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What to do with all these meyer lemons?

first of all, i'm new to the board so hello.

that aside, it's that time of year again, meyer lemon time! so, what are you all doing with them? so far i've tried this:

Meyer 'Ti Punch
2 oz rhum agricole (also tried with barbancourt)
0.5 oz fresh squeezed meyer lemon juice
Cane syrup to taste

preferred the agricole version (de paz).

Meyer's Last Word (basically a last word subbing the meyer lemon for lime juice)
0.75 oz gin
0.75 oz green chartruese
0.75 oz maraschino
0.75 fresh squeezed meyer lemon juice

this went surprisingly well. somewhat removed the bite and mellowed it out a bit for for me. very pleasing color too.

clearly im just subbing in for limes where i think it might work. has anyone else tried anything, or gone so far as to actually get creative?

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  1. Margarita!

    2 oz tequila
    .5 oz key lime juice
    .5 oz Meyer lemon juice (or as they're known in Texas: Valley lemons)
    .5 oz Grand Marnier
    .5 oz agave nectar
    .5 oz cucumber juice
    4-5 dashes Bar Keep Lavender Spice bitters
    Shake. Serve up. Garnish with lime twist or wheel. Powdered salt rim optional.

    My personal recipe. Try it out. Holler and tell me what you think. If nothing else, it's a reason to pick up a bottle of lavender bitters (one can never have too many bottles).


    5 Replies
    1. re: rmb204

      Yumm, copied that one. Will try :)

      1. re: rmb204

        That just sounds like too many fragrant items battling for attention: tequila, cucumber, lavender and the punch of Grand Marnier (which I don't prefer in a Marg due to the brandy base).

        1. re: StriperGuy

          There's no such thing as too many fragrant items. When balanced properly, it brings a welcome complexity to a classic drink.

          Anyway, if those Chatreusian monks can put 130 herbal extracts in their liqueur, then little ole rmb204 can mix four different things into his margarita.

          Take the recipe for a spin. Let me know what can be balanced better. I'm open to suggestions and always welcome a chance to fine tune the recipe.

          1. re: rmb204

            I think that drink would be just fine to my taste. However, I wouldn't call it a margarita. :(

        2. re: rmb204

          haha, i forgot that i posted this (or even that i'd joined this site). then found a bunch of emails in the address i dont use except to join these sorts of sites and someone made something! and i learned to call them valley lemons in texas.

          anyway, following suit i made a margarita and it worked pretty well. frankly, i did not have the wherewithal to get cucumber juice and lavender bitters involved. and i used cointreau instead of grand marnier. despite all this straying from the recipe i would say a margairta with meyer (valley lemons is a winner).

          also made a super sweet one subbing in some pineapple infused pisco i had sitting around for the tequila. I dont know why i thought that would work (it didnt). I found it a bit too sweet and lacking that grit from the tequila that really centers the margarita.

        3. I think you should mail them to me ;-).

          I love them in a classic whiskey sour recipe. Make such a nice complex whiskey sour.

          5 Replies
            1. re: scubadoo97

              Oh gosh, just about anything, Jim Beam is nice, Rye for something with a bit more bite, fancy bourbon if you like, etc etc.

              1. re: StriperGuy

                I have a bag of Meyer lemons in the fridge. Will have to give it a try

                1. re: StriperGuy

                  I don't mind Jim Beam at all. I was offered it when a little evening meeting ran out of Scotch. The Jack-n-Coke contingent looked down on it as if it were Thunderbird or something. Plus in a handle, it's incredibly affordable.

                  The last time I mixed with Meyer lemon, I found it so un-tart that it was more like a sub for orange juice + lemon juice, rather than lemon alone. Adjusting the sugar is definitely needed. I wish they weren't so spendy.

                  www.kindredcocktails.com | Craft + Collect + Concoct + Categorize + Community

                  1. re: EvergreenDan

                    I agree that the sour needs MUCH less sugar with Myer lemon juice, I like my whiskey sours on the dry side to begin with.

            2. Shaker lemon pie. Another good reason to go to Ohio. Get the recipe from Joy of Cooking or try www.Saveuer.com.

              1. I've been diggin' The Gold Rush since I made my own ginger hooch. The original recipe calls for Domaine de Canton and regular lemon juice, but it's delish with Meyer lemon juice fer shurr:


                1. There is a lot of good info here already but here are my 2.5 cents.

                  My parents have a Meyer Lemon Tree in what we affectionately call the "orchard." It has four trees. But Southern California is magical in terms of weather and we get lemons, limes and oragnes of exceptional quality.

                  The thing I find with our Meyer's is that they are fiercely aromatic but lack some of the acidity I want in certain lemony applications. This applies to both cocktails and food.

                  So we have a tree, but these puppies ain't cheap (heck, any citrus ain't cheap these days) so I can basically get all I want. And while I am a fan of generally using better ingredients rather than worse ones, being more expensive isn't always better depending on the situation. See: Kosher Salt vs. Sal de Mer.

                  I know by the time/date stamps your lemons are all gone by now either from use or otherwise but I like a gin and tonic with meyer lemon instead of lime. The various botannicals seem to work well with each other. Now some of you are going to ask about which gin...it changes for me and I like them all with the lemon rather than the lime. If store bought generic lemons are around, I still go with lime simply for the aromatics.

                  2 Replies
                  1. re: ellaystingray

                    you make a good point about the acidity and that really focuses the point of the thread for me. i'm looking for applications that play on this fact. for example the last word can be a bit bitter sometimes and i found the meyer lemons worked well there. maybe its a drink that usually involves lime and simple syrup that benefits from a meyer lemon substitution.

                    1. re: masterplan

                      err.. not bitter...tart. i meant the last word could be a bit tart. that was the word i was looking for and thats the thing i find that meyer lemons dont have...which must be exploitable...