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Pickled eggs are the easiest way to turn a spring egg surplus into months of tangy, protein-packed snacks — no canning, no special equipment, just a jar and a flavorful brine.
These four variations cover the full flavor spectrum: beet pickled eggs (deep magenta, sweet and warm), dill pickled eggs (the old-school classic), bread and butter pickled eggs (sweet, golden, and bright), and spicy jalapeño pickled eggs (a real kick). All four use the same simple refrigerator method: pour a flavored brine over peeled hard-boiled eggs, refrigerate for at least 24 hours, and enjoy for up to 3–4 months.
Table of Contents
- What Are Pickled Eggs?
- What Do Pickled Eggs Taste Like?
- Why Make Pickled Eggs?
- Ingredients You’ll Need
- How to Make Pickled Eggs (The Method)
- Step by Step Instructions
- The Easy-Peel Steam Trick
- Substitutions and Variations
- How to Use Pickled Eggs
- Storage and Shelf Life
- Can You Can Pickled Eggs? (No — Here’s Why)
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Ways to Preserve Eggs
- Pickled Eggs Recipe
- Pickling Recipes
I’ll admit I was a skeptic. Pickled eggs sounded like dive-bar food to me — until I tried one at a craft beer bar in Vermont, served on a plate with a drizzle of olive oil and a tuft of microgreens. The bartender clearly took them seriously, and one bite explained why. Where a hard-boiled egg is bland and forgettable, a pickled egg is alive — vinegar tang, salt that seasons the egg from the outside in, a touch of sweetness, and whatever spice or aromatic you’ve layered into the brine.
Ten years later, I make them every spring when our backyard flock goes into overdrive and we have more eggs than we know what to do with. Pickled eggs are the easiest way to put a serious dent in an egg surplus, and the four variations below cover the full flavor spectrum from sweet to spicy.
What Are Pickled Eggs?
Pickled eggs are hard-boiled eggs that have been peeled and submerged in a vinegar-based brine, where they sit in the refrigerator absorbing flavor for at least 24 hours (and ideally 1–2 weeks) before eating. The vinegar penetrates the egg slowly, transforming the bland white into something tangy and bright; salt seasons it; sugar balances the sour; and herbs, spices, beet juice, or jalapeños layer in whatever character you want.
They’re a classic homestead and farmhouse preservation method, traditionally used in spring when chickens lay more eggs than the family can eat. They keep 3–4 months in the refrigerator, which is enough to bridge a spring egg glut into late summer.
What Do Pickled Eggs Taste Like?
Tangy, salty, slightly sweet, with whatever flavor you’ve built into the brine. The texture stays firm but takes on a faint pickle-crisp quality on the outside; the inside stays creamy. They’re a perfect protein snack on their own, and excellent sliced into salads, served on charcuterie boards, or tucked into deviled-egg-style appetizers.
The four recipes below give you a wide flavor spectrum: beet (sweet, earthy, warm-spiced), bread and butter (golden, sweet-tart with mustard seeds), dill (familiar pickle flavor, the family favorite), and jalapeño (genuinely spicy, with garlic and bay).
Why Make Pickled Eggs?
A few good reasons:
- They solve the spring egg problem. A laying flock peaks in late spring and early summer — far more eggs than most families can use fresh. Pickling 2–3 dozen at a time gives you weeks of snacks from what would otherwise pile up in the fridge. (For the full picture, see our guide to ways to preserve eggs.)
- They’re the easiest preservation project there is. Boil eggs, peel them, pour brine over them. No canning, no fermentation, no specialized equipment. If you can boil water, you can make pickled eggs.
- The flavor pays back the effort enormously. Hard-boiled eggs are utilitarian. Pickled eggs are a treat. Even people who claim not to like pickled eggs (mostly because they’ve only had bad ones) often change their mind after one of these.
- They’re a perfect summer snack. Cold, savory, protein-rich, ready to eat from the jar. Excellent on hot days when you don’t want to cook.
- Great for kids. My daughter loves the dill version, which tastes like a familiar pickle. The brine method is also forgiving enough that kids can help (peeling boiled eggs is excellent fine-motor practice).
