And photographic evidence.
It's why it's a particular favorite of mine to make. I know exactly who will eat these eggs. And, who will never eat them again.
These eggs were pretty typical in my childhood. We always had a large plastic jar of these eggs. We also had a large jar of red, pickled sausages that I would not eat. I would, however, save the brine and put hard-boiled eggs in the red brine for a spicy pickled egg version.
I loved to eat these eggs as a quick snack every now and then. That was, until my brother ruined them for me (and himself) forever.
After one drunken night at the bar with his buddies, my brother came home and delivered quite a performance around the kitchen island, telling my mother and I all sorts of crazy stories... while scarfing down a total of TWELVE pickled eggs. Despite repeated efforts to get him to stop from my brother, I happily cheered him on, knowing that he would probably be seeing those eggs again very soon off the back deck.
The whole thing was caught on my mother's camera phone, but unfortunately (or fortunately, for my brother,) that footage was only viewed a few times before it was lost inside a broken phone. This was obviously before the days of the iCloud.
Because of that, I've spent the last five or so years steering clear of this particular snack. However, I got a request recently for some of these pickled eggs, so I decided to try it out for myself. Maybe making the recipe for myself would help me get over the memory of watching my brother binge on them years ago.
Turns out, I still do like these eggs. I love the combo of eggs and mustard anyway (deviled eggs... yum!) so I was pretty optimistic that I'd love making my own version. And, they really do make an easy snack to throw into someone's lunch pail for something different and healthy. I'm definitely glad I got over my fear of mustard eggs so I could make some of these for myself!
Pickled Mustard Eggs
1 dozen hard-boiled eggs
1 1/2 cups white vinegar
1 1/2 cups sliced onions
2 tbsp minced garlic
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1/4 cup yellow mustard
1 tbsp mustard seed
1 tbsp pickling spice
1/2 tbsp salt
1/2 tsp turmeric
Boil the eggs in water for 11 minutes. Drain and let cool.
Remove the shell and place the eggs in a large jar with the slices of onion and minced garlic.
Combine the vinegar, sugar, water and mustard in a large pot.
Heat and stir continuously until the sugar melts completely.
Add the rest of the ingredients to the pickling brine and pour over the eggs. Seal the jar tightly and place in refrigerator.
Let sit for about 2 weeks before opening to serve.
