Pickled egg series - preparation and general stuff.

In my first post of the series, I talked about how to boil eggs. In this post, I'm going to talk about the other prep.

For my pickling, I'm re-using pint-sized pickle jars or quart-sized spaghetti sauce jars with their original lids (if they're in good condition). I will want to get mason jars, but they aren't yet stocked in my local department store. Remember, pickling is not canning - you can re-use lids in pickling.

My jars were washed as normal - in the dish waster and a bit by hand. While I'm in the early prep of my stuff, I bring water to a boil in a tea kettle. When it whistles, I add a couple inches of water to each jar and cap. I then shake vigorously and place topside down while I prepare.

I will also bring up to temp my base pickling solution. This is 50/50 bottled (I used distilled initially) and vinegar (I started with cider because I had a lot, but will use white from here on out). I also add about a tablespoon of salt per pint. Salt is a preservative in this case, so we don't want to skimp (but this may be excessive). Bringing this close to - but not quite boiling would be good. When it boils, the vinegar can get pretty hard on the nose.

Other ingredients are prepared too. Anything that needs to be cut up (onions, for example), this is a good time to do it.

While your eggs are boiling, I will normally also empty my jars at this time and put the other ingredients in. Once the eggs are chilled/peeled/etc., the brine solution (the vinegar/water/salt) is poured over it all.

I find a pint jar holds about 5-6 eggs - great for sampling recipes. I think a quart jar can support a dozen or so.

The eggs are added to the jars, the brine solution is poured to fill to the top, the rim of the jar is checked to ensure there's no spices or anything preventing a good seal, the jars are topped, inverted, and left for an hour to cool (to prevent thermal shock). They are then refrigerated - topside down initially then inverted daily or so. Throughout the day, your spices and ingredients will mix. After about a week, this won't be necessary - the brine will have captured everything from the spices.

The eggs shall sit unopened for at least a week. Although pickled, many advise they shall remain refrigerated. When they are opened, they should be vacuum-sealed due to the hot-pack. Put a bit of salt on them and enjoy ;).

Recipes to follow