Pickled eggs.

As I was standing in the kitchen with my brother the other night, he was extolling to me the virtues of pickled eggs. Having brined many a smoked fish, I casually mentioned that we'd probably be able to pickle some eggs. 5 minutes later we were in the car, headed to the grocery.

A little research provided me with the following recipe for pickling brine:

(per quart jar)

1-1/4 cups white vinegar
3/4 cup water
1 tbsp. pickling spice (recipe below)
1/2 tsp. pickling salt
4 tbsp. sugar

1 sprig dill
1 clove garlic, peeled, halved

What else you need:

Quart-size wide mouth canning jars
Jar tongs (in the canning section of the grocery store)
Canning pot, or pot large enough to sterilize the jars
Saucepan, allow 2 cups capacity for each jar of brine
8-10 eggs per jar of brine

Taking advantage of my many stainless brewpots, I was able to sterilize the jars, boil the eggs, and prep the brine at the same time.

To sterilize the jars:

Fully submerge jars and lids in water and bring to a boil. Boil for 10 minutes, remove from water, drain, and place upright on a countertop for filling.

To make the pickling spice, combine:

2 tablespoons mustard seed
1 tablespoon whole allspice
2 teaspoons black peppercorns
2 teaspoons whole cloves
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 small bay leaves, broken up
2 inch piece of cinnamon stick, cracked in small pieces


Place eggs in a pot and bring to a rolling boil. Once the pot is boiling, remove from heat and allow eggs to stand in hot water for 10-15 minutes.

Combine all brine ingredients except dill and garlic in a saucepan, accounting for boil room-- you will need to multiply the batch size by the number of jars that you intend to fill. Bring to a simmer, making sure that sugar and salt are completely dissolved. Continue to simmer to bring out the flavor of the pickling spices.

Remove eggs from hot water, place in an icewater bath and peel. Put 1 sprig of dill and 1 clove of peeled & halved garlic in each sterilized jar, along with enough eggs to fill the jar, leaving enough headspace to allow brine to completely cover eggs.

Carefully pour hot brine over eggs and refrigerate immediately. Eggs will pick up a nice pickled flavor after about a week, and will be best if eaten within 3-4 months.

Enjoy!