This isn’t shelf-stable preservation — pickled eggs cannot be safely canned (more on that below). But for refrigerator storage, they keep months and only get better as the flavors develop.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Each of the four recipes below uses a slightly different combination, but the foundation is the same. See the recipe card for exact quantities for each variation.
The base for every pickled egg:
- Hard-boiled eggs — peeled, ideally steamed rather than boiled (see method below for the easy-peel trick)
- White vinegar — the preservative backbone and source of pickle tang. 5% acidity standard distilled white works perfectly.
- Water or beet juice — to dilute the vinegar to your preferred intensity (some recipes are all vinegar, others 1:1)
- Salt — flavor and food safety. Kosher or canning salt; avoid iodized.
- Sugar — balances the vinegar’s sharpness. Even savory pickled eggs benefit from a touch.
The flavor builders (vary by recipe):
- Aromatics — onion, garlic, fresh dill, jalapeño
- Whole spices — mustard seeds, celery seed, coriander seed, dill seed, bay leaves, allspice berries, whole cloves, cinnamon stick
- Ground spices — turmeric (for color)
- Beet juice or cooking water — for beet pickled eggs; gives the magenta color and earthy sweetness
How to Make Pickled Eggs (The Method)
The method is identical across all four recipes, and active time is about 30 minutes. The hard part is waiting — at least 24 hours, ideally 1–2 weeks, before the flavors fully develop.
Step by Step Instructions
- Steam the eggs for 12 minutes over an inch of boiling water, then transfer to an ice bath until cold. Steaming (instead of boiling) is the single best trick for easy-peel eggs, especially with farm-fresh ones.
- Peel the cooled eggs under cool running water for easiest removal. Pack 9–10 peeled eggs into each wide-mouth quart mason jar — don’t overpack, or the brine can’t circulate.
- Make the brine: heat vinegar, water (or beet juice), salt, and sugar in a small saucepan until the salt and sugar dissolve. Add whole spices and aromatics to the jar, then pour the warm brine over the eggs to ¼ inch from the rim, making sure all eggs are submerged.
- Cap with a plastic lid (vinegar will corrode metal canning lids), allow to cool slightly, then refrigerate. Wait at least 24 hours before eating, ideally 1–2 weeks for full flavor. Pickled eggs keep 3–4 months refrigerated.
The Easy-Peel Steam Trick
The hardest part of pickled eggs is peeling. After trying every folk technique (older eggs, ice baths, baking soda, vinegar in the water), the only method that consistently works — even with farm-fresh eggs — is steaming instead of boiling.
Bring 1 inch of water to a hard boil in a stockpot. Place a steamer basket holding the eggs over the boiling water (the water shouldn’t touch the eggs). Cover, and steam for 12 minutes for fully cooked yolks ideal for pickling. Transfer immediately to an ice bath until cold.
The shells slip off cleanly. For large batches, stack stainless steel steamer baskets three levels high in a stockpot and steam several dozen eggs at once.
(Don’t toss the shells — save them for eggshell powder, an excellent calcium supplement for your garden or even your chickens.)
Substitutions and Variations
This recipe family is famously flexible. Here’s what works:
Vinegar: White vinegar is the standard — neutral, clear, and lets the spices lead. Apple cider vinegar works too and adds a fruity note (try it with the beet or jalapeño version). Rice wine vinegar gives a milder tang. Distilled white is the most economical and cleanest-tasting. Don’t go below 5% acidity — pickled eggs depend on vinegar strength for both flavor and food safety.
Sugar: Brown sugar, honey, or maple syrup all work in place of white sugar. Maple syrup is particularly good in the bread and butter version (use homemade maple syrup if you have it).
Salt: Kosher salt and canning salt both work. Avoid table salt with iodine and anti-caking agents — they can cloud the brine.
Spice substitutions: The 4 base recipes are starting points, not gospel. Pre-mixed pickling spice can replace the individual whole spices (1–2 Tbsp per quart). Add hot sauce instead of jalapeño for the spicy version. Add fresh tarragon, thyme, or rosemary if dill isn’t your thing. Smoked paprika is excellent in the jalapeño version. And if you love the dill version, the same flavor profile shines in our classic dill pickle canning recipe for cucumbers.
