Pickling eggs is a great way to store the summer bounty.

Late summer is a great time to pickle eggs in anticipation of the short days of late fall when the hens do not lay very much. Over the next few weeks, I will share three recipes for pickled eggs.

Traditional Pickling Spice

2T organic dried ginger, small pieces
2T organic cloves, whole
1T organic bird’s eye chillies, whole
1T organic coriander seeds, whole
2T organic yellow mustard seeds, whole
2T organic black pepper, whole
3T organic allspice, whole
Mix all the dried spices together and store in a glass jar. You will need 2-3T of the pickling spice for each 2L of pickled eggs. As Jill Norman states in The Complete Book of Spices, pickling spice is an “English mixture of whole spice, used for chutneys, pickled fruits and vegetables, and to spice vinegar.”

English Pickled Eggs

2-3T pickling spice
1 large organic onions, thinly sliced
24 pastured eggs, boiled and peeled
3-4c organic cider vinegar
To ensure that the boiled eggs are easy to peel, use eggs that are at least a week old. Two week old eggs are even better. If the eggs are too fresh, it will be very difficult to peel the eggs without damaging the surface. If the eggs do not peel easily, don’t make pickled eggs, but use the damaged eggs to make egg salad.

In a large sauce pan bring 24 eggs to boil in filtered water. Boil for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and pour off the boiling water. Set the sauce pan into the sink and cover the eggs with cold water. Let the eggs cool before peeling. After peeling the eggs rinse with clean water.

Thinly slice the onions and add them to the bottom of a 2L mason jar. Add the pickling spice and peeled eggs. Add as much cider vinegar as needed to completely cover all the eggs. Refrigerate the eggs for one week before consuming. The pickled eggs will keep in the fridge for months.

Pickled eggs make an easy, quick snack when you don’t have time to prepare a meal.