Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Aunt Debra's Pickled Eggs

This week I decided to put an end to my latest craving and called my Aunt Debra to get her recipe for pickled eggs. I had one of hers a couple summers back and I have yet to forget it. I'm not sure if it is the South Jersey soil where they grew up or the blood in their veins but that side of the family across the board has a hankering for anything sour, anything tart, anything pickled.

All of you who snack on a hard-boiled egg in the afternoon or add one to your lunch bag, Hear Ye Hear Ye. And if you don't, you might after this read.

But first, set up shop. On Monday I went to the grocery store and picked up a jar of sliced jalapenos and a two-litter bottle of distilled white vinegar. Today I went to the market and got a dozen farm fresh jumbo brown eggs. Brown are the Best!



"Pretty much everything but the kitchen sink can go in," she told me, "but the Worcestershire sauce is key." Roger. I selected my mason jars (I'll get to that later). I laid out all my ingredients and went to boiling my eggs.



The task lost a little of its romantic edge when I was peeling the dozen eggs. I learned once how to make this an easy job, I think it has something to do with rinsing them with cold water after you take them out of their boiling bath. But, I remembered that after the fact and was left with little bits and pieces of shell to flake off.

Into the mason jar went the jalapenos, the garlic, eight shakes of Worcestershire sauce, three drops of Melinda's Hot Sauce, one teaspoon of dry mustard powder, several peppercorns, a healthy pinch of salt, and a dash of cayenne pepper. Then I added enough white vinegar to fill the jar up to the middle knuckle of my thumb. I heated the mixture in the microwave to get the juices flowing and shook it. It was at this point that I noticed my perfect vintage mason jar wasn't quite doing the job. As I sloshed, liquid oozed.

After invigorating the base liquid, I rolled in eight eggs. Over them I poured more vinegar, filling the jar up to its brim and covering the eggs. I gently shook which lead to gentle oozing. But, the job was done. Now we wait. 2-3 days. Preferably three.



While you are waiting, you can make Quinoa Tabbouleh from Thekitchn.com. Delicious. Their picture turned out much better than mine. We added about twice the amount of lemon juice.

(Okay so if you have paid attention to my timeline, you will know that I haven't tried the eggs yet. But, if they are anywhere near Aunt Debra quality, we will be in good shape.)

3 comments:

  1. Awesome. I'm gonna make some. Thanks!

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  2. I think I'm going to make these for a dinner party coming up...what did you eat them with? picnic fare?

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  3. I also just noticed that you didn't give us a recipe. How much garlic?

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