Pickled eggs are traditionally made using a mixture of vinegar and pickling spices, but that isn’t the only way. Why not learn how to make pickled eggs with pickle juice instead?
Doing so is fantastic for flavor, as your pickled eggs end up with a distinct dill pickle flavor. This pickle flavor makes the eggs taste even better than normal. Using pickle juice this way is also much better than wasting it. You’re even saving time, as the pickle juice can be used as-is without any other ingredients.
In this post, we’re showing you how to make perfect eggs using pickle juice. We’re also highlighting other ways to make your eggs taste amazing.
P.S. The best pickled eggs come from chickens you’ve raised yourself. When doing this, it’s best to look for chickens that lay plenty of eggs, rather than those bred for meat.
How To Make Pickled Eggs With Pickle Juice
If you want to keep things as simple as possible, you can simply dump hardboiled eggs (with their shell removed) into pickle juice. This might even be the juice that’s leftover in a jar after you’ve finished some pickles from the store or a pickle of the month club.
Alternatively, try boiling your pickle juice in a pot with some spices. Doing so improves the flavor profile of the pickle juice and should make your eggs taste even better. Boiling the pickle juice also reduces the risk of any contamination.
Either way, it’s best to use a clean jar, add the pickle juice, and then your eggs. Using a clean jar helps with food safety and gives you the best possible flavors.
What Do The Eggs Taste Like?
Pickled eggs have a similar sour flavor to pickles anyway. Adding pickle juice simply makes this flavor more prominent. The exact flavor profile will also be influenced by the spices and other ingredients in your pickles.
That said, pickled eggs are an acquired taste. Adding pickle juice doesn’t change that. Some people love these eggs, while others can’t stand them.
How Long Do You Leave The Eggs?
Your eggs will take on some flavor from the pickle juice within a couple of days and you can eat them at this point. However, the eggs are much tastier if you wait for six to eight weeks.
What Type Of Pickle Juice Do You Use?
Pickle juice falls into two styles – fermented or vinegar-based. Vinegar-based pickles are often called refrigerator pickles or quick pickles. They get those names because they’re ready in just 24 hours and need to be kept in the fridge.
Fermented pickles are made using a salt-based brine. They take longer and are more involved, but they have a more complex flavor, which makes them very appealing.
You can use either style when making pickled eggs, as both types of pickle juice have everything you need for pickling eggs. However, the refrigerator pickle style is likely to work better, as this is the closest to the liquid normally used to pickle eggs.
Do The Eggs Need To Be Kept In The Fridge?
There’s a surprising amount of debate here. According to the CDC, pickled eggs should always be kept in the fridge. If you do take them out, then they’re only safe for a couple of hours, just like most other types of food.
Yet, bars used to keep pickled eggs on their counters without any refrigeration at all. Many people still store their eggs this way without any problems.
The same patterns should apply regardless of whether you use a regular pickling solution or pickle juice (especially if your pickle juice contains vinegar).
However, it’s important to be ultra cautious. Food poisoning is no joke and there’s certainly a chance that keeping pickled eggs out of the fridge will make you sick. There’s also little research into the food safety of eggs pickled in pickle juice.
How Long Do Eggs Pickled In Pickle Juice Last?
The shelf life of your eggs will depend on a variety of factors, including the type of pickle juice you’re using, the freshness of your eggs, and whether there was any contamination.
However, you’re normally looking at between three and four weeks. As such, you don’t get anywhere near the longevity you would with regular pickling or when you freeze eggs. Keep an eye out for any signs of spoilage including changes in color or smell, as well as any visible mold.
Why Use Pickle Juice For Your Eggs?
Pickled eggs aren’t that difficult to make from scratch, so why bother with pickle juice? There are a few interesting reasons.
Means You’re Not Wasting Pickle Juice
Pickle juice offers many benefits, so wasting any of it seems a shame. Sure, you could drink the pickle juice straight, but not everyone enjoys doing this. Using pickle juice with your eggs is a great alternative.
Provides Plenty Of Extra Flavor
Pickle juice is a great way to boost the flavor of your pickled eggs. Seriously, they taste much better with pickle juice than just with vinegar and spices. You’ll see what we mean when you try them for yourself.
Easy To Make
Using pickle juice for your eggs is incredibly easy, especially if you’re buying pickles from the store anyway. You might never need to make brine, which is simply fantastic.
A Delicious High Protein Snack
Pickled eggs are fantastic as an easy high protein snack. This is partly why bars used to keep pickled eggs on the counter.
They’re also less processed than many other protein-based snacks, like protein bars. The minimal processing is fantastic and helps promote your health.
They Work Well As Ingredients
Rather than eating pickled eggs straight, why not use them in a recipe instead? Deviled eggs are a great starting point. Doing so would give you a similar flavor to making deviled eggs with pickle juice.
