Bloody Mary Pickled Eggs from Beyond Canning

photo by Grace Stufkosky

I hemmed and hawed over whether or not to share this recipe because I realize that pickled eggs might not be the thing that everyone loses their mind over. BUT, this is my mom’s favorite recipe from Beyond Canning. I sent her the final electronic proofs a few months back and the recipe that she just kept talking about was this one. As I get closer to the official publication day, February 1st, I’m going to share another recipe or two, but today it’s pickled eggs! The first time I tested these for the book, I didn’t have the self control to let them sit in the fridge for a week to help develop their flavor like they were supposed to. They’re REALLY good and surprisingly addictive.

A little birdie told me that books were already shipping from Amazon and my publisher, but I still want everyone who orders before February 1st to enter my pre-order promotion for some beautiful meyer lemons and more.

I don’t want to say too much because I really want you to see the recipe as it is in the book!

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Bloody Mary Pickled Eggs

FEATURING A BLOODY MARY–INSPIRED BRINE WITH HORSERADISH, CELERY SEED, AND SPICE

There’s a certain level of one-upmanship that goes into bloody mary garnishes: seven kinds of pickles, a tiny hamburger—you get the idea. This pickled-egg recipe was inspired by just such a bloody mary recipe, which on the menu was rather unassuming, but arrived at the table dressed with a hardboiled egg, bacon, olives, and an entire rib of celery. As a cocktail garnish, the egg was a little cumbersome, but in terms of flavor, I thought the combination was right on.

A quart mason jar is an ideal vessel for this pickle, but I’ve included a bit of extra brine in case you prefer to use a different shape jar or split this up into smaller vessels, because it’s important that the eggs are completely covered with the brine. You can squish them down, but not enough to split them. Impressively enough, about a dozen hard-boiled eggs will fit in a quart mason jar.

Ingredients

• 1 dozen eggs
• 1 cup canned tomato sauce
• 1 1/2 cups apple cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon celery seed
• 1 tablespoon prepared horseradish
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt, or more to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Materials

• Large nonreactive saucepan
• Small nonreactive saucepan
• Stockpot for sterilizing
• Quart mason jar
• Ice-water bath

1. In a large nonreactive saucepan, cover the eggs with water by 1 inch. Bring to a boil over highheat and boil for 10 minutes.

2. Plunge the eggs into a bath of icy water and let cool completely before peeling. Peel the eggs and pack them in a still-warm, sterilized quart jar. To sterilize a quart jar, bring it to a full rolling boil it in a water bath and boil for 10 minutes.

3. Whisk together the tomato sauce, vinegar, celery seed, horseradish, crushed red pepper, sugar, salt, and black pepper in a small saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat.

4. Once the mixture boils, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes.

5. Pour the brine over the eggs so that they are completely covered. Store in the fridge.

6. Let the eggs cure in the fridge for at least a few days before consuming. They’ll get better the longer they sit in the brine and will last in the fridge about a month. This recipe cannot be safely processed in a water-bath canner.

Yield: 1 quart, or about 1 dozen pickled eggs

About autumn

Autumn Giles is the creator of Autumn Makes & Does and the co-host of the Alphabet Soup Podcast.