Yolking Around: Why Boston Chefs Are Curing Their Egg Yolks


curing egg yolks

Photograph by Michael Piazza. Styling by Molly Shuster/Team.

The over-easies crowning our burgers, pasta, and even salads are proof that the “put an egg on it” trend hasn’t gone anywhere in recent years. It has, however, found a way to evolve. In a quest to diversify the egg’s utility and texture, chefs around town have taken to curing yolks by encasing them in a bed of salt (or a salt-sugar blend) for a few days, then dehydrating them until they attain a raisin-y exterior and a more-concentrated taste. “They literally burst in your mouth with really intense, beautiful egg flavor,” says Harvest chef Mary Dumont, who garnishes her English-pea agnolotti with grated curls of cured yolk. Scott Jones—who will bring the technique to Menton when he starts as chef de cuisine this month—agrees. “It almost tastes like cheese, without the funk that cheese brings,” he says. Incredible, indeed.

 

Web exclusive: How to Cure Egg Yolks with Harvest’s Mary Dumont.