- 6 hours ago
Whether you want a spicy kick or a savory spread, these cured yolks are the ultimate kitchen hack for adding rich flavor to any dish. In this video, Chef John shows you how to make cured egg yolks using three distinct methods: hot honey, chili crisp, and a quick garlic butter confit. This video will demonstrate how these simple ingredients transform ordinary yolks into a luxurious, jam-like topping for toast, bagels, and more.
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00:00Hello, this is Chef John from Foodwishes.com with Cured Egg Yolks Three Ways.
00:08That's right, I am so glad I finally tried these.
00:11And I'm very excited to show you the three versions I experimented with,
00:15which included a hot honey, a chili crisp, and a garlic butter.
00:20And not only were these fun and delicious to make, they were also surprisingly easy.
00:25In fact, the hardest part turned out to be deciding which one was my favorite.
00:29And to get rolling, we'll start with our honey-cured version,
00:32which only requires one ingredient, which of course would be honey.
00:36And what we'll do is transfer some into the bottom of our jar before we transfer our egg yolks over.
00:42Speaking of which, I think the easiest way to separate the yolk from the white for most people,
00:47especially if you can't crack an egg with one hand, like I'm showing off by doing here,
00:52is to simply crack them all in a bowl and then fish them out with your fingers.
00:56Okay, if you can crack it with one hand, you can just crack it into your hand and start separating
01:00from there.
01:02But anyway, we'll shake that white between our fingers,
01:05moving it from one hand to another if we need,
01:07until that white completely separates from the yolk,
01:11at which point we'll very carefully transfer that on top of our honey.
01:15Oh, and if there's one of those little white things attached to the yolk,
01:18which is called a calaza,
01:20we'll want to go ahead and try to pull that off as well.
01:22But anyway, I went ahead and transferred four yolks in.
01:26And yes, I did drop the last one on top of another one,
01:29but nothing broke.
01:30All right, it just looks like it, because of refraction.
01:34And that's it, once our egg yolks are in,
01:36to make a hot honey version,
01:38we will sprinkle over a very, very generous amount of cayenne,
01:42or any other hot pepper, of course.
01:44And then besides spicing this up,
01:46I decide to add a little bit of fresh thyme,
01:49which I think is always a beautiful pairing with honey.
01:52And once that was in,
01:53we'll take the rest of our honey and drizzle it over the top.
01:57Oh, and when choosing a container,
01:59we want something that fits all our yolks in one layer,
02:01and where they're kind of snug,
02:03but not overly packed together,
02:06because we want to be able to get a spoon in there eventually,
02:08without damaging the outside.
02:10And that's it, we'll pop on the lid,
02:12and transfer that into the fridge to cure,
02:14for anywhere between two and four days,
02:17depending on how firm you want them.
02:19And that is it for version number one,
02:21and we'll move on to version two,
02:23which is going to be our Chili Crisp cured eggs.
02:26Which is way easier to make than say.
02:28And what we'll do is spoon our favorite Chili Crisp,
02:31or Chili Crunch, into a bowl.
02:33And then to that,
02:34I'm going to add a little bit of extra olive oil,
02:36just to up the oil content,
02:38without increasing the spiciness.
02:40And then I also added some sugar,
02:42as well as a splash of soy sauce,
02:45since it's salt and or sugar that cures the yolk.
02:48And while there could already be enough in the brand you use,
02:51I think it's good to hedge our bets.
02:53And once we've stirred all that together,
02:55just like the honey version,
02:57we'll put a little bit at the bottom of the jar,
02:59so that our yolks are surrounded completely.
03:02And once those are placed in,
03:03we'll top it with the rest of our mixture.
03:05And by the way,
03:06feel free to add in any other appropriate spices or seasonings here.
03:10Right, like I said,
03:11it's the salt and sugar that does the work.
03:13And everything else we add is just for flavor.
03:16So if you want to get creative, go ahead.
03:18I mean, you are, after all,
03:19the Sean and Jen of the most delicious thing that comes out of a hen.
03:23And by the way,
03:24those are the makers of the chili crisp I used.
03:26And they're both food wishers from way back.
03:29But anyway, once we have those covered,
03:30we will close this up,
03:32and we will transfer that into the fridge for about three days,
03:36or again, until it's cured as much as we want.
03:39And that's it.
03:39While version one and two are curing in the fridge,
03:42we'll move on to our final and fastest version,
03:44which will be garlic butter cured egg yolks.
03:47Although confit is probably a better term,
03:49since we're using heat and not salt or sugar.
03:52And after we add a stick of butter to a heatproof ramekin or baking dish,
03:56we will transfer in a couple cloves of sliced garlic,
03:59and we'll pop that into a 200 degree oven,
04:01until our butter is just melted,
04:03at which point we'll give it a stir.
04:05And then just like the other two versions,
04:07we'll transfer in our four yolks,
04:10and then you probably don't have to,
04:11but since this came with a lid,
04:13I'm going to go ahead and pop it on,
04:15for an even slower, possibly more gentle heat transfer.
04:18And we'll pop that back into our 200 degree oven,
04:21for about 45 minutes to an hour,
04:23or until our yolks are cooked to the perfect level of doneness.
