(“Since when do you go to bars, dad?” “Before I met your mother.” “So 50 years ago you could get pickled eggs in bars, in Minnesota.” “Yes.”) Bar culture aside, two of my favorite foods are pickles and hard boiled eggs, so why not pickle the eggs?
Beet Pickled Eggs
Apparently a popular way to pickle eggs is in beet juice, so that the egg whites turn a pretty fuchsia pink. A few weeks after I made my first batch I was served beet pickled eggs in a salad at a bar/restaurant in Gettysburg. They were pickled all the way through the yolk, turning the yolk slightly pink as well. The longer you keep the eggs in the pickling liquid, the deeper it penetrates into the eggs. I’m guessing to pickle them all the way through you have to keep them in the liquid at least a couple of weeks.
How to Make Pickled Eggs
What follows is the result of several weeks of experimentation (and several dozens of eggs!) with different pickling mixtures. We have a beet pickled egg with cardamom and star anise, as well as a curried pickled egg with Indian spices, a jalapeño pickled egg with cumin and oregano, and a tarragon pickled egg with mustard seeds. Take your pick! I think the best pickled eggs are the beet pickled eggs. They are my favorite because they’re so pretty and I love beets. The spice combinations are prime candidates for experimentation, play around with them and include your favorite spices or herbs for egg salad. These are refrigerator pickled eggs. I don’t really know how long they’ll last in the refrigerator, but I’m guessing at least several weeks.
Quick Pickled Egg Tip
I did find that the pickling liquid needs to have vinegar diluted with water. Straight vinegar is just too acidic. I like adding sugar because it helps balance the acidity of the vinegar and I like a slightly sweet pickle. If any of you are old hands at making pickled eggs, please feel free to share your expertise (or favorite recipe) in the comments. For beet and beet juice for the beet pickled eggs, simmer the chopped beets in enough water to cover and simmer with the lid on until tender, 30-40 minutes. Or use the liquid from canned beets.
1 beet, peeled and roughly chopped into 1 to 2-inch sized pieces, cooked (see recipe note)
1 cup beet juice (see recipe note)
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 onion, sliced into rings
1/3 cup sugar
3 cardamom pods
1 star anise
6 hard cooked eggs, peeled
Curried pickled eggs
1 cup apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup water
1/4 onion, sliced
3/4 cup sugar
3 cardamom pods
1 teaspoon mustard seeds (yellow or brown)
1 tablespoon yellow curry powder
6 hard cooked eggs, peeled
Jalapeno pickled eggs
3/4 cup apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
6 cloves
2 jalapeno peppers, sliced in half lengthwise, seeds removed and discarded
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 onion, sliced
1 clove garlic, peeled
6 hard cooked eggs, peeled
Tarragon pickled eggs
3/4 cup apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup water
1/4 onion, sliced
2 sprigs fresh tarragon
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon herbs de Provence
6 hard cooked eggs, peeled
Refrigerate up to 1 month. The pickled eggs will be ready to eat after a few days. The longer the eggs sit in the pickling juice, the more the pickling juice will penetrate the eggs.
