer kosher in this dish)
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
2 green chilies, minced and deseeded
4 T almonds
1 each zest & juice of lemon
2 T poppy seeds
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
1 T garam masala
1/2 cup plain yogurt

In large bowl, beat eggs, then add oatmeal and evaporated milk. Stir to combine. Add ground beef and ground lamb and mix until oatmeal is well distributed throughout all the ground meat. Add remaining ingredients and fold over evenly. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours. Can be made a day in advance; omit the lemon juice and zest until 1 hour before continuing preparation if you're going to marinate this overnight. The acid in the lemon juice will cook the meat and give it a gray appearance and flavor.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Shape mixture into balls using a small scoop and line up without touching in a large baking dish (probably will need 2 or more). Bake each pan uncovered for 30 minutes (you will know if your oven can do more than one at a time). Drain and combine into a single pan. Stir in Bombay BBQ Sauce and bake uncovered 20-25 minutes, until sauce is thick and bubbly.

I serve this in a crock pot on low heat. Set out toothpicks for people who want to spear a single one and a spoon for those who want a couple.

Bombay BBQ Sauce
There are 2 ways to make this, and your good judgment will tell you which version to prepare. Both are good.

Version 1: Time Crunch
2 bottles honey BBQ sauce, or other tangy variety
2 jars mango chutney

Mix together in large saucepan. Bring to boil while stirring, combining completely.

Version 2: Time to Prepare
4 cups ketchup
3 cups brown sugar
1 red onion, chopped
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1 jar mango chutney

Mix together in large saucepan. Bring to boil while stirring, combining completely.