Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Spicy Pickled Eggs

Love them or hate them... they're here to stay (in my kitchen at least). I absolutely love pickled eggs. My Grandpa used to make the purple kind (made with beets) and ever since, I've been in love. Recently, I've been testing different spicy pickled egg recipes and I seem to have hit the jackpot!


Adapted from this recipe... these eggs are delicious. If you're a pickled egg fan, I definitely recommend giving these a try. The first step of course, is to hard boil the eggs. My favorite tool when hard boiling eggs is my Egg-Perfect Timer.This timer is really great... it changes color to tell you exactly when your eggs are soft, medium, or hard boiled.


Another trick I use is to place the hard boiled eggs in ice water when they're done... this way you can peel the shells immediately. The next step is to make the broth for your eggs to pickle in.

Ingredients:
  • 2 cups white vinegar
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon pickling spice
  • 3 teaspoons red pepper flakes
  • 6-8 cloves
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 3 sliced habanero peppers
  • 3 sliced jalapeno peppers
  • 1 sliced red bell pepper
  • 1/4 of a white onion
Combine all ingredients and heat in a saucepan for about 15 to 20 minutes. Stir occasionally. Warning: this is a potent combination!


Carefully place the eggs and the heated broth in a jar. Try and refrigerate these for 2 to 3 weeks. I actually never wait this long because I'm too impatient... but, I'm trying. Here's a link to the jars I like to use.


Serve with salt, pepper, pretzels, and a nice cold beer! 

94 comments:

  1. NICE...I STILL NEED TO TRY THIS. AT LEAST A GOT A RECIPE TO USE NOW. AND STEP-BY-STEP DIRECTIONS.....CAN YOU MAKE THEM WITH MEDIUM BOILED EGGS? I LIKE THOSE BETTER......

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    1. I think medium eggs would be fine. That's what I am going to do!

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  2. I'm not really sure. I know you want the eggs to be firm enough to peel easily. You should definitely get the egg timer though.

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  3. Holy deliciousness! I love spicy pickled anything and these eggs look divine.

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  4. p.s. great photos!

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  5. Thanks Leah, you should definitely try these!

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  6. Is this recipe based off a dozen eggs?

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  7. Thanks for the recipe. Do you have one for the purple one made with some beets?
    Thanks again.

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    1. Hi Ken! Here's my purple egg recipe...

      http://www.pleasenotepaper.com/2012/03/purple-pickled-eggs.html

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  8. These Look Amazing! If you want a really good flavor with a great "kick" keep them in the juices for 4 months before eating them...You will be glad you did!

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  9. They are beautiful, I put some beet juice and a little extra hot sauce in mine and tryed the solution,, Wow! Was awsome!
    Thanks for the recipe its great!

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  10. Can you reuse the mixture and just put more eggs in it

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    1. I've never tried that but I assume it just wouldn't be as potent.

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  11. Can't wait to make these!!!

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  12. Omg! These couldn't be anymore perfectly delicious!

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  13. Cindy Hotaling 7/30/13
    I was so happy to find this recipe and I'm trying this it today for the first time. Will give feed back later.

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  14. GOD I love you! Thank you for this recipe. I raise Japanese quail and wanted something that was "different".... this was it. I cant stay out of them. They have a little spicy tickle in your mouth, but they are not real hot. They turned out amazing. I added 2 teaspoons of minced garlic to mine. Thank you for the recipe, its amazing!

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    1. Thanks so much, John. I'm so glad you liked them! Now I want to make some! :)

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    2. Getting ready to make some of this and think I'll add some garlic too.

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  15. Do you need to store in refrigerator?

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    1. I don't think it's necessary but I do it just to be safe.

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  16. Made these the other day and they are in the fridge! How in the world am I going to wait 2-3 weeks! The smell that came from the brine as it cooked as amazing! We also dipped bread in the leftover juice in the pan. Holy moly it was hot but it seems like it will be one of those things that you cant stop eating cause its so good! I will post an update once we actually get to dig into them!

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    1. Ooooh yes please do! Dipping bread in the leftover juice? Genius!

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    2. Okay we are 1 week in and we couldn't take it anymore. We opened the smaller jar and OH MY WORD! They were so amazing. I have never had pickled eggs that were that perfect balance of pickled but spicy and sweet! LOVE IT! Do you think this recipe would work well for Dilly Beans? Next weekend we will be making a double batch of these eggs!

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    3. I'm so glad you like them!! I've never tried Dilly Beans but I can't imagine that they wouldn't taste delicious. If you try that, let me know! I'd love to make some and do a post about it!

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  17. Used your recipe today, but instead of 2 cups white vinegar, I used 1 cup white and 1 cup apple cider vinegar. hope it turns out ok. I also used quail eggs, I like those better than chicken eggs. :) I will let you know how it turns out 3 weeks from now.

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    1. That all sounds delicious! Can't wait to hear what you think! :)

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  18. what size jar and how many eggs does this recipe do? Thank you

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    1. I use 1 dozen eggs and the jar I use is probably about 1 gallon.

