Recipe: Pickled Eggs

In our March newsletter, author Gail Damerow writes about extending the canning season beyond the summer months, when it can be hard to keep up with putting up all the fresh food from the garden. Pickling the smaller eggs laid by fall-hatched pullets in the winter is one way to preserve foods later in the year, done simply by saving the juice from you favorite pickles and using that to cover a jar full of hard-cooked eggs. Refrigerated, they keep well. Gail’s personal favorite: “the juice from Clausen’s kosher mini dills makes awesome pickled eggs.” 

For those who prefer to create their own blend of seasonings, here’s a recipe for pickled eggs from The Fresh Egg Cookbook by Jennifer Trainer Thompson. 

Photograph © Jason Houston

Pickling eggs in vinegar has been a preserving technique since the days before refrigeration. Decorate an attractive glass Ball jar with a ribbon and you’ve got a homemade gift. I always attach a card, too, explaining the ingredients and uses. Pickled eggs cut open, dusted with a bit of coarse salt, are delicious on picnics, served with cold cuts and potato salad, or laid out on an hors d’oeuvre board with gherkins, olives, cheeses, and crackers. When making pickled eggs, you can play with the seasonings to achieve various flavors.

Pickled Eggs

Makes 12 eggs

Ingredients:

12 hard-boiled eggs

3 cups malt vinegar
1 cup water
1 small dried chile, split open
20 black peppercorns
2 (4-inch) cinnamon sticks
2 bay leaves

Directions:

1. Peel the eggs and pack them in a sterilized jar with an airtight lid, leaving an inch at the top for the liquid alone. Heat the vinegar, water, chile, peppercorns, cinnamon, and bay leaves in a saucepan until the liquid begins to boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool to room temperature.
2. Strain the liquid and pour it over the eggs in the jar, covering them completely by 1 inch. Seal the jar and store in the refrigerator for 2 weeks before eating.

Recipe excerpted from The Fresh Egg Cookbook © Jennifer Trainer Thompson. Photograph © Jason Houston. All rights reserved.