Wondering what to do with a mountain of leftover, rainbow-hued, hard-boiled Easter eggs?
You could fill your days with egg salad sandwiches. Or, perhaps tuck peeled eggs into lunchboxes and served chopped egg on a green salad. Or make a big batch of deviled eggs. Or all of the above – day after day. Luckily, there is a way to keep those leftover Easter staples without serving eggs for every meal. Preserve your Easter eggs by pickling them.
Back in the old days, dyed Easter eggs were delicate, blown-out egg shells, made into a pretty centerpiece. I remember my mother doing this – 50 or so years ago. She used the actual eggs to make custards or soufflé or other Easter delicacies.
While I think it’s important to keep the old traditions alive, I’ve let this one go. I’ve never blown out an egg in my life, and you probably haven’t either. Now we hard-boil eggs to decorate, which means finding a way to use them up after the holiday.
There is no reason to toss the colored eggs, unless they have been sitting at room temperature for more than two hours. Simply peel the eggs, grab a clean, quart-size Mason jar, and take a few minutes to make pickled eggs. The pickling eggs should sit in the refrigerator for at least a week before eating, for intense flavor. They will be good to eat for a month or so.
Pickled eggs make a healthy but satisfying mid-afternoon snack, or can be sliced and served at dinner as you would serve any other pickle.
This recipe is adapted from one in Linda Ziedrich’s excellent, The Joy of Pickling, a book you should definitely add to your food preservation library. I use cider vinegar here because I prefer its milder flavor, but if you like a sharp, vinegar taste go ahead and use white vinegar in this recipe. The turmeric turns the eggs a bright, sunny color.
Pickled Eggs
Ingredients
• 10-12 hard-boiled eggs, peeled
• 1 tbsp pickling or kosher salt
• 1 ½ cups vinegar
• ½ cup water
• ½ tbsp sugar
• 1 star anise
• 1 tsp whole peppercorns
• 1 tsp whole allspice
• ½ tsp ground turmeric
• ¼ tsp whole celery seeds
Directions
1. Pierce each egg with a fork, 5 or 6 times.
2. Place eggs in a quart-size Mason jar.
3. Combine remaining ingredients in a small, non-aluminum pot. Bring to a boil.
4. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Let cool to room temperature.
5. Pour vinegar mixture over eggs in jar. Cap and place in the refrigerator. Let sit at least one week before eating.
Renee Pottle is a freelance food writer and author. She writes about canning and cooking at SeedtoPantry.comand about food business issues atPenandProvisions.com.
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