Pickled Eggs

When I was a boy growing up in the pub*****, I would sometimes watch my Mum prepare these pickled eggs to sell as bar snacks. Sometimes she would let me help with peeling the eggs, but most of the time, my botched efforts weren't presentable enough for onward selling. Peeling eggs gets easier with practice, but a good tip is to not use fresh eggs* (buy them a week or so before you want to get started): they peel a lot easier for being a couple of weeks old.

So right about now is a good time to make these little beauties in time for Christmas. I used cheap (caged hens') eggs (15 for about £1.50) and I splashed out on a 2l tub of Sarson's malt** vinegar (£3.00 from Tesco)***. You can pickle the eggs in any old glass jar(s), so long as they are clean (the jars I mean), not cracked or chipped and with a serviceable lid****, but for Christmas, or as a gift, you can buy those funky kilner type jars with the clippy lid, which are ideal. I bought one from Ikea, which cost £4 or £5.

The method could hardly be simpler, but do set aside a good hour or so for cooking and peeling the eggs.

1. Place the whole eggs (carefully so as not to crack the shells) in a large pot. Cover with cold water and bring to the boil.
2. As the water comes to the boil reduce the heat. The idea is to maintain a very gentle simmer that wont cause the eggs to bounce around and crack. Simmer for 15 minutes (the eggs want to be very hard boiled) - probably for a bit longer if you are using large eggs. 
3. Drain some of the boiling water from the pan, and flush with plenty of cold water. Repeat until the eggs are sitting in cold water and allow them to cool for 5 mins.
4. Peel the eggs and place in the jar.
5. Go and buy more eggs when you realise that your jar is too large and it would look better filled, rather than half empty.
6. Start again at stage one, missing out stages 5 & 6 next time. 
7. Top up the jar with the vinegar, seal, and store for 2 or 3 weeks.
8. Enjoy your oeufs au natch, seasoned with a little salt and white pepper, or resting on the top of a freshly opened packet of crisps, ideally alongside a pint of real beer.

Sure as Eggs is Eggs

The pickled eggs always sold well in the pub, and never lasted long enough to cause any worry about how long they would keep for. They need to pickle for two or three weeks, and I should imagine they are good for a month, maybe two after that (but that really is a guess: you will need to use your own judgement).


* but still fit for human consumption, please. By the way, there a tips and tricks aplenty about the peeling of hard boiled eggs. Most the them can be found on google: you could try some of them if you want.

** The malt vinegar will turn the eggs a beautiful (or horrible, depending on your point of view) dark brown. You often see white pickled eggs for sale in fish & chips shops which are pickled in clear spirit vinegar. You can use spirit vinegar if you prefer. I really don't care.

*** Cheaper vinegars were available.

**** If you are using manky old jars, seal the jar with a couple of layers of clingfilm before screwing down the lid. This should stop any of the vinegar reacting with the metal.

***** Yes my parents ran a pub. I don't mean that my childhood was all that mis-spent.