40+ Egg Yolk Recipes to use up leftover egg yolks and instructions for storing egg yolks in the refrigerator.
Welcome to the latest edition of “Waste Not,” a series dedicated to reducing food waste in the kitchen. You can find older posts in this series for:
- What to Do With Leftover Pesto
- What to Do With Leftover Whipping Cream
- What to Do With Leftover Buttermilk
- What to Do With Leftover Pumpkin Puree
- What to Do With Leftover Half and Half
- What to Do With Leftover Tomato Paste
Last week, I wrote a “Waste Not” post for Egg Whites with 25+ Egg White Recipes for using up leftovers. Today, we’re doing the flip side, What to Do With Leftover Egg Yolks.
Maybe you’ve made some Small-batch Cupcakes or Angel Food Cake and have some extra yolks sitting around. Here’s what you should do with them…
What to Do With Egg Yolks
Storing Egg Yolks in the refrigerator
Egg yolks can be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container. If the yolks are broken, use them as soon as possible as they will dry out quickly. For unbroken yolks, cover with a tablespoon or two of water to keep them from drying out and pour off water before using. Refrigerated egg yolks stored this way should keep for two to four days .
Freezing Egg Yolks
I don’t generally recommend freezing egg yolks. They’re finicky to store and don’t keep as well as egg whites. You’re usually better off just making a batch of egg yolk cookies and freezing the cookies instead. BUT, if you have a lot of egg yolks and want to give it a try, Eggs.ca has a good article on freezing yolks .
Don’t feel like storing your yolks? Cook them into something good instead…
Egg Yolk Recipes
The following recipes all call for egg yolks. Some call for extra egg yolks in addition to whole eggs. Those recipes are written as (x extra yolks).
Small-batch M&M Cookies (No Chill)
1 Egg Yolk
One Peanut Butter Cookie for Two Small-batch Snickerdoodles Small-batch Soft Pumpkin Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting One-bowl Small-batch Sugar Cookies (3 Ways) One Chocolate Chip Cookie for Two (Three Ways) Easy Shepherd’s Pie With Ground Beef (Dinner for Two) Chocolate Cookie Dough Cupcakes (Small-batch) Small-batch Oatmeal Cookies with Icing Small Batch of Cut-out Sugar Cookies (No-chill) Small-batch M&M Cookies (No Chill) Small-batch Peanut Butter Cookies Small-batch Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookies Small-batch Oreo Cupcakes Small-batch Homemade Hostess Cupcakes Small-batch Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream Small-batch Chocolate Mini M&M Cookies No-chill Small-batch Chocolate Chip Cookies Small-batch Chocolate Cinnamon Rolls With Espresso Glaze Chocolate Souffles for Two With Creme Anglaise Small-batch Gingerbread Cookies With Faux Royal Icing Small-batch Giant Christmas Cookies Easy Overnight Cinnamon Rolls for Two
Eggs Benedict Quiche with Hollandaise Sauce from The View From Great Island
2 to 3 Egg Yolks
(2 yolks) Dark Chocolate Pudding from She Loves Biscotti (2 yolks) Gluten-free Chocolate Chip Cookies from My Gluten-free Kitchen (2 yolks) Prize Winning Key Lime Pie Recipe from Souffle Bombay (2 yolks) Lemon Curd from Beyond The Chicken Coop (2 extra yolks) Small-batch Mini Pumpkin Eclairs (3 yolks) Low Carb Egg Noodles from Low Carb Yum (3 yolks) French Maple Buttercream from Cooking With Carlee (3 extra yolks) Vegetarian Carbonara Recipe with Spaghetti from Umami Girl (3 extra yolks) Whole 30 Eggs Benedict from The Organic Kitchen (3 extra yolks) Eggs Benedict Quiche with Hollandaise Sauce from The View From Great Island
Vanilla Creme Brûlée The Suburban Soapbox
4+ Egg Yolks
(4 yolks) Pink Cream Puffs (4 yolks) Dairy-Free Banana Pudding from My Sequined Life (4 yolks) Game Of Thrones Ice Cream Recipe from Let’s Eat Cake (5 yolks) Dreamy and Decadent Chocolate Mousse from Christina’s Cucina (5 yolks) Homemade Chocolate Ice Cream from The Suburban Soapbox (5 yolks) Lemon Pie from Live Well Bake Often (6 yolks) Homemade Eggnog Pudding from Plating Pixels (6 yolks) Dandelion & Honey Ice Cream from Practical Self-reliance (6 yolks) Maple Pots de Crème from Joyfully Mad (10 yolks) Creamy Leche Flan Recipe from The Unlikely Baker (10 yolks) Vanilla Creme Brûlée from The Suburban Soapbox (12 yolks) Vintage Gold Cake from Cooking With Carlee
25+ Egg White Recipes and instructions for storing Egg Whites in the refrigerator and freezer.
