I still have the photo of our first egg. We keep chickens in a suburban backyard, and we fought for the right to do that. The photo is of my son holding a single egg in his two little hands.
All these years later the humble egg has become one of my favorite foods. It’s rare that a day goes by where I am not cracking and frying eggs for breakfast. The backyard raised eggs are beautiful with a deep orange yolk.
Storing eggs for the long term is always challenging because once the shell is cracked you pretty much must eat them right away. If you have a lot of chicken or even quail eggs, then you can pickle them.
In the raw state you can preserve them in lime water, however, if you want something you can open and not have to cook, that’s where the pickled eggs come in.
What is Cowboy Candy?
Traditional cowboy candy is pickled jalapenos, and they are a real treat! This time of year, I like to make a mix of pickled red onions and jalapenos. The cowboy candy is often cooked, and the jalapenos softened. I like to use a warm brine and slice the onions and the jalapenos extra thin.
I found this recipe here, and it’s not the only recipe I make from it – I found a lot more useful tips to make food last for a really long time.
Cowboy candy pickled eggs use that same sort of spicy, sweet, tangy flavor profile. With the help of cider vinegar, cayenne pepper, and sugar you get that same flavor dynamic. Pickled and stored in a cool dark place these can be kept, unopened, for months.
- 2 1/2 dozen hard-boiled eggs
- 2 cups of apple cider vinegar
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1 tablespoon of salt
- 1 tablespoon molasses
- 2 jalapeño peppers, diced small
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
Making Perfect Hard Boiled Eggs
The perfect boiled egg starts in a pot of cold water. You are going to bring this to a rolling boil and then shut off the heat and take the pot off the heat.
Cover the pot with the eggs and warm water inside. Then set a timer for 10 minutes. Once you reach the 10-minute mark you can remove the lid.
Your eggs are now in the perfect state of doneness. You will not have any blue on the yolk. Perfect.
Making Cowboy Candy Pickled Eggs
Peel the eggs while warm, and place them in a few large sterilized mason jar. A quart jar will hold about 8-10 eggs depending on how determined you are to squeeze them in there.
Meanwhile, add the rest of the ingredients into a saucepan and bring it to a boil until the salt and sugar are completely dissolved.
This is your homemade pickle brine and will do all the work of turning your humble boiled eggs into something amazing.
Place your eggs in the jar and pour the warm brine over them.
Place the jars in the refrigerator and allow the eggs and brine to cool completely before screwing on the lid. In 2-3 days, you will have yourself a sweet, spicy, and tangy batch of cowboy candy pickled eggs.
These eggs will last up to a month in the refrigerator.
Longer Storage
This method will allow you to store these eggs in a cool dry place for much longer. However, you have to be careful because when canning eggs there is a risk of botulism.
You cannot use eggs that have been damaged during the peeling process and all your eggs should be smooth.
To prevent any risk, you should follow these steps that will help you make no mistakes and learn how to create survival meals that truly last.
To your mason jars you will add peeled eggs, while they are still warm. Then you will add the brine, while it is hot, too. Put the canning lids on and screw them down just until snug.
Related: What You Should Do With Your Eggshells
Place the jars into a water bath and bring the temperature of the water up to 200 degrees or to a rolling boil for a few minutes. Then let them cool overnight and store them in a cool dark place like a basement or root cellar.
Pickle Other Stuff
You have a very interesting brine here. This is not your run of the mill pickled egg. This stuff has a lot of character and there is no reason why you should only pickle eggs with this. You should also try pickling vegetables with this.
- Okra
- Asparagus
- Cabbage
- Cucumbers
- Zucchini
Final Thoughts
Cowboy Candy Pickled Eggs are just one example of how you can leverage the preservation power of a pickle brine to build up your food storage. What stands out about pickled eggs is the fact that you are preserving protein and that is always a challenge.
Enjoy these but don’t forget that you are the Chef on this one. You can adjust the spices and sugar to your taste. At the end of the day, you are the person who will pull these off the pantry shelf for your family to enjoy.
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