Friday, August 23, 2013

Cooking with Beer - Pale Ale Brined Eggs (Beer Pickled Eggs)



A hamburger and a french fry walk into a bar. The bartender says, "I'm sorry we don't serve food here.


Actually, that's pretty unlikely.  Most bars do have food in some form or another. Whether it be bowls of pretzels and nuts, or hot wings, or pickled eggs.

Bar food is usually inexpensive. It is often hot or salty or mouth puckery, and it is almost always some form of finger food.

Why?  Because they want  you to eat when you drink so that you don't get totally sh!t faced, so you can drink more.  And all that spicy, sour, salty food makes thirsty, so you will drink more.  And, if you're not distracted by cutlery like which fork to use for which whatever, you will drink more.

It's all about drinking more.  And I, for one, am all for that!

You may or may not have ever seen a big jar of pickled eggs sitting on the corner of a bar.  Although, I've never eaten a pickled egg in a bar, I like them.  I just won't eat them if they're sitting there and I don't know how long they've been sitting there.

I've decided to bring the bar to the egg to make beer brined eggs. I must say they are surprisingly tasty and go great with a cold, frosty brew.

I used Denver Pale Ale, which is an English style pale ale, because it's a little sweeter and  not as bitter as American pale ales. Also, it's light in color.  I didn't want to use an intense flavored beer so to not overpower the eggs. Nor did I want to use a dark beer because it will discolor the

That being said, use whatever you like.  Pickles eggs made with an amber ale might be pretty; pretty tasty, too.



Pale Ale Brined Eggs (Beer Pickled Eggs)

24 Small Hard-Boiled Eggs
1 (12 Fluid Ounce) Bottle Beer
2 Cups Apple Cider Vinegar
2 Tbsp Pickling Spice
2 Tbsp Parsley Flakes
4 Tbsp Kosher Salt
2 Hot Peppers

Place eggs in a large, deep pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil over high heat.  Turn down to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes.

Drain and place in fresh cold water.  When the eggs are cool peel. Stab each egg with fork so that all that tasty brine can fully penetrate the egg.

( ¬‿¬)  She said fully penetrate! Yes, yes I did

Divide the eggs into two quart sized canning jars ( or other air tight glass container).

In each jar place, 1 tablespoon each of the pickling spice and parsley flakes plus 2 tablespoons of kosher salt and a hot pepper.  Use whatever kind of pepper you like or omit the pepper if you don't want spicy eggs.  You can use the pepper whole or seeded or whatever you like depending on level of spiciness you like.

Combine the beer and vinegar and pour over eggs until they are fully submerged. Add additional vinegar if you need more liquid to cover the eggs.

Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 week before using.

Enjoy with your favorite beer or as a snack or even chopped up on a salad.

1 comment:

Emily said...

Thanks for the recipe! My eggs are now pickling! Now I must wait the sad, long, week.