Brine ratios: The recipes range from all-vinegar (bread and butter) to 1:1 vinegar:water (dill). Don’t go below 50% vinegar — pickled eggs need that much acidity to stay safe in the refrigerator. Above 50% is just personal preference for tang intensity.
Adding sliced beets to the jar for beet pickled eggs is delicious and gives you a bonus pickle (the beets pickle right alongside the eggs). If you have a stash of canned beets already, that brine is the perfect starting point — just drain and use the liquid.
Pre-mixed pickling spice can replace the individual whole spices in any recipe — use 1–2 Tbsp per quart. I prefer making my own blends because store-bought pickling spice tends to sit on shelves all year and lose potency.
How to Use Pickled Eggs
A quart jar of pickled eggs is its own answer to “what’s for snack” most days, but here’s how I actually work them into meals:
As a snack. Whole, halved, or sliced. Sprinkle with cracked black pepper or a tiny drizzle of olive oil. The single best thing to put on a charcuterie board.
On salads. Sliced pickled eggs are exceptional on a green salad with sharp dressing. Beet pickled eggs in particular look stunning on a goat cheese salad. Try them on a Cobb salad in place of the regular hard-boiled egg.
Deviled. Mash the yolks of pickled eggs with mayo, mustard, and a touch of the pickling brine for the best deviled eggs of your life. Beet pickled deviled eggs are showstoppers at potlucks.
With breakfast. A halved pickled egg next to scrambled eggs and bacon is a classic farmhouse breakfast. Sounds redundant; works brilliantly.
On grain bowls. Slice over a rice or farro bowl with greens, avocado, and seeds. The vinegar tang ties everything together. The spicy jalapeño version pairs beautifully with pickled jalapeños for a double-pickle grain bowl.
Storage and Shelf Life
Pickled eggs keep 3–4 months in the refrigerator when stored submerged in their brine. The vinegar acidity and salt prevent spoilage; the cold temperature handles the rest.
A few storage rules:
- When in doubt, throw it out. The signs of pickled eggs going bad are obvious (off smell, cloudy slimy brine, soft eggs). At the first hint, toss the whole jar.
- Always keep refrigerated. Pickled eggs are not shelf-stable. See the canning section below.
- Keep eggs submerged. If they bob to the top, push them down with a clean fork or add more brine.
- Use a plastic lid, not a metal canning lid. The vinegar corrodes metal over time, which can affect both flavor and the seal. The Ball brand grey plastic storage lids are excellent for this.
- Date the jars. Three months is a long time, and you may forget when you made them. A piece of masking tape and a sharpie solves it.
Can You Can Pickled Eggs? (No — Here’s Why)
This is one of the most-searched questions about pickled eggs, and the answer is genuinely important: do not can pickled eggs at home. There is no safe tested method.
The reason isn’t that the brine is too weak or the salt is too low. It’s that eggs are too dense for vinegar to fully penetrate. Sources recommend 2 weeks (small eggs) to 4 weeks (large eggs) of refrigerator pickling for the brine to fully acidify the egg. Even after that, the very center may stay above the safe acidity threshold that home canning requires.
Water bath canning works for cucumber pickles because cucumber tissue is loose and porous — vinegar floods through it during the canning process. Eggs are nothing like cucumbers. The dense, protein-rich center creates exactly the kind of low-acid environment that makes canned eggs unsafe for shelf storage.
There’s at least one documented CDC case of foodborne illness from pickled eggs, though the eggs in that case weren’t even canned — they had been left at room temperature too long. University extensions in the US explicitly warn against canning pickled eggs and note there are no tested safe methods.
The pickled eggs you see at gas stations and bars in commercial jars are made with chemical preservatives that home cooks don’t have access to, and the canning process partially re-cooks the eggs and changes the texture anyway.
