Receta Amish Red Beet Eggs
Before I was married, my only experience with red beet eggs was tasting one that was sold from a large jar at a small corner grocery store when I was young…it was not a pleasant experience. The eggs were commercially made (and still are sold under the same brand name), an odd color, and had a disgusting taste (as I remember it).
I was rather taken aback when I discovered soon after I was married that my husband (and his father) really liked red beet and other pickled eggs. He was used to eating the red beet eggs made by “Pennsylvania Dutch” in Lancaster County, PA…a very different experience than mine.
On our first trip to the Amish Country in Ohio, my husband persuade me to taste one of the eggs from an Amish/Mennonite restaurant’s salad bar. Much to my surprise, I loved it! It was so different from my childhood memory. First, the color was much more appetizing. Second, it had a much better texture. Last, it had a great flavor. I was hooked.
After a few years of buying our favorite jarred red beet eggs from a small company in the Amish Country, I decided to try to replicate them at home. It has taken a few additional years, but I’m finally satisfied with the results. All I needed to do was buy a cookbook produced by the restaurant where I had the first red beet egg I ever liked…and tweak it. Print This!
Recipe: Red Beet Eggs
Ingredients:
3 c. liquid from canned red beets
1 c. cider vinegar
1 – 1 1/3 c. white sugar, to taste
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
1/3 tsp. salt
1 dozen hard boiled eggs, peeled
Instructions:
Combine beet liquid, vinegar, sugar, and spices in a sauce pan.
Heat to a simmer for about 10 minutes.
Remove from heat and cool until just warm.
Pour over hard boiled eggs in a non-reactive container (large glass jar works well).
Refrigerate for at least a day before serving. The eggs are more colorful inside and have more flavor if they are in the pickling liquid longer.
Notes:
This recipe is easily adjustable to personal preferences. You can increase the vinegar and/or sugar to make them slightly sweeter or more acidic as desired.
Recipe is easily doubled.
Some of the beets from which the liquid has been drained may also be added to the eggs to pickle.
Some people like to add a sliced red onion to the eggs as well.
Whole spices may be used instead of ground.
Glass quart and half-gallon canning jars or gallon pickle jars are great containers for the eggs .
Copyright © 2013.
Recipe by Paula, A Simple Home Cook.
To remove egg shells easier, try placing the cooked eggs into ice water for 10 minutes before dunking each back into boiling water for a second or two. The shell tends to expand and makes it easier to separate from the rest of the egg.
Not sure how to hard boil and egg? This article might help: How to Hard Boil an Egg.
Homemade red beet eggs are cheaper and easier than buying them in the Amish Country when you live in Georgia. Plus, you can make them to just how you like them.
How do you use one or two dozen red beet eggs? Here are a few ideas:
Colorful deviled eggs
Great sliced in a lettuce salad
Cut in half and sprinkled lightly with salt as an appetizer
For egg salad
Sliced on a sandwich with a little Miracle Whip
Straight out of the jar with a little salt
At my house, eating them straight out of jar is probably the way most of the eggs are consumed. The only exception is around the holidays. We serve them as appetizers or sides at Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas when we have guests. We also have been known to take them (either sliced in half or as deviled eggs) to potluck dinners.. Once you have them made, they are a great time saver when you are throwing something together at the last minute.
Now, I just have to figure out how to replicate those mustard eggs….
Related posts:
Smoked Salmon Deviled Eggs
Yummy Ham Loaf
Yummy Potato Salad
Wilted Lettuce Salad with Bacon Dressing
Simple Pea Salad