“Waste Not” is a series dedicated to reducing food waste in the kitchen. You can find older posts in this series for:
- What to Do With Leftover Pesto
- What to Do With Leftover Whipping Cream
- What to Do With Leftover Buttermilk
- What to Do With Leftover Pumpkin Puree
- What to Do With Leftover Egg Yolks
- What to Do With Leftover Half and Half
- What to Do With Leftover Tomato Paste
Up this week: Egg Whites.
Since I make mostly small-batch recipes for the site, and small-batch recipes often call for using only part of an egg, I end up with a lot of extra egg whites.
And if you’re a regular reader of Baking Mischief, making frequent batches of Small-batch Chocolate Chip Cookies or Small-batch Chocolate Cupcakes , maybe you do too.
Instead of throwing those whites down the sink, here are a few alternatives.
What to Do With Leftover Egg Whites
Store Egg Whites in the Refrigerator
Can you keep egg white in the fridge? Yes! Egg whites can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to four days .
To make storing simple, when separating your eggs, separate the whites directly into an airtight storage container (like these 1-cup pyrex storage containers ), add the date and number of whites to the lid on a piece of masking tape, and store in the fridge for later use.
Freezing Egg Whites
Egg whites also freeze well. You can store whites all together in an airtight container in the freezer or freeze whites individually in an ice cube tray before transferring egg white cubes to a freezer bag and storing for up to a year.
To defrost, place whites in an airtight container in the refrigerator overnight, and they’re ready to use.
Add Egg Whites to Your Scrambled Eggs
This my favorite way to use up extra egg whites. Whisk one to two extra egg whites into two whole eggs for a scramble. It really beefs up the volume while adding very few calories and a without changing the flavor and texture too much (two whites will change the texture more than one).
But if you don’t feel like scrambled eggs this week, there are a whole lot of other things you can do with leftover egg whites:
Egg White Recipes
Small-batch Chocolate Banana Muffins
1 Egg White
Small-batch Chocolate Banana Muffins Small-batch Frosted Sugar Cookies Small-batch Lemon Sugar Cookies With Strawberry Frosting Small-batch Pumpkin Cupcakes Small-batch Chocolate Chip Muffins Small-batch Blueberry Muffins Small-batch Orange Muffins Chocolate Chocolate Chip Muffins One Banana, One Bowl Small-batch Banana Muffins Cinnamon Apple Crumb Muffins Small-batch Vanilla Cupcakes Easy Mini Chocolate Sheet Cake Frey Pie
2 Egg Whites
Small-batch Angel Food Cupcakes Baked Coconut Shrimp from Fox and Briar Amaretti Biscuits from Charlotte’s Lively Kitchen Flourless Chocolate Cookies from As Easy as Apple Pie
Strawberry Rose Wine Macarons by Baking Sense
3 Egg Whites
Strawberry & Rosé Wine Macarons from Baking Sense Royal Icing with Egg Whites from Fine Cooking Copycat Starbucks Egg White Wrap with Spinach and Feta from Rachel Cooks Basic Chocolate Mousse from Chow Hound Peanut Butter Clouds from Once Upon a Chef
4+ Egg Whites
(4 egg whites) Easy Marshmallow Frosting (4 egg whites) Christmas Meringue Cookies from Salt and Lavender (4 egg whites) Cherry Vanilla Baked Alaska from What The Fork (4 egg whites) Lemon Pavlova with Toasted Almonds & Coconut from The Unlikely Baker (4 egg whites) Haselnussmakronen (German Hazelnut Macaroons) from Adamant Kitchen (5 egg whites) White Cake Recipe from Live Well Bake Often (5 egg whites) Italian Meringue Buttercream from Cooking With Carlee (12 egg whites) Classic Angel Food Cake from Life Made Simple
This easy carne asada recipe will make the best homemade carne asada you’ve ever eaten. Recipe includes oven, stovetop and grill instructions.
Hey, friends. I’ve talked before about how while I fully love every recipe I post here, there are some I get extra excited about sharing with you. My Tri-tip recipe was one, these Country-style Ribs and Carnitas were too. And today, I have another one for you: Carne Asada.
I can’t wait for you to try this recipe, because it is the best homemade carne asada you will ever eat. You get super flavorful tangy meat, and since you’re going to cook it over fast, high heat, it’s also got those crispy, charred edges that, as the chef, you totally have first dibs on.
For the full, printable recipe, scroll on down to the recipe card. If you’ve never made carne asada before or have some carne asada questions, read on.
What is carne asada?
Carne asada translates literally as “grilled meat.” Its preparation varies, but generally, it’s thin cuts of beef sometimes marinated, sometimes prepared with a rub, and grilled or cooked over high heat. It can be served as a stand-alone main dish or sliced and used as filling for tacos, burritos, and other dishes.
What kind of meat is carne asada?
There are a few different cuts of beef you can use for carne asada. Most popular here in the US are flank steak, skirt steak, and flap meat (if you’re curious where they all come from, this is a great breakdown ). All three are thin-ish cuts with an easily detectible grain that do well when marinated and cooked over high heat.
Here in California, I don’t see any one of these consistently available at a reasonable price, so I’ll use them interchangeably depending on price and availability. They’re all going to taste great and get the job done.
