Since eggs are a primary symbol in Easter celebrations, representing new life and rebirth, it will be interesting to see how recent price spikes will affect the many traditions centered around eggs.
Although my kids are all grown, we still dye our eggs together and have a proper Easter egg hunt that gets very competitive. (However, if there are no eggs in the grocery store or prices are prohibitively high, this may be the year without an egg hunt. For those with little ones, I suspect plastic eggs filled with treats will save the day.)
Should you be lucky enough to find enough eggs to boil for an egg hunt or are simply looking for a way to incorporate them into your menu, this recipe needs to be in your wheelhouse. Deviled eggs and egg salad are a tasty solutions for boiled eggs, but this year I strongly encourage you to try pickling some of them. It is so easy and the result is delicious. My son went through a phase where he was pickling everything in sight. His concoctions were amazing and so flavorful, with a variety of spices yielding different delicacies. I had never had a pickled egg before and had no idea what I was missing.
For a while we kept the pickled eggs on hand in a jar and I would grab one for breakfast on my way out the door to work. I would chop it up on top of a salad for a tangy burst of protein or make pickled egg salad, which takes egg salad to a whole new place.
The real showstopper was when my son added beets to the pickled eggs, giving them the most beautiful pink color and immediately elevating this basic egg to a center-stage appetizer on Easter Sunday. The magenta crayon was always my favorite growing up, and these eggs are the same shade. They brighten any table and hold their own next to the wide array of colorful spring ingredients. Since they taste great and look so beautiful, my son filled mason jars for me to give as Christmas gifts last year, adding to their holiday versatility. It may just become a new tradition.
When my son was a toddler, he told our neighbor we would be “killing” eggs that afternoon. It’s no surprise my concerned neighbor checked in with me about what was going on in our house. At first, I was confused, but then I realized we were dyeing — in my young son’s mind, “dying” — eggs that afternoon.
That story comes up every Easter and I can’t help appreciating the irony that this same son is still dying eggs in such a beautiful and delicious way.
Pickled Eggs Recipe
Yields two 32 oz. jars containing with 8 eggs each
Ingredients:
10 sprigs fresh dill, divided
2 large cloves garlic, sliced, divided
2 T peppercorns, divided (or more, to cover the bottom of each jar in one layer)
2 t red pepper flakes, divided (optional)
1 jalapeño, sliced, divided (optional)
16 hard-boiled eggs, peeled (divided)
2 small raw beets, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces, divided
3 cups beet water (see directions below)
1 cup white vinegar
3 T pickling salt (or coarse Kosher salt)
½ T sugar
Directions
Prepare your jars. In each jar, add the divided dill, garlic, peppercorns, red pepper flakes, jalapeno, and eggs.
For Beet Juice :
For beets and beet juice, place the chopped beets in a medium saucepan, add enough water to cover (minimum 4 cups of water) and simmer with the lid on until tender, 30 to 40 minutes. Reserve 3 cups of water. Strain remaining water and set beets aside.
Bring the reserved 3 cups of beet water, vinegar, salt and sugar to a boil. Remove from heat and let cool slightly. Pour over the eggs, filling the jar to cover the eggs completely. Add some of the strained beets that will fit in the jar. Screw on the lid and store in the refrigerator for up to a month. The longer they sit in the pickling juice, the more the juice will penetrate the eggs.
