Have you ever had pickled eggs? How would you describe them? I can’t remember the first time I had them but I thought they were pretty gross. They kinda grow on you and once you start liking them, you always want to have some in the fridge. That’s how it works around here anyway.
Pickled Eggs
The eggs on the left are what I call Down Home Eggs, the ones in the middle are Dark & Smokey and the ones on the right are Pickled Devils (kinda like deviled eggs).
Just like with any other kind of pickling, you can adjust the spice mixture to suit your own likes. We generally keep 2 or 3 jars in the fridge.
If you’re not interested in pickling eggs, you can stop reading here. If you are, I’ll share some info with you.
- The first thing you need to know is that these must be stored in the fridge. These are not canned under pressure and the only safe way for home pickled eggs to be stored is in the fridge.
- Once they are in the jars and pickling liquid is poured over them, they need to stay in the fridge or at least 2 weeks before you eat them so the pickling flavor can penetrate through the eggs.
- They should be good in the fridge for about 3 months.
As you might guess, the first step in the process is to boil and then peel the eggs. Each quart jar will hold about 10 – 12 eggs, depending on the size of the eggs, of course.
I usually boil my eggs, then run cold water over them and put ice over them for a while before peeling. Since I’m using yard eggs, when I know it’s getting close to time to make another batch of pickled eggs, I’ll start setting cartons aside in the fridge. If I let the eggs sit in the fridge for a week or so, they’re much easier to peel than the freshest eggs.
Be very careful about cleanliness and sanitize everything. With the vinegar, you should be fairly safe but you still want everything to be as sterile as possible. Sterilize the jars just as you would for canning (running them through the sanitize cycle in the dishwasher or pouring boiling water over them).
Mix up the pickling liquid, bring it to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 3 – 5 minutes. While the jars are HOT, load them up with eggs, pour the hot liquid over them, being sure the eggs are completely covered, put a tight fitting lid on the jar and put it in the fridge.
For all the recipes, start with 1-1/2 cups vinegar – can be white or apple cider. Add 1/2 cup water. Add whatever spices are desired.
For my Down Home Eggs (I use white vinegar for this one), I add:
- 2 T. whole peppercorns
- 2 tsp. salt
- 3 bay leaves, broken in half
- 1/2 small onion, sliced thinly
- 1 or 2 cloves garlic, can be cut in half lengthwise
- 1 or 2 jalapeno peppers, seeds removed and cut into thick rings
For the Dark & Smokey (I use cider vinegar for this one), I add:
- 1 T. dark brown sugar
- 2 tsp. granulated sugar
- 2 tsp. salt
- 2 tsp. pickling spice
- 1/4 tsp. liquid smoke
- couple dashes Tabasco
For the Pickled Devils (I use white vinegar for this one), I add:
- 3/4 tsp. dill seed
- 1/2 tsp. black pepper
- 2 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. mustard seed
- 1/2 small onion, thinly sliced
- 1 clove garlic, sliced in half lengthwise
Another recipe I often make is the Pickled Beet Eggs. I often do this once the beets are all gone and the juice remains. You will need about 1-1/2 cups liquid so it’s preferable to have 1 cup beet liquid and add 1/2 cup cider vinegar but add the cider vinegar to give you one cup. Add 1 tsp. granulated sugar. Bring this to a boil and pour over the boiled eggs. Again, let them sit for 2 weeks to become “pickled”.
Really, you can add whatever spices you think you might like. Experiment . . don’t be afraid to try something new.
How do we eat these?
My favorite ways are:
- slice them and add them to salads
- slice them and add them to sandwiches
- quarter them and serve them with blue cheese or ranch dressing mix when having hot wings
- the Dark & Smokey ones are great on a pulled pork sandwich
They’re really simple to make and so good . . nice and cold . . on a hot, summer day.
Micki says
Thanks for your recipes. I had no idea how to do them, and even went looking in your”search” section. I have never eaten them but do like all things pickled, so I have to try them.