The good news: the refrigerator method below keeps pickled eggs perfectly safe and delicious for 3–4 months. That’s plenty of time to work through several quart jars before they go bad. If you want a truly shelf-stable egg preservation method for long-term storage, the traditional lime water method keeps raw eggs fresh for 12+ months without refrigeration — a completely different approach to the same problem.
Frequently Asked Questions
At least 24 hours, but the flavor is dramatically better after 1–2 weeks. The vinegar penetrates the egg slowly — at 24 hours, only the outer layer is properly pickled and the center still tastes like a hard-boiled egg. After 2 weeks, the flavor reaches all the way through. Beet pickled eggs in particular need at least a week for the magenta color to fully penetrate.
Three to four months when stored submerged in the brine in a sealed jar in the refrigerator. The high vinegar content and salt prevent spoilage, but the cold temperature is essential — pickled eggs are not shelf-stable and should never be stored at room temperature.
Two likely causes: (1) the eggs were overcooked before pickling (steam for 12 minutes, no longer), or (2) the brine has too much vinegar without enough water to balance it. Highly acidic brines (above 75% vinegar) will firm up the egg whites significantly over weeks of pickling. If you want softer pickled eggs, use a 1:1 vinegar:water ratio.
Once, with caveats. The first batch of eggs absorbs salt and acidity from the brine, so the second batch will be milder. Refresh the brine with an extra splash of vinegar and a teaspoon each of salt and sugar before using it for a second batch. Don’t reuse a brine more than once, and never reuse brine that’s gone cloudy or smells off.
Yes — and they’re spectacular. See our dedicated recipe for pickled quail eggs. Quail eggs are smaller, so they pickle through more quickly (3–5 days for full flavor) and they’re an absolute showstopper on a charcuterie board.
Ways to Preserve Eggs
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Pickled Eggs
Equipment
- Plastic Mason Jar Lid (Wide Mouth) Ball's Leak Proof Storage Lids work great
- Stockpot for steaming eggs
- Steamer Basket for steaming eggs
- Small Saucepan for cooking brine
Ingredients
Beet Pickled Eggs
- 9-10 whole hard-boiled eggs, peeled
- 1 cup white vinegar
- 1 cup beet juice, or beet cooking water
- 1/2 small onion
- 2 Tbsp. sugar
- 2 Tbsp. salt
- 6-8 whole cloves
- 4-5 whole allspice berries
- 1 whole cinnamon stick
Bread and Butter Pickled Eggs
- 9-10 whole hard-boiled eggs, peeled
- 2 cups white vinegar
- 1/2 small onion, sliced
- 3-4 cloves garlic
- 2 Tbsp. salt
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- 1 tsp celery seed
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
Dill Pickled Eggs
- 9-10 whole hard-boiled eggs, peeled
- 1 cup white vinegar
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 small onion, sliced
- 3-4 cloves garlic
- 2 Tbsp. sugar
- 2 Tbsp. salt
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- 1 tsp celery seed
- 1 tsp coriander seed
- 1 tsp dill seed
- 2 Small Fresh dill sprigs, if available
Spicy Jalapeño Pickled Eggs
- 9-10 whole hard-boiled eggs, peeled
- 1 1/2 cups white vinegar
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 Tbsp. salt
- 1 Tbsp. sugar
- 1 or 2 medium Jalapeños, sliced
- 1/2 small onion, sliced
- 3-4 cloves garlic
- 2-4 whole bay leaves
- 1 tsp coriander seeds
- 3-4 whole cloves
- 3-4 whole allspice berries
Instructions
- Choose Variation: This recipe makes four different variations. Choose your recipe from above before you start. All four types have the same instructions.
- Steam the eggs: Bring 1 inch of water to a boil in a stockpot. Place eggs in a steamer basket above the water (water should not touch the eggs). Cover and steam for 12 minutes. Transfer immediately to an ice bath until cold.
- Peel the eggs: Tap and roll on a counter to crack the shell, then peel under cool running water for easiest removal.
- Jar Eggs: Pack into wide-mouth quart jars. 9–10 eggs per quart. Don't overpack.
- Make the brine: In a small saucepan, combine the liquids (vinegar plus water or beet juice), salt, and sugar. Heat gently over medium until salt and sugar dissolve completely. Remove from heat.
