I spent hours and hours of my misspent youth contemplating the five-gallon jars of red pickled eggs they sell in bars. In all that time I never saw anyone open one of those jars, much less take out an egg and eat it. I've talked to friends and no one admits to having eaten a red pickled egg from a bar, although there are urban legends about ancient times when a laborer might come in and have one for lunch. But I am unable to verify or confirm such reports. The jar sat there, a decorative element like the neon beer signs.
Slim Jims people eat, beef jerky people certainly eat, but red pickled eggs--no. The idea of an egg sitting in brine getting more and more rubbery with each passing year is just repulsive enough to dissuade even the heartiest of he-men to decline the persistent offer of the ubiquitous five-gallon jar.
"So why," you ask me, "are you presenting a recipe for an item that no one eats." I reply with the standard cliched response: "Good question!"
But before I go on, ignoring your question, let me ask you a few things to make sure I can meet your dining needs:
- "Are you a survivalist putting together a stock of
prepared food to last you through the next millenium?"
- "Do you live in one of the remote areas to which
rural electrification has not yet reached so that you
lack refrigeration
and have to preserve all your edibles?"
- "Are you now or have you ever thought about entering
a preserved food competition at a state or county fair?"
If your answer to any of the above questions is "Yes," I can't help you. You're going to have to seek a different kind of help than that which a simple recipe can provide. If your answer is "No," then here's how to make good pickled eggs, the kind you can actually eat and enjoy instead of just admiring as a tavern point-of-purchase display. Since you are going to keep the eggs in the refrigerator you don't need to use ingredients that will make the eggs rubbery such as salt or sugar or a whole lot of vinegar.
- 1) Boil a dozen eggs for 12 minutes, peel them and
put them in a jar with a lid.
- 2) Pour in one can of red beets with juice
- 3) Seal and let it sit for at least a day in the
refrigerator.
To hard-boil eggs: boil them in water for 12 minutes. If you put salt in the water it will help the shell come free from the egg. Some people will tell you to use small eggs, but the medium-sized are much cheaper than other sizes.