Pickled eggs are hard-cooked eggs that have
been soaked in a solution of vinegar, salt, spices
and other seasonings. Besides being a conversa-
tion topic at a party with their bright colors,
pickled eggs are tasty and nutritious. They can
contribute to your meals as part of the main
course at dinner, as hors d’oeuvres, garnishes for
salads, deviled eggs, and diced ingredients.
Selecting Eggs for Pickling
Select eggs with clean sound shells which are
not extremely fresh. Eggs a few days old will peel
better. You can also use very small eggs such as
quail eggs.
Cooking, Peeling, and Pickling
Cover eggs completely with cold water and
bring quickly to near boiling.
Turn down the heat and allow to simmer for 15
minutes. Always cook eggs at moderate tempera-
tures since overcooking makes them tough and
can cause gray discoloration around the yolk.
Cool the eggs as rapidly as possible by running
cold water over them.
Crack the entire shell around the egg for easier
peeling. Begin peeling at the large end where
the air cell is usually located. Peeling under
running water can help remove all the thin shell
membranes.
PICKLED EGGS
EB1104
Pack one dozen or so medium-sized eggs loosely
in a quart jar so the container will hold plenty of
pickling solution. Any container that can be
closed tightly is satisfactory.
Pour the hot pickling solution over the eggs,
cover the container and put it into the refrigera-
tor. Pickled eggs must be stored in the refrigera-
tor for safety. Be sure that the eggs are covered
with the pickling solution during storage. The
eggs are ready for serving when the pickling
solution has seasoned all parts of the egg. It
takes at least one week to season small eggs and
from two to four weeks for medium and large
eggs.
Do not leave pickled eggs at room temperature
other than during the period of time for serving
(2 hours or less). Pickled eggs will retain quality
for several months in the refrigerator.
Preparing the Pickling Solution
There are many recipes for pickling solutions.
The recipes in this publ