Seeing jars of preserved truffles in oil, also known as truffle carpaccio at a specialty food stores can be tempting, but they're basically a waste of money. However, making your own preserved truffles in oil is a completely different thing, and is probably the best recipe for preserving truffles at home I know of. In this post I'll walk you through how make your own as well as how to enjoy them.
Background
Since the shelf life of fresh truffles is so short, finding ways to preserve them, especially if you're a truffle supplier is a necessary part of business. Unfortunately, truffle aroma is destroyed by heat. As jars of truffle slices in oil are heated to sterilize them and make them shelf-stable, they will never have the same aroma as fresh.
Another thing to consider is that the highest quality truffles may not be going into the canned truffles in oil. The majority of truffle slices in oil I see are also made from summer truffles, which are one of the most mild and least aromatic of all the species I've tasted to begin with.
The beauty of homemade truffle slices in oil is that the slices essentially make homemade truffle oil, which in turn helps preserve the aroma of the slices themselves. It's the closest approximation to fresh truffles I've had, and I try to put up a small jar anytime I buy some.
Preserving your own slices in oil also allows you to control the quality and variety of truffles you use. I've made it with everything from pecan truffles, Bianchetto and Alba white truffles to every variety of black truffle I've cooked with.
It's one of the easiest recipes you'll ever make, as well as one of the more expensive. That said, there's lots of different truffle varieties, prices and grades, as well as by-products like pre-sliced truffles and chopped truffles.
Although it's a bit of a moot point, larger, whole truffles generally have a better aroma than smaller ones, and will make a better product, technically.
How to Preserve Truffle Slices in Oil
You'll need a sterilized, 8 oz glass mason jar with a non-reactive lid, a truffle slicer, fresh truffles, kosher salt, and grapeseed oil. While you can use olive oil, know that it will solidify in the refrigerator and will need to come to room temperature to be clear again.
Slice the truffles on the slicer, if they're a little thin or thick isn't a big issue, but whole slices are always more attractive. Put the sliced truffles in the mason jar, sprinkling in a pinch of salt and gently shaking the jar when they've all been added. Just to be clear here: as the truffles are raw, the salt is very important for safety and can never be skipped.
Once the truffles are seasoned with salt, pour over the oil until they're completely covered. You can make the recipe with less oil, but it's nice to have extra truffle oil around for drizzling on popcorn, etc.
Finally, put the jar of truffle slices and oil in the fridge. After just 24 hours they'll soften becoming tender, lightly salted umami-bombs you can put on just about anything. I've kept them for up to 2 months without an issue but they usually disappear pretty quick. I recommend eating them within a month.
General Tips & Recipes for Sliced Truffles in Oil
The beauty of a jar of truffle slices is that you get two ingredients for the price of one. The slices all by themselves are wonderful, but you can also drizzle the oil on food or use it to make something like homemade garlic truffle aioli.
Another great way to use both the oil and sliced truffles is as a garnish for soups and dishes with broth like the porcini ravioli and morel mushroom soups pictured below.
Making a simple truffle pasta is easy too: just toss hot pasta tossed with some of the oil from the jar, a little parmesan and top with a few shimmering truffle slices. Or you can cut the slices into batons or dice if they're thicker as pictured on the gnocchi below.
They're also great with soft cheeses, especially mild cheeses like brie, burrata, mozzarella, ricotta or mascarpone. For a great appetizer, toss some of the slices with bocconcini mozzarella balls and a pinch of salt and pepper and serve with toothpicks.
Or serve a luxurious burrata toast with truffles.
I'm sure you can find plenty of things to do with them, if you have any questions I haven't covered feel free to leave a comment.
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Preserved Truffle Carpaccio Slices In Oil
Equipment
- 1 Truffle slicer with rounded teeth as opposed to pointed.
- 1 8 oz glass mason jar with non-reactive lid
Ingredients
- 1 oz Fresh truffles white or black truffles or any other truffle variety
- 1 gram Kosher salt
- 4 oz Grapeseed oil
Instructions
Salting and Preserving
- Slice the truffles and put them in the jar, sprinkling in the salt as you go. If you want to be particular, ⅛th inch or on the thicker side is great, but they can be paper thin too.
- Pour the oil over the truffles, screw on the lid and put them in the fridge. Stir them with a clean spoon once in a while to ensure the salt is evenly distributed.
- The truffle slices will last for at least a month and will keep a great flavor in the fridge.
Using the Slices in Cooking
- Add the truffles and their oil to dishes where fresh truffles would be used, at the end of cooking as a condiment. For example, you could set a jar out on the table and let guests spoon truffles over a bowl of buttered noodles, scallops cheese or a steak.
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