- Season: Add aromatics and spices directly to the jar with the eggs (sliced onion, garlic, jalapeño, whole spices, dill, etc.).
- Add Brine: Pour the warm brine over the eggs, leaving ¼ inch headspace. Make sure all eggs are submerged.
- Lid Jars: Cap with a plastic lid (not a metal canning lid). Allow to cool slightly, then refrigerate.
- Pickling Time: Wait at least 24 hours before eating. For best flavor, wait 1–2 weeks. Flavors continue to develop for up to a month.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Pickling Recipes
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More Ways to Preserve Eggs
If you have a backyard flock and a spring egg surplus, there are more ways to preserve them than you might think:
- Salt Cured Egg Yolks — the intense, savory finishing ingredient that fancy restaurants charge $4 for and that you can make at home with two ingredients and a week of patience
- Pickled Quail Eggs — the same brilliant brines, in tiny showstopping form; perfect for charcuterie boards and dinner-party deviled eggs
- Preserving Eggs in Lime Water — the old-world water glass method that keeps fresh eggs for 12+ months at room temperature, no refrigeration
- Ways to Preserve Eggs — the master roundup, with every method we’ve tested
More Pickle Recipes
Once you have the pickling bug, the rabbit hole goes deep:
- Dill Pickle Canning Recipe — crisp, garlicky water-bath pickles that beat anything from the grocery store
- Pickled Garlic Recipe — turns sharp raw garlic into a mellow, snackable condiment
- Pickled Jalapeños — the natural pairing for spicy pickled eggs
- Pickled Garlic Scapes — a spring foraging-the-garden treat
- Lacto-Fermented Pickles — the unpasteurized, probiotic version
Hey, when looking to pickle eggs a couple years ago, I happened upon your excellent primer. Am so glad I decided to go with your directions/recipes. Had great success from the get-go, starting with your egg steaming tips. Thanks so much for all the good details!
You are quite welcome! I’m so glad it’s helpful to you =)
How long is the average storage of Pickled eggs or does it vary per kind you make? Also can you use apple cider vinegar for those with Gluten allergies. Because white vinegar is usually made with wheat start.
Diane
You can definitely use apple cider vinegar although you may have to adjust the recipe for flavor. They should last about 3 to 4 months in the fridge.
I buy jars of pickled beets from the grocery store. Can I just pour that pickled beet juice over the eggs or would I need to add to it. Like more vinegar, salt, & sugar? Your reply will be greatly appreciated.
It’s going to depend somewhat on the pickles you buy, and what they have in them. Most pickled beets should be pretty darn similar to the spices, sugar and salt levels in the beet pickled eggs in this recipe though. I’d think that’d work just fine, without adding anything else. Just be sure to submerge the eggs fully and keep it all refrigerated. Enjoy!
How long do the eggs need to sit in the brine before were able to eat them?
You want them to pickle for a minimum of 24 hours but you will get the best flavor after a week or two.
I make jalapeno pickled eggs for my husband. He complained that the inside of the egg didn’t have any flavor. So, I started pricking the eggs with a fork a few times before I put it in the jar so the brine can get inside a little bit. My husband loves it. Has not complained about the texture at all, although I have noticed the liquid getting cloudy. I also reuse the liquid a few times before I start over from scratch. He goes through the eggs so fast. I make 2-3 batches in a month.
I also just made some of the pickled beet eggs for the first time. I couldn’t find any organic beet juice (all sold out), but I did get some organic beets and just cut them into slices and stuck in the jar with the eggs and a few jalapenos. It colored the water throughout. So pretty! 🙂 My husband actually liked the beet-flavored eggs and he said the beet slices were good too. I put them in raw hoping they would pickle along with the eggs. It all turned out well, and he said he would eat them again. I might try the turmeric next.
