Easy Pickled Eggs Recipe
What to do with an over abundance of eggs? Find a way to preserve them! Eggs can be preserved long term by freezing or dehydrating but my favourite way to preserve eggs is to pickle them! Pickled eggs can be enjoyed on their own or used to make egg salad or devilled eggs.
Our family are pickle people. Pickled eggs are no exception and our kids can go through a jar pretty quickly just for snacks. So when we start to get some eggs building up from our lovely laying hens we like to make up a quick batch to have on hand.
I haven’t found a recipe that is quite what I am looking for so I just use a basic brine recipe and then add my own twist to it. Many brines also use sugar but I do not include it, as I share with people who have a sugar free diet.
Instructions For Easy Pickled Eggs
So the first step to pickling eggs is to sterilize your jars and lids. I always try to have a couple of extra jars ready of various sizes in case I don’t have enough to fill a big jar. I also reused store bought jars for this project since pickled eggs are a refrigerated item and are not being processed.
The next step is to hard boil my eggs. Now I cheat and use my Instant Pot to steam the eggs, but a pot of boiling water will work just as well. I cook for 5 minutes in the Instant Pot and then natural pressure release for 5 minutes before 5 minutes in an ice bath. Once done cooking I peel the eggs, saving my shells for the garden in the spring.
Now it’s time to make the brine. How much brine is needed depends on how many eggs I want to pickle, the size of the eggs, and how tightly the jars are packed. I would say this recipe should do about 4 quart jars, which will hold roughly a dozen eggs each. I always double the brine recipe and end up with way too much leftover.
So the brine is 4 cups of white vinegar, 1 ½ cups of water, 1 ½ teaspoon of sea salt and 1 Tablespoon of pickling spice. I bring this mixture up to a boil and then simmer for 5 minutes before removing from heat and allowing to cool slightly.
Now I am ready to fill jars. I start with a ¼ teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes in the bottom of each jar and a clove of garlic. Then I add the eggs. I usually layer onion slices with the eggs but I didn’t have any onions on hand for this batch. I did sneak some chopped jalapeno into one jar this batch, just to try. Once the jar is filled snugly with eggs I top with a whole bay leaf and then fill with brine until all eggs are covered.
Once the jars have cooled I move them to the refrigerator for storage. Wait at least 3 days before trying but best flavour will be after a week or more.
Pickled Egg Recipe
48 hard boiled and peeled eggs
4 cups of white vinegar
1 ½ cups of water
1 ½ teaspoons of sea salt
1 Tablespoon of pickling spice
1 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes
4 garlic cloves
4 bay leaves
Sliced onion (optional)
In a pot combine the vinegar, water, salt and pickling spice. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool slightly. Place ¼ teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes and a clove of garlic in the bottom of a sterilized quart jar. Fill snugly with eggs, careful not to break them open.
Top with a bay leaf and then pour brine over top of the eggs until fully submerged and place the lid on the jar. Repeat this process until all of the jars are filled. Leave on the counter to cool for about an hour or until no longer hot to the touch and then place in the fridge for storage. Wait at least 3 days before eating to give the eggs time to pickle. Enjoy!
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