04:27And the time is really going to depend on what you use to cook them in,
04:30in your oven.
04:31So be sure to test these early and often.
04:34And what we're looking for,
04:35is something that's not too hard,
04:37or too soft,
04:38and will sort of spring back to the touch,
04:41and feel kind of rubbery.
04:42And once that is feeling just about right,
04:44we can go ahead and play it up,
04:46by possibly toasting a nice piece of ciabatta bread,
04:49which we will of course drench with our garlic butter.
04:52And once that was accomplished,
04:54I topped it with a generous grating of real parmesan cheese,
04:58parmigiano-reggiano.
04:59And once that was thoughtfully dusted,
05:01I transferred on a yolk,
05:03which could not be any more gorgeous.
05:05And then since I used unsalted butter,
05:08I topped this with a little bit of sea salt,
05:10followed by some freshly ground black pepper,
05:13and finally a little bit of chopped Italian parsley.
05:16And practically speaking,
05:17it's probably easier if you spread the yolk on the toast first,
05:20and then top it with your other garnishes.
05:23But I was going for max presentation.
05:26And that's it.
05:26We'll take a knife and spread that over.
05:29And if you did cook it to the rubber ball stage,
05:31it should spread out just like an egg yolk jam.
05:34And that, my friends,
05:35is every bit as amazingly delicious as it looks.
05:38Okay, what we have here basically
05:39is the best garlic bread you've ever had,
05:42topped with that unctuous egg yolk jam.
05:45And as far as the taste, texture, and appearance goes,
05:48I could not have loved this anymore.
05:50So the fastest version we're doing,
05:52which as I said is more like a confit,
05:54was a complete and total success.
05:56But we have two more to try.
05:58So I pulled out the hot honey cured yolks,
06:01which have been curing for two days,
06:03and we'll go ahead and spoon one out.
06:05And after two days,
06:06it feels similar to the garlic butter version,
06:08but slightly softer.
06:10Because after two days,
06:11about one third of the yolk inside
06:13is still going to be slightly runny.
06:15And if you are going to go for a third day,
06:17I probably would flip these over
06:19for a more even cure.
06:21But I've decided I'm a two day guy.
06:23So I went ahead and generously buttered some toast,
06:26and then spooned over some of that hot honey from the jar,
06:29which yes, is thinner at this point,
06:31because water's been pulled out of the yolks as they cure.
06:34And once honeyed,
06:35I transferred over the yolk,
06:37and I dripped a little more honey over that,
06:39just to shine things up.
06:41And I followed that with another dusting of cayenne,
06:44because why not?
06:46And then as I grab a knife
06:47and cut it and spread this over,
06:49you're going to see what I was talking about.
06:51Okay, roughly one quarter to a third of the yolk
06:53is still going to be a little bit runny,
06:55which I actually think is perfect.
06:58Once it's mixed into the more cured yolk,
07:00and then spread all over together like this,
07:03we end up with a texture I find very luxurious.
07:06But again, if you want it fully cured,
07:08just let it go for another day.
07:10And that's it.
07:10I finished up with a small sprinkle of sea salt.
07:12Since an egg yolk really does have to be seasoned
07:15to reach full deliciousness.
07:18And while the flavor profile was totally different,
07:21this hot honey cured yolk
07:22was every bit as good as the last version.
07:24And if you ever hear anyone say,
07:26there's nothing better than butter and honey on toast,
07:29I want you to interrupt them and say,
07:31yeah, I think there is.
07:33Oh, and for one additional serving idea,
07:35I basically did the same thing on top of some French ham.
07:38And I finished with some sea salt
07:40and some fresh thyme leaves.
07:42And believe it or not,
07:43that one was even more delicious.
07:45So we are two for two.
07:47And we'll go ahead and pull out our chili crisp version,
07:50which after three days in this mixture,
07:52felt most similar to the garlic butter version.
07:55Okay, still soft and jammy,
07:57but pretty much fully cured.
07:59Although these did end up a little bit flatter,
08:01which might have something to do with the oil content.
08:04And I served that up on a toasted everything bagel
08:07spread with cream cheese,
08:09because that's how Chef Stephanie Izzard serves them.
08:12And if she does it that way,
08:14you know it's a good idea.
08:16And for this one,
08:17I don't think we need any garnish.
08:18Right, maybe just a little more of that chili crisp
08:20and oil spooned over the top.
08:23Although I think some slivered green onions would be nice.
08:26So go ahead and add some of those if you want.
08:28But anyway, yes, you guessed it.
08:31That was just as delicious and amazing
08:33as the first two versions.
08:35And since this was so spicy,
08:37it worked perfectly with that cooling cream cheese.
08:40So if you're keeping score at home,
08:42we're officially three for three.
08:44And for as delicious and beautiful as these are,
08:47they really do require very little effort.
08:49Okay, if you can manage to separate some egg yolks,
08:52they pretty much just make themselves.
08:54And whether you just do one of these
08:56or all three versions,
08:58I really do hope you give this a try soon.
09:01So please follow the links below
09:03for the ingredient amounts,
09:05a printable written recipe,
09:06and much more info as usual.
09:08And as always, enjoy.
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