Is it really 2 tablespoons of salt, and not 2 teaspoons? I just used 1 since it seemed a bit much, and it tastes like salt water! haha
Yes, the brine is quite salty, and it does call for 2 tablespoons of salt. It takes quite a bit to really infuse and penetrate all the way through the eggs for an even flavor. You can definitely use less if that’s your preference, this is just a rough guideline, but after a few weeks when they’re pickled the salt really does even out in the eggs and they are “salty” like pickles but not really over the top salty. When you start though, the brine should in fact taste like salt water, as that’s what it is more or less.
Hello from Finland! I couldn’t find any information on this, so I’ll try to ask here. So my question is, can I re-use the lids to make another batch of pickled eggs, or do I have to discard them after just one use? I’m not using the exact same Ball 1 quart mason jars since they aren’t really available here in Finland, instead I’m planning to use similar Bormioli Quattro 1 litre jars. Although that probably doesn’t make any difference.
You can definitely reuse your lids for this. It is generally not recommended to reuse lids when canning foods but since these aren’t being canned, it’s totally fine. I reuse my lids for storage all the time as long as I am not canning in them because you’re not sealing it, you’re just using it like a regular lid.
Hi Ashley!
I just finished jarring up a batch of beet and a batch of bread and butter. I would like to tag you on Instagram. Do you have an account I can reference? I will be putting up a batch of each of the dill and the jalapeno in a couple of days. (Thank you chickens!) I can’t wait to taste them all! Thank you for sharing your recipes.
Penny
Those sound great. You can tag @practicalselfreliance
Hello! I would love to try to make pickled eggs, therefore would like to know, what sort of vinegar do you use in your rrecipe- how strong in persentage? In my country mostly used is 30 % vinegar acid.
You would use a standard household vinegar which has a 5% acidity level. Vinegar with 30% acidity is an upper limit industrial vinegar which absolutely should not be consumed. The only use that the general public would have for this would be as a weed killer. Even then you want to be very careful to not breathe any of it in and use hand and eye protection.
I believe botulinum are an anaerobic bacteria, meaning they thrive in the absence of oxygen (sealed up, and especially low acid, high protein). Research it for yourself to be sure tho…
You say the eggs are good 3-4 months in the refrigerator; is that a refrigerate after opening concept, or are you to refrigerate after they cool? Or can you keep the on the shelf after processing? If so, how long? Sorry of these are dumb questions, I am new to this. Thanks you in advance for any advice.
These must be kept in the refrigerator and cannot be kept on the pantry shelf. They should be made and then go right into the fridge, as pickled eggs are sadly not shelf stable. Once in the fridge, you can remove a few eggs a day to eat and they’ll stay good in there for months even once opened provided you don’t contaminate the jar with anything. Just use a clean spoon/fork to take out eggs when you need them. Enjoy!
At 64 and a ‘tavern guy’ from the time I was 18 (legal age was 18 back then), I’ve had my share of ‘bar eggs’.
I tried my hand at making my own at the ‘ripe old age’ of 20(ish) and never looked back.
This is what I’ve learned over the decades….
1) Botulinum toxin needs oxygen. As long as your food is COMPLETELY covered in brine, the nasty bugs that make you sick CAN’T reproduce and you can safely consume anything from eggs to veggies and even meat! (think bar sausage) I leave my eggs on the counter at room temperature and have NEVER had a problem. 2) A mixture of vinegar, salt, sugar, pepper corns, ‘Sichuan’ pepper corns, fresh garlic & jalapeno peppers is my favorite combination. 3) Don’t stop with eggs! Learn all you can about ‘Lactic acid fermentation’, and in no time at all you’ll be making your own garlic dill pickles, cauliflower, asparagus, etc. (Kombucha is made this same way and it’s really easy!)
Anyway… Just my two cents. Thanks for the page 😉
Thanks for your input. I am so glad that you have been able to keep your eggs on the counter and not have a problem but we have to follow the recommended guidelines for safe canning.
Hi Russel, I read your comment and I bet you have some great recipes after decades of experience 😊 I do want to refute your statement about botulism though, for you or anyone else who might read it; Botulism is actually a bacteria that thrives in anaerobic conditions, meaning the absence of oxygen. That is why it is a safety concern with canning, because the canning process removes the oxygen from the jar in order to prevent other micro-organisms from spoiling the food – safe canning guidelines have been developed to reduce the risk of botulism by testing what methods are able to prevent the growth of botulism spores in different foods, if they are present. Botulism might be rare but no one wants to be like that poor lady who killed herself, most of her family and a bunch of other people at a dinner party with her home canned peas – which I’m sure she had canned and ate just the same way for years with no previous problems.
