When buying whole lemons in the supermarket, most of us view the juice and zest as the valuable portions, regarding the shells as something for the compost heap. But the shells can be useful, too, for adding a citrusy accent when cooking poultry.
To use whole lemons,
first, I zest the lemon (I zest lemons the same way that I zest oranges), saving some as bits, and some as threads, in the freezer.
To use:
ZEST -- the zest "bits" are great for adding to cakes and muffins, while the "threads" make a beautiful finishing touch on baked goods, or servings of chicken or fish.
JUICE -- The juice, if frozen in various small quantities, can be pulled out of the freezer, in the exact amounts that I need for recipes.
- cut into 1/8ths and added to marinade for Mediterranean chicken (add garlic, oregano, salt pepper and lemon shells w/ some juice), OR,
- my favorite method for infusing flavor into whole turkeys -- I slip the shell halves into whole chickens and turkeys, along with garlic, onion quarters, and a bundle of sage, thyme and rosemary, as an aromatic "stuffing", both adding flavor to the poultry, and to the pan juices for sauce or gravy.
I love lemon flavoring but I almost never buy whole lemons. Sounds like you have some great lemony meals at your home. :)
ReplyDeleteHi Kris,
DeleteYep! I do like the tang of fresh lemon.