Judy H says
Thanks!! 🙂
I think your Pickled Devils sound good!
glen in louisiana says
My father always had a jar of pickled eggs in the fridge. In many bars (not that I know about that, I have been told!) around here, they have them on the bar tops for purchase.
Michelle says
Thanks so much for sharing this! Hubby loves pickled eggs. I tried one….once…. They’re one of those foods the two of us have sort of agreed to disagree about. But I’d love to make him some. 🙂
Brenda says
These sound fun. I LOVE pickled anythings!
I have done this with leftover pickle juice when the jar is empty, leftover jalepeno juice when I buy the sliced ones, and leftover pickled beet juice. It is SO easy that way, but I’m looking forward to trying some of yours! Thanks for sharing.
Judy Laquidara says
When using leftover pickling liquid, just to be safe, you should add a bit more vinegar and definitely bring the liquid to a low boil and then simmer for a few minutes before pouring over the eggs.
Brenda says
I forgot to say, I did not mix those juices together! LOL! THAT might be too interestering!
Linda Steller says
I don’t think I’ve ever had a pickled egg, but I eat an insane number of eggs (one of the few things that doesn’t make me ill) and I love pickles, so this might be something I should try. I just hard-boiled a dozen eggs last night. Maybe I’ll put a few in a small jar and make enough liquid to try just a few so I’m sure if I like them or not. Thanks, Judy!
amy says
LOL, I live in PA & the old timers & “Dutchies” love their red beet eggs! I did try them once, whew, no thank you–but everyone else I know eats them. I think the Pickled Devils might be to my liking, I look forward to trying your recipe, thank you 🙂
patti says
i’ve been “making” jalapeno eggs for years. dh has a favorite brand (la morena) of jalapenos, and once we open a can they go into a mason jar. when the jalapenos are gone, i hard boil some eggs and put in the juice to soak for at least 3-4 days before eating. yummy and very easy!
since i love deviled eggs, i might try your recipe. sounds like something i might like.
AngieG9 says
I’ve never eaten a pickled egg, but love most things pickled and love boiled eggs, so I think I’ll make a pint of the smokey ones first to see if I like them, then on to the deviled ones. After that the beet–if I like the others, that is. I’m always open to a challenge. Thanks for sharing, Judy.
Debra says
I’m originally from PA. My grandmother always made the pickled beet eggs. Beets were either whole or sliced, depending on the size of the beet and lots of thinly sliced onions were added to the jar of eggs. I never had a pickled egg that wasn’t pink to the yolk and sometimes, the yolks were pink, too. Great memories of my grandmother’s cooking. Now, no one in my family will eat pickled eggs or beets with me. They don’t know what they are missing!
Diana says
Thank you ever so much for the recipes .. Told Dearest Hubs about them and we shall try them out. Thank you again !
Claire says
Must try these. The PA Dutch pickled beet eggs are familiar to me, and a favorite. I make them all the time. They don’t have as much vinegar and don’t last three weeks. They do turn a pretty pink, all the way through if kept long enough.
Claire says
When i went back to copy recipe, I saw you too had pickled beet eggs. (I’d thought that part of the deviled pickle recipe.) I make mine from scratch, mixing beet juice, cider vinegar and water, brown sugar and a couple whole cloves and a stick of cinnamon. They are ready to eat in a couple days. I’ve never tried to keep them more than a week.
Ida in Central PA says
Here’s another vote for Beet Eggs. 🙂 They sell them in bars here (or used to – it’s been forever since I’ve been in a true ‘bar’ and not some college-aged nightclub [from outside Penn State, remember].
A few years ago, shortly after a surgery, I was on the ‘egg’ section of my recovery, and bought individually wrapped/sealed beet eggs from a local minit-mart (Sheetz for those in the area), and took them as my lunch to a scout camp in Virginia. I didn’t realize that beet eggs weren’t known outside of the PA-Dutch area. 🙂 Quite a stir they raised! 🙂