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  19. I am going to add vegetables to mine. suggestions on how to make more liquid do I just add water or more vinegar? Suggestions please. Thank you

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    1. I usually just add more vinegar because I like mine tart.

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  20. Ive read every recipe there is and also this one And I want to know how to make the eggs spicy hot. These really ain't hot either.. I give up. I've put a pound of habaneros boiled and hotter then hell and pour them in my pickled eggs and waited 3 weeks and they still didn't have no heat in them worth a crap... I want to know how to make pickled eggs HOT PEOPLE... Guess theres no way to really do it cause Ive read 100's of recipe's and the eggs barely have heat in them....

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    1. I've seen a recipe that uses jars of jalapenos and habaneros instead of fresh ones and includes the juice from the jars. Maybe try that with a lot of hot sauce.

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    2. Also, there's a comment above that says waiting 4 months gives them a real kick. Maybe you could try that. Good luck! Let us know if you find a way to make them extra hot!

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    3. You can use Ghost peppers...and don't use sugar as that deletes the hotness you wanted.

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  21. I am not a cook. So there is a lot I don't know about this sort of thing. But when I hard boil eggs, I just put them in a sauce pan, cover with water and boil for ten min.s. Then run cold water over them till they are cool enough to hold and peel. It has always worked for me. It seems to me you could boil them for an hour if you wanted. I mean, they are either hard boiled, or they are not. So why would you need an egg timer?

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    1. It's a good tool for soft or medium boiling eggs. It's not necessary for hard boiling but I use it because I have it and it's just nice to know exactly when the eggs are done so I don't have to leave the stove on for longer than necessary.

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    2. If you boil past "hard boiled" time the outside of the cooked yolk will turn green (? oxidation) can change the wonderful flavor and texture if over cooked. In regard to the hard peeling of boiled Ultra Fresh Eggs, I still use my own farm fresh but I process 6 dozen to pickle each time so I set aside 6 dozen for 2-3 weeks on the bottom shelf of my cool storage pantry which is in my garage. By then the inner membrane has separated nicely so peeling is much easier. If I was only doing a dozen or two I'd store on a middle shelf in my fridge.

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  22. 1 month in and no spice to them at all. Mainly sweet tasting. I think I'd go without the sugar next time around and that may help.

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    1. Yes, personally I like the amount of heat I get from these but maybe that + adding more habaneros and jalapenos will make them hot enough for you.

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  23. I make these for my bar and can't keep them on the shelves!!! We make them 10 dozen at a time. You gotta try them.

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    1. That's awesome! What bar? I'd love to see photos!

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  24. Have you ever used this recipe for Dilly Beans? This is our favorite recipe so far with eggs and wondered if it would be equally amazing for canned Dilly Beans! Thoughts?

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    1. I actually had never heard of Dilly Beans until I posted this recipe and someone in a previous comment asked me the same question. I haven't tried it but now I'm curious. I'm going to try to make them soon. Let me know if you try them as well!

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  25. Made these today. They look incredible in the jar! How ever am I going to be able to wait? I did cut the sugar way down and used sliced carrots instead. Thank you so much for this recipe.

    LJ

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    1. Adding carrots is a great idea. I'm going to do that next time! :)

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  26. Do you need to peel the eggs? I remember a science experiment where you put a hard boiled egg in vinegar and in a day or two the shell had completely dissolved.

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    1. I always peel mine. I think that letting the shell soak in vinegar causes the egg to be rubbery.

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  27. Alright I did it! Spicy Dilly beans in the works. I will let you know how they turn out in a couple weeks!

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  28. Thank you for sharing this recipe. I've made these twice now and I'm about to make my third batch. The balance of flavour is perfect for me and my partner we love them. The only adjustment I made was to use cider vinegar, mainly because thats what I had in at the time, and I left out the water and used all vinegar just to make sure there was still the right acidity. Jo

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    1. That sounds good, Jo! I'm definitely going to try cider vinegar next time. :)

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  29. I used eggs that were too fresh and they peeled horribly. Is it OK to go ahead and use them as long as I keep them refrigerated and don't can them?

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    1. I think they should be fine. They might look a little weird but they should still taste good! I'd keep an eye on them though because they might start to break apart if they have cracks.

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  30. To make them hotter (and I believe this works) you need to BOIL the peppers without the stem but yet whole for 5-10 minutes then rinse them off before doing anything else with them. Something about the acid from the pepper skins neutralize the scollville factor????

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  31. Best way to hard boil eggs: put them in a saucepan, cover with cold water, bring to the boil, remove from heat, cover with lid, wait 15 minutes. They cook evenly and peel easily.

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    1. Yes! This is an old post and I've started doing it like that actually. It works perfectly!

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  32. I could not find pickling spices, so fudged that aspect of the recipe, which is primarily just most of the other required ingredients anyway... However, these were the most awesome pickled eggs I have ever eaten!! I will perhaps add some beet juice (or something) next time to impart a more appealing color. As has been stated, even with an over-abundance of jalapeno and habanero, these are not especially spicy, at least not after 10 days. A little zip, that's all. Next batch will have to be 2 or 3 dozen!! Thank you for this fabulous recipe!!

