I’ve recently recieved a rash of questions regarding pickled eggs – so I’ve set out on a mission to make myself some. Of course mine will be hot pickled eggs, but before I set out on this pickling mission I was wondering:
– Anyone have any recipes they would like to share?
– Does the jar have to be glass? Can it be acrylic? I would think the heat might make it necessary for the glass…
– Besides cheap beer, what do you eat pickled eggs with?
What are Pickled Eggs?
A poor man’s caviar, pickled eggs have long been popular with the masses who enjoy eating these tasty eggs and downing a cold beer or two to enhance the occasion. Essentially, pickled eggs are made by combining boiled, shelled eggs with a mixture of ingredients and then letting the combination pickle in a refrigerator for a period of two days to three weeks.There are many recipes for pickled eggs, ranging from the standard mild recipe to the spicy hot recipe. Pickled eggs are a popular bar food and can be found sitting in large jars on the bar counters of many neighborhood taverns throughout the United States. Since these eggs do not have to be refrigerated once the pickling process is over, they are also a popular camping food.
All pickled egg recipes begin with the boiling of the eggs. After the eggs have been hard-boiled and cooled, the shells must be removed. Thereafter, a number of items can be mixed together to form the liquid used to pickle and saturate the eggs. Almost all recipes insist that various amounts of water and vinegar be boiled together to form the base. From there, a number of recipes call for brown sugar, salt, garlic, beet juice, and such similar items that will, when added, form a sweet tasting egg. Those who enjoy the hot variety will add hot chili peppers, cayenne pepper, tabasco sauce, mustard seed, and similar spicy items to the vinegar and water.
Once the liquid base is cooked and prepared, the eggs are placed in a large jar and the liquid is poured over the eggs and then sealed with a lid. The eggs will take on the taste of the spices over time. Usually the eggs will be tasty if they remain sealed in the refrigerator for two days to three weeks. If the eggs are refrigerated longer than that, they may take on a rubbery feel and taste.
I may have to wait a few weeks before attempting this feat – I might wait for my pepper plants to produce, that way I can add those peppers to the mixture. Also have to find a suitable jar…
4 responses to “Pickled Eggs?”
Pickled eggs are mainly a snack food. In Wisconsin, I grew up learning to like these in taverns with my parents- Fridays are fish fry nights here! You can use pint size canning jars, Quart, or half gallon canning jars if you want to make a lot of them for yourself. If using whole (fresh)peppers, make sure to cut a small slit or two in each pepper to allow the vinegar solution to enter the pepper, thus releasing more ‘heat’ to the brine. Fill & alternate your jar with the washed whole slit peppers and of course the peeled boiled eggs-leave an inch headspace on top of jars to allow brine to totally surround your eggs & peppers. In other words, don’t pack your jars to tight! Throw in some black peppercorns, cracked or whole & the amount is up to you for each jar( you could do red & green peppers for a holiday gift giving jar to your friends, or also add yellow and orange ones to make a festive look) Make a brine of 2 c. white vinegar, 2 tab. sugar 1 tea. salt (try hot salt or spicy salt?) & 1 tab onion powder. Bring this to a boil in a kettle and simmer for 5 min. Ladle the hot brine into each jar (use a canning funnel) and put the lid and screwband on -tight. Tip each jar upside down and back to make sure the solution is evenly distributed. Let set for a week. This brine recipe is for 12-16 eggs. If you are making more, and filling more jars then make more brine. Make sure brine is HOT when filling jars. Refridgerate after opening . Hope this helps! p.s.- We do pickled turkey gizzards here too! lol.
I am looking for a recipe for really HOT pickled eggs. thank you for your time randy
I do 2 types of VERY Hot everyone loves them! One is with a variety of different hot sauces, the hotter the better. Sliced haberno peppers, jalepenos, onions, garlic., and whatever other veggie you want, cayanne and red pepper flakes. Bring to boil, simmer 5 minutes. Place hard bolied eggs in large Ziploc container or jar pour brine over. place lid on bring to room temperature and put in fridge. I shake these once a day to be sure well mixed. They can be eaten after 3 days BUT the longer you leave the better for heat. If you like HOT HOT these are it. My family and friends cant get enough of them. My pickled version is next,
Hot Pickled eggs
4 dozen hard boiled eggs
4 Cups vinegar
1 onion, sliced
8 habanero peppers
7 jalapenos
5 garlic cloves (whole so you can eat)
1⁄2 cup pickled jalapeno pepper (jarred)
1 tsp Cayanne
1 tsp paprika (I use smoked but doesnt matter)
1/2 tsp dill seed
1 tsp celery seed
2 tablespoons red pepper flakes
5- 10 dashes hot sauce
3- 5 Tbsp HOT salsa
2 tablespoons salt
3 tablespoons mustard seeds
2 pinches pickling spice
4 tablespoons peppercorns
5 cloves garlic
Place all in pot ( Not eggs) bring to boil simmer for 5 min or so. Place eggs in jar, alternating eggs, peppers from pot, pour hot brine over eggs in jar. put lid on and bring to room temperature, then refridgerate. These can be eaten after 3 weeks the longer you leave the better they get.
Enjoy!