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For many Americans, the presence of a can of pickled eggs on the bar is a sign that you really are in a bar. If you dig deeper, the tradition of this snack goes far, far into the history of Western Europe and was not always associated with drinking establishments. Rum offers to cook pickled eggs according to one of the traditional recipes. Easter is soon!
Who and when invented pickling chicken eggs is not known for certain. It is clear that this appetizer arose out of necessity – a fresh egg has its own shelf life, and at a time when food was stored only in cellars, it was impossible to taste such a delicacy in winter. Presumably pickling eggs in saline and/or vinegar solution was first practiced in Western Europe in the 1700s. Usually this invention is attributed to the British, but everything indicates that the Germans were the first.
In the mid-1800s, pickled eggs were a staple in North American German bars (the so-called Pennsylvania Germans). It was the Germans who migrated to the United States who first noticed the amazing combination of pickled egg and lager. Americans, as often happens, saw this as a financial benefit – a free snack in the form of a boiled egg sobered up and encouraged the visitor to order another glass. So pickled eggs have taken root in many drinking establishments to this day. As it turned out, not only there. In many English-speaking families, eggs are pickled for any occasion, as a tasty and original snack for a light snack. Let’s marinate, Easter is coming soon!
Everything you need to know about pickled eggs
Hard-boiled eggs are peeled and left for some time in a marinade, consisting mainly of vinegar, salt and all kinds of seasonings. The marinade is usually boiled and boiled over low heat for 5-10 minutes, and then boiled eggs are poured over it, still hot. Egg whites tend to be more tender when using a simmering marinade instead of a room temperature solution. Small and medium chicken eggs are best suited, which are much faster soaked in marinade. Fresh eggs are preferred.
There are many ways to boil eggs. How many hostesses, so many opinions. The easiest way is to place the eggs in cold water, bring it to a boil and boil for 3 to 10 minutes, depending on how you want to cook them: soft, bagged or hard boiled. For pickling, hard-boiled eggs are best, which are boiled for 10 minutes (home-made up to 13 minutes). And in order for the eggs to be well cleaned, after cooking they must immediately be placed in cold water, preferably with ice. It is known that fresh eggs peel worse, so it is better to leave them alone for 4-5 days after packaging and only after that try to cook.
There is also a more sophisticated method of boiling very fresh eggs. To do this, make a tiny hole in the “blunt” end of the egg, place the eggs in a small saucepan and fill them with cold water so that it covers them by 2-2,5 cm. The pan must be covered with a lid. Quickly bring the water to a boil on the highest heat, then remove the pan from the heat and, without removing the lid, leave the eggs in boiling water for 15-18 minutes (15 minutes for small eggs, 18 for large ones). Next, the eggs must be quickly placed in ice water for a minute, and then returned to boiling water for 10 seconds! As a result, the shell will crack itself, and a fresh egg can be easily peeled from the “blunt” end.
Be very careful when storing pickled eggs. First of all, they should always be kept in the refrigerator. Storage at room temperature increases the risk of botulinum toxin formation in the snack, which leads to severe poisoning of the body! After placing the eggs in the marinade, they need at least 2 days to absorb the taste of the marinade, but this is usually very short. Small and medium eggs should be served after 1-2 weeks of pickling, large – after 2-4 weeks. Pickled eggs are stored in the refrigerator for a very long time, but it is better to use them within 3-4 months.
American pickled eggs
Delicious pickled eggs with various marinades for all occasions. The best appetizer for a German lager!
Prepare 10 minutes
Cooking 12 minutes
Total 22 minutes
Portions 12 eggs
Ingredients
- 10-12 pcs. chicken eggs
- 250 ml white vinegar
- 250 ml water
- 1 Art. l. sahara
- 2 h. l. spices for marinade
- 1 h. l. salt
Instructions
Hard boil eggs, cool and peel. Place in a sterile liter jar and start preparing the marinade.
