We had a really strong cold snap recently here in the Ozarks, and not a lot could be done outside. Even schools and jobs were calling snow days to keep folks home and safe. I was lucky enough for the ol' 9 to 5er to give me an extra day off this week which gave me some free time to finally do something with the eggs I collected over the last few weeks. One of my favorite ways to use them is a spicy cajun recipe that I made and tweaked over a few different batches (Complete recipe at the bottom of the page). After curing, they will last for up to 5 months in the refrigerator! If you are a fan of egg salad, this is an AMAZING addition. This is also a great "bar snack" to go along with beer or your favorite strong cocktail. However, before we get started, please, LISTEN CAREFULLY FOR YOUR OWN SAFETY!

I have not seen nor do I have any knowledge of a shelf stable recipe for pickled eggs. These MUST be kept cold and served chilled. If left at room temperature, pickled eggs are a perfect environment for a very bad bacteria called Botulism to reproduce. Botulism will make you very sick and has been known to kill. Food poisoning is no joke. Please allow your eggs to age in the fridge for 2-3 weeks before consuming, and keep in the fridge after use. Pickling eggs does preserve them for a longer use, but does not make them shelf stable. Now that's out of the way, lets get to cooking!

I gave my eggs a good wash and a hard boil for 10 minutes, stirring gently to keep the yolks centered. After boiling, I rinsed in them in cold water. We have rain catchment as our water source on the homestead, so it was ice cold and perfect for stopping the cooking process!
The next step in the process was to peel all the eggs. There are a couple of ways to do it. I decided to try something new, soaking the eggs in vinegar.

I placed about 100 eggs in the pot and covered with white vinegar. I used enough to cover the eggs by about one inch. I was told that you can leave them for anywhere from 3 to 12 hours. At 3 hours they are peelable, but at 12 hours they take on a strange property....

At first only a few bubbles formed...

Then after an hour, a foam build on the surface and THE SPOTS STARTED COMING OFF!!!

After a 3 hours, the eggs have almost completely turned white!

Here they are, 6 hours later...

Finally, after 12 hours, they have lost all of their color, and what is left of the shell is a papery membrane that comes off effortlessly. I took a taste and they didn't absorb all that much vinegar flavor! It was so cool to see the process and it was a neat way to peel eggs!

Once they are all peeled, its time to get them into jars!
First I got together the seasonings. Those Include liquid crab boil, garlic, dried onion, crushed red pepper, and salt.

I peeled the garlic and added it all to some apple cider vinegar and brought to a boil. I like to leave the garlic whole for an easy bonus treat when its all done. If you have never had pickled garlic before......oh man that's another article!!!
I put about 50 eggs in each quart sized jar and poured the hot mixture over the top, sealed tight and placed in the fridge.


I will keep them sealed for 2-3 weeks, turning 2-3 times a week. After they age/cure, they will keep in the fridge for up to 5 months! For your convenience, I have made a recipe card in picture format at the bottom of this post for your own collection! Please share and keep as you please. Thank you for coming by my little corner of the universe and it truly means the world to me if you upvote, resteem, comment and follow!