This may be one of those recipes that throws you off at first glance. If you’ve never had em, and you’re first emotion is fear when reading “pickled eggs” just trust me for a few minutes, I promise this won’t be a waste of your time.
I grew up eating these glorious jewel-toned beauties. My grandmother would make them every Christmas and she would make enough that I would be eating them out of a massive jar stashed in the fridge for days afterward. I had always just assumed she had a top secret, complex and lengthy recipe which is why I only got them once a year, but more recently, I’ve learned it’s actually a pretty simple recipe. It’s just that my mom probably didn’t want me making pickled eggs year round due to the complications that may ensue with a kid and some highly pigmented, deep-red beet juice.
The whole recipe is mainly just some boiled eggs, vinegar, beets and onion. They’re slightly sweet, a little bit sour and very delectable. And, if you’re still freaked out just keep in mind that these aren’t fermented at all, just pickled in the sense that they’re chilling in some vinegar for a day or two.
Nowadays I make them pretty much whenever I have a craving for them, not just for the holidays. I would also like to add they’re quite a good side dish to any summer bbq and they pair great with my Dad’s ribs and Mom’s potato salad.
my mom probably didn’t want me making pickled eggs year round due to the complications that may ensue with a kid and some highly pigmented, deep-red beet juice.
You can choose your own adventure here. Either make the pickled beets yourself, which is the lovely yellow version you’ll see, or buy some pre-made pickled beets and save yourself the time. I generally do.
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Pickled Eggs
The way my grandmom made 'em
- Beets – I used one massive one here, 2 medium would work too
- 2 C White Vinegar
- 3/4 C Water
- 2/3 C Sugar
or
- Jar of pickled beets – I like Aunt Nellie’s
- 1 Dozen boiled eggs – boiled to your liking
- 1/2 white onion – finely sliced
- White vinegar – shouldn’t need more than a cup
First up get some eggs boiling. You can cook them however you like, go a little jammy on the inside or get that yolk completely chalky if that’s what you’re into. You’ll want to peel these too and have them ready to go.
The beet part:
If you’re making the pickled beets, you can start by getting your beets covered with cool water, bring to a boil then simmer till tender. Keep checking after the first 20 minutes or so. The massive beet I used took around 40 minutes to cook, but if you’re using smaller beets it’ll be much quicker. You’ll know they’re cooked when you can easily slide a pairing knife into the center without any resistance.
Once the beets are tender, let them cool, remove the skin, and chop into bite size pieces. You can do cubes, wedges, whatever you want.
Then, in a small saucepan combine the vinegar, water and sugar. Bring everything to a simmer making sure the sugar is completely dissolved. Add your beets to a heat proof jar, cover with the warm liquid and let cool completely.
For the egg part:
In a large container, with a tight fitting lid, start layering in your eggs, pickled beets, and sliced white onion. Be sure to reserve any liquid the beets were in, you’ll need it. Once everything is nicely layered in your container, I highly recommend a large mason jar for this, add in the pickling liquid from the beets. Most likely this won’t be enough to completely cover the eggs, so you’ll want to add in some additional white vinegar to top everything off.
Then just let the eggs sit for at least a day to take on the flavor and color from the beets. The longer they sit, the darker they’ll get and they’ll take on more of that pickled beet flavor. That’s it. Eat up!
8 thoughts on Pickled Eggs
I remember them!!! Jay makes them all the time but will try out your recipe next!????
Yum. Brings back memories of family holidays with ham, ribs, burgers, and paired with potato salad. I’m gonna make a batch. ????
I make pickled eggs with beets all the time.
My question is, how long can you keep this combination in the fridge?
My other kinds of pickled eggs… Hot or mustard… I can keep in fridge for up to 6 months
But with the beets, Im afraid the beets will go bad after 3 weeks. I cold be wrong. (Hubby says I can keep longer)
What is your suggestion?
Good question! These generally only last a few days in our fridge, just cause we tend to eat them as soon as they’re ready. But, since they aren’t actually preserved, I don’t think I would recommend storing them for more than about 10 days. 2 weeks might be pushing it…..
I don’t think there is enough acidity to prevent any “bad” bacteria from growing. Plus, the sugar from the beets, constantly going in and out to grab an egg, or two, I would expect them to go bad before that 3 week mark. That’s not to say other pickled egg recipes wouldn’t last longer like the mustard one you had mentioned. (I would love to check the recipe out for that. Not sure if you have a link you can send over?!) If you do keep them for any longer than 2 weeks let me know how they last!!
Before I place the boiled eggs in the jar I make a hole from end to end using a tooth pick. I feel that this helps the pickling liquid flavor the center of the egg.
What a good tip! Gotta try that out for my next batch. Maybe I’ll do half with, half without, and see how much of a difference it makes.
I add cloves and a cinnamon stick when I boil the juice, sugar,vinegar. So yummy. My friend’s mom requests my pickled eggs and beets. She loves them.
Yum! That sounds delicious. My toddler has been requesting them non-stop. I definitely want to try some with the cinnamon and clove now. He’ll love that.