Tips For Pickling Eggs With Pickle Juice
Peel The Eggs
First, make sure that your eggs are peeled. Pickle juice should eventually dissolve the shells of eggs, but this takes a while. So, to fully flavor your eggs in a reasonable time, you’ll need to get rid of the shells.
Don’t Use The Pickle Juice Too Many Times
The best practice is to only use your pickle juice a single time. This way, you get the most flavor from your pickle juice.
Some people get a couple of batches of eggs out of their pickle juice. But, you shouldn’t use the pickle juice any more than this. Too many uses would lead to minimal flavor in your pickle juice, while also raising the risk of contamination.
Experiment With Your Pickle Juice
You can also play around with the type of pickle juice you use. Do you prefer pickled eggs with the juice from dill pickles or bread and butter pickles?
Why not get even more creative? Jalapeno pickle juice is a fantastic alternative. The jalapenos provide an extra spicy kick that makes your pickled eggs even better.
Don’t Overcook Your Eggs
You need hard boil your eggs before you put them in your pickle juice. But, overcooking them isn’t a good idea. Doing so quickly gives you tough and rubbery eggs.
Be Patient, But Not Too Patient
While you can eat your pickled eggs after just a few days (even 24 hours, if you really want to), but it’s much better to be patient. Seriously. Waiting a few weeks gives your eggs a much better flavor.
That said, keeping your eggs in pickle juice for too long won’t help either. They might start getting rubbery if you keep them in the liquid for a few months or longer.
Other Ways To Pickle, Flavor, And Preserve Eggs
So, you can make pickled eggs with vinegar and spices or with pickle juice. What are your other options?
Adding Pickle Juice
We’ve been talking about simply throwing eggs in pickle juice. However, some people take a different approach, where they use a classic pickled egg recipe, then add a dash of pickle juice into the mix.
You’re still getting an effect from the pickle juice, but the added flavor is much more subtle. This style is helpful if you don’t have much pickle juice on hand or if you’re not a huge fan of pickles.
Beet Pickled Eggs
Pickling eggs in beet juice provides them with a rich purple color that is simply stunning, especially when contrasted against the bright yellow egg yolk. This recipe from aspicyperspective.com takes things one step further by including fresh jalapenos along with the eggs and beets.
The jalapenos in the recipe create an interesting sweet and spicy flavor balance, plus some earthy notes from the beetroot.
Turmeric Pickled Eggs
Turmeric is another fun ingredient to experiment with, like in this recipe from kitchenfrau.com. This time you’re getting a bright yellow color from the spice, plus some of the classic turmeric flavor.
You can even use beets and turmeric in the same recipe. Doing so gives you the same pink coloring from before, along with some flavor notes from the turmeric.
Soy Sauce Marinated Eggs
This recipe comes rasamalaysia.com and it’s a little different. We’re still talking about hard boiled eggs, but this time they’ve been marinated in soy sauce, rather than pickled.
These eggs are delicious on their own or you can use them as ramen eggs as well. You can even make a fascinating sous vide version that gives you perfect eggs every time.
Century Eggs
Then there are these impressive eggs. They’re a type of cured egg, where the eggs have been cured in a strongly alkaline mixture for a couple of months (so, no, they’re not left to cure for a literal century).
The process has some odd effects on the eggs. They develop a distinct sulfur-like aroma, while their whites turn brown.
Most of the time you’ll be buying these eggs rather than making them at home. If you do find some, there’s a fantastic recipe from seriouseats.com that shows you how to use them.
Jalapeno Pickled Eggs
This recipe from Lisa at delicioustable.com is a fantastic way to add a kick to your pickled eggs. It follows a classic style, including pickling spice and vinegar. There are also jalapenos and garlic in the mix, making the eggs much tastier.
You could actually add a little pickle juice to this recipe too. That could improve the flavor and make the eggs even more interesting.
Fried Eggs With Pickle Juice
Let’s get back to the pickle juice theme for a minute. Rather than making pickled eggs in pickle juice, why not use a little pickle juice when frying your eggs in the morning?
The idea is as simple as it sounds – just add a little pickle juice to your frypan when your eggs are almost done. The approach adds plenty of pickle flavor to your eggs with minimal effort.
Storing Eggs In Lime Water
This approach is slightly different than anything we’ve talked about thus far. The idea here isn’t to cook and flavor your eggs. Instead, you’re using pickling lime to preserve fresh eggs for up to a year – without refrigeration!
The site practicalselfreliance.com offers some fantastic instructions for preserving eggs in this way.
Final Thoughts
Skeptical about using pickle juice for your pickled eggs? Why not give it a shot? You could always try with just a couple of eggs. Who knows, you might discover a new favorite snack.
Otherwise, you could experiment with one of the other approaches we’ve talked about, like beet pickled eggs or frying eggs with pickle juice.
Can Beer Go Bad? The Truth About Beer Expiration and Storage
Leave a Reply