First off, great post on making pickled eggs. We started a flock of 15 chickens last July, and they are now laying a dozen a day. I decided to try pickling the surplus. I have to add my two cents on the science of peeling. The NYT guy said age of eggs is not a factor, but he’s wrong. I am using your steaming method. It works like a charm IF the eggs are a few days old (4 das, maybe). If they are, that membrane just under the shell separates smoothly from the egg white, and you end up with an unblemished egg. But, if the eggs are only a day or two old, that membrane clings to the egg white, tearing it when you peel off the shell. Another note, I find a dozen eggs fits comfortably in a quart-sized Mason jar. Thanks again for your website articles! JR
So glad you enjoyed the article. Thanks so much for sharing.
This was my experience as well. We have chickens and it makes a difference how fresh the egg is. The method is secondary. Except… If you have an Insta pot. I put day-old eggs in my Insta pot, cooked on high manually for five minutes, let sit for five minutes, then release pressure. Gorgeous eggs to peel every time. I think it is a combination of the steaming and the pressure cooking.
I would really like to see your documentations of where people have DIED from eating home canned eggs.
My family has canned eggs and all kinds of other things for 5 generations, and have never had any issues.
The amish can eggs and sell them. And no they don’t use any chemicals or preservation agents other than vinegar, salt and sugar.
We always recommend following guidelines for safe canning procedures to avoid causing someone to get sick. The National Center for Home Food Preservation states that there are no home canning directions for pickled eggs and that there are cases where home pickled eggs stored at room temperature have caused botulism. This simply is not a risk that is worth taking in my opinion.
These all look like great recipes, but when I’m feeling particularly lazy, I’ll throw some hardboiled eggs in a jar and fill it up with straight Worcestershire sauce. No need to get the expensive stuff for this application, the stuff from a dollar store works just fine.
After a soak in the dark stuff for a day, the eggs take on a lovely mahogany hue and a deliciously savory flavor.
Wow, that sounds amazing!
Thank you so much for sharing your experience and knowledge
You ARE the egg maam
Goo goo g’joob
You’re welcome. So glad you enjoyed the post.
Just wanted to compliment you on this article. I have been looking at pickled egg recipes now for several weeks and had questions about the amount of salt or sugar used as well as the ratio between vinegar and water. Your article answered all of my questions and has brought everything together for me. I now have confidence on using and tweaking a recipe to my taste. I’ll start tonight. Thank you!!
Awesome! I’m so glad =)
Can I run a toothpick through the egg so the brine goes into the egg?
I haven’t tried it, but I’ve read it can be done with good results.
In the link you provided on why it is unwise to can pickled eggs, it was regarding a batch of home-made pickled eggs that had developed Botulism. It is suggested that the pricking of the egg is what likely introduced the bacteria which was then provided good growth conditions by poor storage and handling. The safe conclusion would be to not pick the eggs or make certain your instrument is clean i.e. sterilized stainless steel.
If you read the article on this page regarding the man who was ill (he lived) from eating pickled eggs (it doesn’t mention they were canned, just pickled.) They discuss a few reasons the bacteria was in the yoke and one reason they state is because he poked the eggs with a toothpick. It is believed that poking the egg is what allowed the bacteria spores to enter the yoke since the bacteria was only found in the yoke. He also allowed the eggs to sit in sunlight for a time which would have caused the bacteria to grow and they were unaware of how sterile his environment and utensils were. It might be perfectly fine, but I wanted to make you aware of what the article said.
If you still have too many eggs after preserving and pickling you can give the rest to agencies who feed the homeless or needy.
Yes, it is always good to help those in need.
I have just finished a jar of dill pickles w/all the vinegar still intact. Can I add eggs to this jar.
Hi there. Yes, can reuse your pickle juice.