I grew up in a small town in Central Maine and grew up with my dad always having a gallon sitting on the stairs going down to the cellar. Yes cellar not basement because it was, and still is, a dirt floor cellar. I posted a picture of my latest batch and was asked for my recipe so here it is.
This is by far my favorite pickled egg recipe. It is fairly straight forward with ingredients and the process. This is also for a 1 gallon batch. And fair warning. I still haven't gotten the liquids to the exact amount needed to top this all off in one go, but I like having to add in a bit at the end so that for the initial pour in I get all of the spices in the jar.
Ingredients to start
36 eggs
2 cups distilled white vinegar
2 cups apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 cups water
2 TBSP pickling spice
2 TBSP kosher salt
1 TBSP black pepper corn
1 medium onion
1 bulb of garlic
6 jalapenos
5 habaneros
Ingredients to top off at the end
1 cup distilled vinegar
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup water
The first step of course is to get the eggs into the pot to start cooking. The best way that has worked for me is to get all the eggs into the pot first and add water the water before putting it on the stove. Especially if the eggs are coming out of the fridge cold. I have seen that doing it this way then putting it on the heat gets less eggs to crack open while they are cooking.
Once you have all of your eggs in the pot add enough water to just cover the eggs. There is no need to fill the pot all the way up to the very top. Less water is just less to heat up.
Put the pot on your stove and get the heat on it. Once the water comes to a boil is when I start my timer for 12 minutes.
While the eggs are cooking start prepping the veggies.
For the love of everything that is good BE CAREFULL with the peppers!! And stay away from your eyes and other sensitive body parts!!! Use gloves if you have them, and if you do not have gloves make sure to thoroughly wash your hands. Twice if you really have to use the restroom.
For the onion and jalapenos I take the ends off and simply slice it into roughly 1/4 inch rings. For the habanero I take the stem off and quarter it. Yes I leave all the seeds in. I like spicy and will eat the peppers along with the eggs. Set the two end pieces of the onion to the side for the very end, and separate the rings of the rest of the onion.
For the garlic cloves I get the paper off and keep them whole.
Once your timer has gone off it is time to shock the eggs. Remove the pot from the hot burner over to a cold bed just to get the boiling to stop. Take the pot over to the sink and fill it up with cold water. Let it sit for a minute then dump the water out and fill it with more cold water. Do the water cycle a few times and then dump in ice cubes and let them sit. At elevation this seems to help separate the shell from the egg white making them easier to peel.
While the eggs are cooling in their ice bath take all of the liquids and spices from the initial ingredient list and combine them in a pot. Bring the liquid to a boil for 5 minutes. In a second smaller pot put the ingredients from the "Top Off" list and simmer for the same time as the spiced mixture. Remove from the heat and allow it to cool while you get to the hard part of peeling the eggs.
Once you have all the eggs peeled, or while you are peeling them start layering all of your dry ingredients in your container. I like to start with some of the onion rings, then eggs, and then some of the peppers and garlic and go from there so it is all mixed up throughout the entire container.
Now for the liquid. It should have had plenty of time to cool down enough to add to your container. Pour the spiced mixture in and make sure to get all of the spices out of the bottom of your pot. You want all of them to get in there, and that is why I leave it a bit shy of the amount needed to completely fill the container.
Because you want all of your eggs under the liquid I now take the two end pieces of the onion and place them at the top. Pour the "Top Off" liquid in and fill it up the rest of the way. The two remaining onion pieces will push against the lid and keep your eggs submerged.
Now toss them in the fridge and let them sit for at least a week. Patience is your friend on this. And the longer they go the better they are IMHO.
(FYI you will not see the cloves in this last batch because I did not have a whole bulb so I cut them down into smaller pieces to distribute them through the jar)
This is by far my favorite pickled egg recipe. It is fairly straight forward with ingredients and the process. This is also for a 1 gallon batch. And fair warning. I still haven't gotten the liquids to the exact amount needed to top this all off in one go, but I like having to add in a bit at the end so that for the initial pour in I get all of the spices in the jar.
Ingredients to start
36 eggs
2 cups distilled white vinegar
2 cups apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 cups water
2 TBSP pickling spice
2 TBSP kosher salt
1 TBSP black pepper corn
1 medium onion
1 bulb of garlic
6 jalapenos
5 habaneros
Ingredients to top off at the end
1 cup distilled vinegar
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup water
The first step of course is to get the eggs into the pot to start cooking. The best way that has worked for me is to get all the eggs into the pot first and add water the water before putting it on the stove. Especially if the eggs are coming out of the fridge cold. I have seen that doing it this way then putting it on the heat gets less eggs to crack open while they are cooking.
Once you have all of your eggs in the pot add enough water to just cover the eggs. There is no need to fill the pot all the way up to the very top. Less water is just less to heat up.
Put the pot on your stove and get the heat on it. Once the water comes to a boil is when I start my timer for 12 minutes.
While the eggs are cooking start prepping the veggies.
For the love of everything that is good BE CAREFULL with the peppers!! And stay away from your eyes and other sensitive body parts!!! Use gloves if you have them, and if you do not have gloves make sure to thoroughly wash your hands. Twice if you really have to use the restroom.
For the onion and jalapenos I take the ends off and simply slice it into roughly 1/4 inch rings. For the habanero I take the stem off and quarter it. Yes I leave all the seeds in. I like spicy and will eat the peppers along with the eggs. Set the two end pieces of the onion to the side for the very end, and separate the rings of the rest of the onion.
For the garlic cloves I get the paper off and keep them whole.
Once your timer has gone off it is time to shock the eggs. Remove the pot from the hot burner over to a cold bed just to get the boiling to stop. Take the pot over to the sink and fill it up with cold water. Let it sit for a minute then dump the water out and fill it with more cold water. Do the water cycle a few times and then dump in ice cubes and let them sit. At elevation this seems to help separate the shell from the egg white making them easier to peel.
While the eggs are cooling in their ice bath take all of the liquids and spices from the initial ingredient list and combine them in a pot. Bring the liquid to a boil for 5 minutes. In a second smaller pot put the ingredients from the "Top Off" list and simmer for the same time as the spiced mixture. Remove from the heat and allow it to cool while you get to the hard part of peeling the eggs.
Once you have all the eggs peeled, or while you are peeling them start layering all of your dry ingredients in your container. I like to start with some of the onion rings, then eggs, and then some of the peppers and garlic and go from there so it is all mixed up throughout the entire container.
Now for the liquid. It should have had plenty of time to cool down enough to add to your container. Pour the spiced mixture in and make sure to get all of the spices out of the bottom of your pot. You want all of them to get in there, and that is why I leave it a bit shy of the amount needed to completely fill the container.
Because you want all of your eggs under the liquid I now take the two end pieces of the onion and place them at the top. Pour the "Top Off" liquid in and fill it up the rest of the way. The two remaining onion pieces will push against the lid and keep your eggs submerged.
Now toss them in the fridge and let them sit for at least a week. Patience is your friend on this. And the longer they go the better they are IMHO.
(FYI you will not see the cloves in this last batch because I did not have a whole bulb so I cut them down into smaller pieces to distribute them through the jar)
Comment