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    1. I'm glad you like them! My most recent batch definitely had a kick but I left them for almost a month. That amount of time does the trick. :)

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  33. Not sure how many dozen I need to make at once to stand any chance at all of having any left in a month :-)

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  34. Get a toothpick and poke a couple of holes in your hardboiled eggs to the yoke if you want that "Heat" to be through the whole egg.

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    1. May want to look into botulism issues before poking holes in the eggs. I have read that in order to be as safe as possible, the peeled eggs should be free of holes, punctures, or nicks. Mine often have little nicks from peeling and I don't worry about them, but I definitely won't be poking holes all the way through mine.

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    2. Good tip. Just googled that. You're right, that's kinda scary.

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  35. Didn't mean to scare anyone, but it is worth knowing about. It seems very rare, so I definitely won't be doing anything like poking holes that could increase the chances.

    By the way, your recipe looks awesome and I am really looking forward to trying it! So far I have made only the beet type of pickled eggs.

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    1. No, that's definitely something worth knowing. I love purple pickled eggs too! Hope you enjoy the recipe!

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  36. Why cinnamon stick???

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    1. It was in the original recipe I found so I kept it in. I suppose it adds a different depth of flavor. Regular cinnamon could probably also be used.

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  37. When I made this there was only about half the necessary liquid to cover all the eggs. Any idea what might have gone wrong?

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    1. Hmmm I'm not sure but you could always add more vinegar and/or water at the end. It's a very potent mixture so adding more of either of those wouldn't be a problem.

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  38. We made these and they were great! We put in cerranos also, and boy were they spicy! Too much for me, but my husband loves them. Making another batch for our (adult) kids now. Thank you for sharing this recipe!

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  39. I made these been sitting for a month just tried one today they were sweet and no heat. I used Carolina Reaper and jalapeƱos. The red bell and onions are spicy but not the eggs. Oh well I still like them

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    1. I'm glad you still like them. I'm surprised that the eggs aren't spicy and I'm not sure why. Mine are always incredibly spicy, especially the longer I let them soak.

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  40. Just stumbled across this. I made them a few nights ago and can't wait to try! So I have found the easiest way to do a perfect easy to peel hard boiled egg is to get a seamer double-pan. Get the water boiling and the add the steaming section with the eggs. Steam them for 15 minutes then submerge in ice water to cool.

    They are perfect and the shells almost fall off

    Also to address a concern above. I doubt very highly that botulism could survive the steam/boil and then the Ph of the broth

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  41. This might be a stupid question.. But I've never made these before... How long are they good for? Would it be safe to throw beets in for color? I really want to try and make these(maybe for gifts if they turn out), but I'm terrified I will end up making someone sick lol!

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    1. Hello! I keep mine in the fridge for 3-4 months. :)

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  42. Do you throw out the cinnamon stick or put in a jar with the eggs?

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    1. It's been a while since I've made these and I can't remember but I'd probably leave it out. It might get soggy and break down after a while.

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  43. From JC:

    I made these pickled eggs, and after three weeks, I found them to be quite tasty. I made a milder version though, using Serrano peppers because the local store was out of Habeneros. I also changed the cinnamon stick to cinnamon powder, as buying expensive sticks is not an option when only one will be used and probably the rest will go bad before using again. A nice sweet and hot treat to go with beer or your favorite grilled foods.

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  44. Question? If i am to double the recipe do i double the veges as well, or just add more vinegar/water to container? Thank you. Have made these in the past w/ added beets and carrots. They were a total hit for my husbands poker night. Delish :)

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    1. Hi there! I'm so glad they were a hit! I would definitely double everything. :)

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  45. I made three batches. Two follow the recipe to the letter. The third has garlic and some beet juice.

    I couldn't resist trying one after only 3 days. The thin part of the egg white was pretty well saturated and it was very spicy. Will that mellow out as they age?

    Also- I used half gallon Mason jars and got 20 eggs per batch...so a grand experiment with 60 eggs. I have high hopes.

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  46. Has anyone tried to make these without the sugar? I assume the sugar is to temper the heat from the peppers? If I omitted the sugar and halved the peppers, would that keep the flavor of the recipie or throw it off???

    Thanks

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    1. Hi there! I don't think omitting the sugar would make that big of a difference. Cutting the amount of peppers in half might be a good idea. Also, the longer the eggs set, the spicier they will become.

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  47. I use a similar recipe... I like mine hot, so I run a toothpick through each egg a few times to help the juices get to the middle. I also use Jalapenos, Habaneros, Japones, Garlic, Onion, Dill, Mustard seed, Crushed Red Pepper, Cayenne, and several squirts of Daves Ultimate Insanity sauce. When the brine is steeping, the family basically clears the house because everyone says their nostrils are burning, but to me, it just smells great.

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    1. Sounds delicious! I'm going to look for Dave's Ultimate Insanity sauce and give it a try!

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