Pickled Eggs

Click to Enlarge	Pickled Eggs North America, Britain and Central and Eastern Europe
	Makes: Effort: Sched: DoAhead:	24 ** 2+ days Must	Pickled eggs are popular through the British Isles and on through Central and Eastern Europe. They'd be essential for a Pub themed party. For some popular variations, see Note-6.
Back in the 1970s, many working men's bars here in Southern California had a big jar of pickled eggs. I haven't seen that for many years, but I haven't been in a lot of working men's bars in recent times, so some may still have them.

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Eggs (1)
Vinegar (2)
Water
-- Spices
Garlic
Ginger Root
Bay Leaves
Chili, red (3)
Peppercorns
Cloves
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Make - (1-1/4 hrs - 30 min work + 2 days age)

Pierce EGGS if desired (Note-1). For maximum peelability, set them in a pot of boiling water for about 20 seconds (I do them 3 at a time), then place them in the cold water they will be boiled in. Use a roomy pan - one layer is best, but two will be OK. Fill with cold water to about 3/4 inch over the eggs.
Bring Eggs to a boil over high heat. Give them about 45 seconds, then turn off the heat. Let them sit for about 15 minutes.
Peel the shells from Eggs. Important: peel them hot. After 15 minutes, the temperature will still be around 190°F/88°C. If it gets cool enough so you can hold your fingers in it, you will start to have trouble peeling them. Set a strainer in the sink under cold running water. One by one, bring out the eggs with your Egg Scoop, quickly cool under cold water so you can handle them. Tap them on a hard surface in several places, hard enough to crack the shell and break the membrane, but not too hard. Peel off the shells, using the cold running water to help.
Size your Pickle Liquid. Place peeled Eggs in the sterile jar they will be pickled in. Pour in enough water to fill the jar, then pour it out and measure it. Make Pickling Liquid to a couple ounces more. This should be Vinegar and Water in a ratio of about 1 cup to 1/3 cup (75% vinegar - presuming vinegar at 5% acidity).
Pour Pickling Liquid into your pan. Add Spices mix and bring to a boil. Simmer for a few minutes, then add the Eggs and bring back to a boil (see Note-4).
Using your egg scoop, place the hot Eggs into their jar, then pour in the hot Pickling Liquid. Also see Note-5.
Screw on the lid, but not quite tight, any gasses produced need to escape.
You can start eating the eggs in 48 hours, if you can wait that long. Made by this recipe, they will keep for at least a couple of weeks at a cool room temperature - much longer in the fridge.

NOTES:

Eggs: I favor "Medium" eggs, but "Large" are fine too. Two dozen Mediums will fit loosely in a 1/2 gallon jar, Large, a little more snuggly. Piercing the egg shells, using a needle or an Egg Piercer is optional. This step has little effect on peelability, but will help keep eggs with invisible cracks from bursting.
Vinegar: The most common vinegars for pickling eggs are Distilled White Vinegar and Apple Cider Vinegar, but Malt Vinegar and other vinegars are also used. They should be 5% acidic for the amount of water given in this recipe.
Chilis: These can be dried or fresh. For dried I use 2 tiny but very hot Thai type chilis, cap end removed (my Black Cobra chili plant ripens them orange rather than red). For fresh, I'd use red Fresno chilis or red ripe Jalapenos, split in half and not seeded. Use your own best judgement here.
Scalding: The first batch of pickled eggs I ever made, I used cider vinegar, and didn't do this final scald. They were delicious, but could give Ex-lax a run for its money, and I mean run - immediate, urgent, but surprisingly gentle. I can not guarantee you would get the same result, so scald before packing in the jar to prevent this.
Danger: Some older recipes suggest using a toothpick to poke a deep hole in the boiled egg for better penetration of the pickling fluid. This has resulted in cases of (very unpleasant and/or fatal) botulism poisoning. This is due to Clostridium botulinum bacteria propagating in the yolk (source US CDC (Center for Disease Control)) There is no botulism danger from unpoked eggs.
Variations: Naturally, there are many.
- Spices: Just about any possible mix of pickling spices has been used. This subject is wide open.
- Red Beets: The eggs are often colored bright red by inclusion of beet juice. This is most often done by replacing the water in the recipe with juice, and possibly a few slices, from a can of pickled beets, but there are other schemes. The color penetrates deeply into the eggs.
- Turmeric: The eggs can be dyed a bright yellow by including a teaspoon of Turmeric powder with the spices.
- Sugar: Some recipes include sugar, from a couple of teaspoons to absolutely obscene amounts. Use caution here.
- Less Vinegar: Less vinegar and more water makes wimpy eggs that have to be kept refrigerated as soon as they've cooled down. They take at least twice as long to be ready to eat.
U.S. measure: t=teaspoon, T=Tablespoon, c=cup, qt=quart, oz=ounce, #=pound, cl=clove in=inch, ar=as required tt=to taste

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