For the marinade, combine vinegar, water, sugar, salt and marinade spices in a small saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring frequently, until the sugar dissolves, then cover the pot and simmer for 10 minutes.
Strain the finished marinade through a sieve or gauze (if desired, but more often this is not recommended), and then, while still hot, pour the boiled and peeled eggs in a jar. Close the jar tightly with a sterile lid and let it cool before sending it to the refrigerator for aging.
Before serving, the eggs should be in the marinade for at least 2 days, but it is better to increase this period to 2-3 weeks so that they are completely saturated with the aromas and flavors of the marinade. Serve with salt, pepper, chips, croutons and a good cold lager beer.
Cooking Notes
You can buy a marinade spice mixture at the market in the appropriate department or at the market, but you can (and should) cook it yourself. There are many such mixtures, here is one of them: 1 tsp. black peppercorns, 10 clove buds, 1 bay leaf, 2 small dried chili peppers. It is not necessary to grind spices, but cook in its entirety and do not strain afterwards. Also, at your discretion, you can add a couple of cloves of garlic, 6-8 peas of allspice, 2 tsp to the mixture at your discretion. mustard seeds, 2 tsp. dill seeds, ground ginger, cinnamon stick and any other spices.
Pickled eggs with beets (Great Easter starter): Add 1 peeled, coarsely chopped beetroot and a couple of sprigs of dill to the marinade to make beautiful purple pickled eggs.
Spicy pickled eggs: as spices for pickling, use ¼ tsp. mustard seeds, coriander seeds, cloves, turmeric and 1 star anise to make spicy pickled eggs with a beautiful golden color.
Spicy pickled eggs: add 2-3 chopped hot peppers (chili, habanero, jalapeno), a quarter of onions and 3 tsp to marinated eggs. paprika flakes for color.
Marinated eggs in apple juice: instead of water, take 375 ml of apple juice and 125 ml of white vinegar (preferably apple), add 6 thin onion rings and a clove of garlic.
Marble Chinese pickled eggs with tea
This gourmet snack is also often called tea eggs. Marbled eggs are called because of the pattern resembling a marble web that appears on the surface of a peeled egg cooked according to this recipe. Traditionally, such an appetizer is served cold with a hefty portion of Sichuan pepper. Marbled pickled eggs are a classic Chinese street food.
- 6-8 large chicken eggs
- 1 tsp black Chinese tea or 2 tea bags
- 3 Art. l. soy sauce
- 1 st. l. orange juice
- 1-1,5 tsp Chinese 5 spices (1 tablespoon powder)*
- ½ tsp sea salt (or iodized)
- 1 tsp. brown sugar
- water on demand
* – Chinese 5 spices, or powder of 5 spices, or wuxianmian: star anise, Sichuan pepper, fennel seeds, cloves and cinnamon in different proportions to taste; all spices must be ground in a coffee grinder or pounded in a mortar, and then stored in a dark container.
- Put the eggs in a saucepan and cover with cold water, about 4 cm above them. Bring water to a boil and then simmer for 5 minutes.
- Carefully remove the eggs with a slotted spoon and place in cold water. Gently beat the shell of each egg with a teaspoon so that it cracks well (you can just show it on the countertop). After that, the eggs should be placed in cold water for 10 minutes.
- Return the eggs to the saucepan, add about 1 liter of cold water and bring to a boil. Whilst the pot is simmering, mix the tea and other ingredients well in a small bowl. Add the resulting mixture to boiling water with eggs.
- Bring water to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 5-10 minutes.
- Remove the pan from the heat and, without removing the eggs, let the marinade cool to room temperature, then put the pan in the refrigerator overnight.
- Before serving pickled eggs in Chinese style, they should be peeled, under which a beautiful marble cobweb forms.
Bon appetit and happy Easter days!
PS Usually after Easter there are a lot of hard-boiled eggs left. They, of course, can be put on salads, but isn’t this an excellent pickling preparation?