Given a choice though, my favorite is flap meat. It has a great beefy flavor, is usually the cheapest option, and seems to come out slightly more tender than the other two.
Carne Asada Marinade Recipe
While some carne asada is prepared with just a spice rub, this recipe uses a citrus-based marinade. The acids help break down the muscle fibers and tenderize the meat, and it penetrates really well, so the meat picks up a ton of flavor.
How long to marinate carne asada? If you’re in a hurry, you can get away with just a few hours, but you’ll get the best results with a 24-hour marinade. If you can, start marinating your beef the night before. You won’t be sorry.
Pro tip: I know marinades with more than a couple of ingredients are a pain to make, but this one’s worth it, I promise! Line up your ingredients before hand, in the order they’re written in the recipe, and if you use a liquid measuring cup like the one in the photo above, you don’t actually have to get any other measuring cups dirty. Plus most of the spices call for 1 teaspoon so things will move quickly.
How to Make Carne Asada
Your carne asada will shrink quite a bit as it cooks!
Once your meat is marinated, you’re going to want to cook it over quick, high heat.
- On the grill – Medium-high heat 4 to 8 minutes per side.
- In the oven – Under the broiler on high 4 to 6 minutes per side.
- On the stove – Medium-high heat 4 to 8 minutes per side.
Cooking time will vary depending on the thickness of the meat, so I highly recommend using an instant-read thermometer to take the guesswork out of cooking. If you have a thermometer, these are the temps you’ll want to aim for:
Medium rare 130-140°F Medium 140-150°F Medium well 150°F+
The meat in the photos was cooked under the broiler to about 137°F at the thickest point.
Then slice the meat across the grain. ( Here’s why, if you’re curious. ) Depending on the type of steak you used, this grain might run all the way down the length of the meat or across it like it does with this flap meat.
Fortunately, the grain in all three cuts is pretty obvious, so you shouldn’t have any trouble finding the direction.
How to serve carne asada?
Carne asada can be served as a main on its own with a side of beans and rice . It’s also great chopped and used in steak fajitas , tacos , salads , carne asada fries , or burrito bowls .
For other carne asada sides, a quick corn salad, easy oven-roasted broccoli , or chips and nacho cheese are a good option.
Carne Asada Recipe Notes
- If making under the broiler, save any pan juices to pour over leftovers during storage to help keep the meat moist.
- This recipe calls for 1 1/2 to 2 pounds of meat, which will serve 4 to 6 people when served as a main dish, but the marinade can be stretched to cover a little over 3 pounds of meat, or whatever will comfortably fit in a gallon bag.
- I’ve included stovetop instructions in the recipe just in case you don’t have a grill and don’t want to use the broiler, but it’s not my favorite way to cook carne asada since you have to do it in batches, and the high heat tends to make things smokey after a little while. Make sure to turn on your kitchen fan and open a window before starting or you might set off your fire alarm. (Don’t ask me how I know this… 😉 )
- You might also enjoy Carnitas Tacos , Chipotle Chicken Tacos , and Basil and Garlic Steak Marinade .
Ingredients
Special Equipment
- ▢ Liquid measuring cup optional, but nice to have
- ▢ Instant-read thermometer optional, but nice to have
- ▢ Foil if cooking under the broiler
Marinade
- ▢ 1/2 cup orange juice bottled is fine
- ▢ 1/2 cup soy sauce low-sodium is fine
- ▢ 1/4 cup lemon juice bottled is fine
- ▢ 1/4 cup olive oil
- ▢ 2 tablespoons lime juice bottled is fine
- ▢ 2 cloves garlic pressed or diced
- ▢ 1 teaspoon chili powder
- ▢ 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ▢ 1 teaspoon paprika
- ▢ 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ▢ 1 teaspoon black pepper
- ▢ 1/4 teaspoon ground chipotle chili pepper OR 1 teaspoon finely chopped, canned chipotle pepper optional
- ▢ 1/2 bunch fresh cilantro chopped, about 3/4-1 cup very loosely packed
Meat
- ▢ 1 1/2 to 2 pounds skirt, flank, or flap steak
Instructions
- Combine and stir together all marinade ingredients. Transfer meat into a large plastic bag or container and pour marinade over the top. Marinate for at least 4 hours, up to about 24, flipping the meat once halfway through.
In the Oven
- Adjust top rack to about 4 inches below the broiler. Heat broiler on high. Place meat on a foil-lined heavy-duty baking sheet or broiling pan and broil 4 to 6 minutes per side. Pull at 135°F for medium-rare, 145°F for medium.
On the Stovetop
- Turn on your kitchen fan and crack open a window. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and grease pan with a drizzle of vegetable oil. Cut meat into pan-size pieces and cook in batches, 4 to 8 minutes per side until done or the internal temperature reads 135°F for medium-rare, 145°F for medium. If the outside of your meat begins to cook too quickly or things start getting too smokey, turn heat down to medium.
On the Grill
- Heat grill to medium-high heat and cook for 4 to 8 minutes per side, until the internal temperature reaches 135°F for mediu-rare, 145°F for medium.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
Marinade Adapted from AllRecipes
