the ‘wichcraft trials

This was an optional item for my sandwich (look for it after this post), but since it was easy to make, I decided to go for it. The really disappointing thing about homemade mayo is it lasts 2-3 days and it makes  1 1/2 cups. That is A LOT of mayo. Even if I spread it on both sides of a sandwich, I’d have to eat a boatload of ‘wiches to use it all up. Anyway, off to making lemon mayonnaise (by the way, did you know it was spelled with two n’s? I kept seeing the red underline from spell check come up every time I typed mayonaise. Oops.)

Mayonnaise is basically an emulsion of egg yolk and oil. In this case, a single egg yolk is able to create all this mayonnaise. I separated one egg into a bowl. I actually broke it mid crack. For some reason, this whole batch of eggs I got from Vons have very week yolk membranes. Weird! I added some Dijon mustard, chopped garlic, cayenne pepper, lemon juice and zest. I put this all in the work cup of my immersion blender. I fired it up and nothing really happened because the blade is recessed into the stick blender to prevent you from chopping up your countertop or bowl accidentally.

The recipe calls for grapeseed oil (for it’s neutral flavor, I’m sure), but I didn’t have any. I substituted canola oil which is also quite neutral in taste. I used a measuring cup with a spout so I could control my pour. You want a slow and steady stream into the egg mixture while you are blending. Halfway through, I added a tablespoon of water. The recipe calls for 1 cup of oil but that seemed like too much to me so I cut it to 3/4 cup. When I was done adding the water, I added an additional 1/4 cup of oil from the lemon confit. Thank goodness I had just made it earlier, right! The downside is I doubt the oil had much time to infuse with the lemons.

I finished with some salt and pepper, covered it, and put it in the icebox (that’s right, I said icebox! What’s next, “pop”?)

Resources: canola oil (Trader Joe’s); dijon mustard (generic Vons); Microplane zester; oil from lemon confit

I quickly learned that there aren’t really any easy sandwiches in the ‘Wichcraft book. In fact, even the PBJ one requires an overnight soaking of the rhubarb to make jelly. The first thing I made from the book in preparation for my first sandwich was lemon confit.  Confit is a French term which comes from a word meaning to preserve, which is done by immersing food in a liquid (usually oil). You may be familiar with duck confit, which is one of the greatest things ever!

To make the confit, I dropped three lemons into boiling water for 1 minute then washed them under running cold water and dried them. You do this to get rid of the waxy layer that might be present.  The recipe calls for 12 lemons and makes 4 cups. I didn’t need nearly that much hence the reduction. Next, I finely minced a large shallot and 2 large cloves of garlic. I also made a mixture of kosher salt and sugar.

Then, I took my trust Japanese mandolin and made thin slices of lemon, but not before I cut off about 1/2 inch from the end which is all rind and no juice. The first couple of slices were too thin so I adjusted it so they would be a bit thicker. It was a challenge because I’d hate to bite into a thick piece of lemon in my sandwich but if you have it too thin, it does not hold its structure. Still, next time I would make them thicker.

I removed the seeds which sounds easier than it really was. Remember, the seeds are embedded in the fruit and with a sharp enough mandolin, they are now 1/16” thick. After I got out as much as I could, I took a small Tupperware container and put down a layer of lemons, making sure not to overlap them. Then I sprinkled on the shallot and salt mixtures. Then I put another layer of lemons down and repeated. I covered and put it in the fridge for three days. You are supposed to flip them halfway through but I forgot. Oops.

After 3 days, I removed them and drained them in a colander for 15 minutes. Then I put it into a repurposed jar and covered them with olive oil and labeled it.

Resources: Small lemons (Vons); Garlic and shallots (Trader Joe’s); Olive Oil (Costco); Maldon Sea Salt; Hiromoto Nikiri; Benriner Japanse Madoline Slicer.