With our current egg surplus, eggs have again become a central part of every meal on the farm and we have all been rejoicing at the return of the hard-boiled egg snack. Perfectly sized to tide you over and packed full of good nutrition, keeping hard-boiled eggs on hand is a no-brainer. Still, removing the shell can make for a serious mess and take a chunk out of the convenience factor. Enter the pickled egg: ready-to-eat, stable, and full of flavor.
Plus if you are over-ambitious with your Easter Egg dying, you can 
transition some to pickled afterwards. Several years ago, Penelope was the main Pickled egg supplier, now others of us are trying to fill that gap!
Ingredients
- 1 quart jar
- 10-12 eggs (not too fresh)
- Brine (see below for recipes)
Preparation
Hard-boil your eggs according to your favorite method. (See our tip from Mark Bittman that is great for fresh eggs)
Peel the eggs and place them in the jar. You can pack the eggs in but the ones that are pressed up against the glass will not be exposed to the brine. I usually pack the jar then and eat one early (quality control and all…).
Assemble the brine and simmer it in a saucepan for 5 minutes then pour the brine into the jar.
Put the jar in the fridge and wait while the eggs pickle. After two weeks, they’ll be pretty well brined. For the best quality, use the eggs within 3-4 months.
Brine Recipes
There are lots of great brine recipes out there (check out these from the NCHFP and SimplyRecipes) and instead of repeating them, the recipes below highlight one of the bonuses of making pickled eggs: it’s another great way to use brine leftover from other pickles. If you don’t have enough leftover brine you can add vinegar or a similarly acidic liquid.
Sweet Dilly Brine
- 2 cups leftover brine from a jar of dilly beans or dill pickles including peppercorns, herbs, and garlic if present
- 1/4 Cup maple syrup, honey, brown sugar or other sweetener
- 8 whole cloves
Hot and Smoky Brine
- 2 cups leftover brine from a pint jar of dilly beans or dill pickles
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp ground chili peppers
- 1 tsp salt or smoked salt
- 2 bay leaves
Curried Brine
- Finish a jar of the farm’s curried Green Tomato Pickles
- Re-use it as brine for pickled eggs, as is or add a bit more to it.