Pickled Eggs from the UP
I went to school in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Being from Alaska, I never looked into the weather in the location of my school studies. Instead, I made the assumption that “anywhere would be better” as far as the weather was concerned. I was SO wrong. The Upper Peninsula (or “U.P.” or “Yoop”) of Michigan is MUCH snowier than Anchorage, AK. By a HUGE amount, and even more so where my school is located. There are a few things besides snow that are famous in this area, and one of those is pickled eggs. Traditionally, these are a bar food, but they are good any time with any blood alcohol content.
I can’t take too much credit for this recipe, because it was given to my husband back when he was bartending as his part time job. This Yooper (affectionate name for someone from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan) wrote down his version of the recipe and this scrap of paper ended up with my husband. Thank goodness we have a picture because it’s pretty crazy looking. We’ve edited it a bit, so here is our version of Pickled Eggs. Oh and in case you are wondering? They are Whole30/Paleo! In fact, my hubby begged me to make these before his first Whole30 so he could have some “comfort food.”
We also do these in a larger batch. I’m able to get everything from Aldi (fresh jalapenos are usually but not always available) or Walmart. Fun fact, Walmart was practically the only store where my school is located. This recipe is meant for two dozen large eggs and fits perfectly in a half-gallon mason jar {link!}. You can feel free to add in other vegetables like the Yooper recommended, but our personal preference is just jalapenos.
How do you eat a pickled egg? Like you would a hard boiled egg. Common “toppings” are hot sauce (we like Frank’s Red Hot Original which is Whole30 Compliant), salt, pepper, and the vegetables that get pickled along with the eggs.
Lastly, I cannot rave enough on how easy using my Instant Pot is to make hard boiled eggs. I only recently learned that you can stack the eggs. So I put the two dozen in, started it on high for 5 minutes, and did the remainder of the recipe. Instant Pot hard boiled eggs are super easy to peel, so from total start to finish, this took 20minutes. It was so easy my husband tried to convince me to “go make like six dozen more!” but I think the two will last our family of three just fine. To be clear though, you do not need an Instant Pot to make these pickled eggs. You just need hard boiled eggs!
We hope you enjoy these pickled eggs!
| Prep Time | 20 minutes |
| Passive Time | 5 days (minimum) |
| Servings |
pickled eggs
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- 2 dozen large eggs
- 6 fresh jalapenos a drained 12 oz jar of sliced jalapenos can work in a pinch
- 2 cups white vinegar
- 2 cups water
- 4 tbsp salt
Ingredients
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- Hard boil the eggs. I used my Instant Pot but you can hard boil however you need.
- Slice the jalapenos. De-seeding is optional but not recommended.
- Put the water, vinegar, salt, and jalapenos into a saucepan. Heat to a boil, then pull off the heat.
- Peel all of the hard boiled eggs and place into jar.
- Pour the pickling liquid over the eggs until jar is completely full. Make sure to get all jalapeno slices into the jar. It is okay if there is some extra liquid that doesn't fit, this is normal (see image).
- Try to push down some of the jalapenos towards the bottom of the jar. Once cooled, screw the lid on the jar. Wait about a week, then enjoy!
- A lot of people I know choose not to refridgerate these. That said, I always have because I prefer eating them chilled and it makes me feel a bit safer bacteria-wise.
- Jarred jalapenos can be used, but I don't really recommend it. If you do use them, make sure to drain the liquid first.
- Some common vegetables other yoopers would add are green beans, onions, caulifower and carrots. Not necessarily all at once though.
- Usually, we end up eating these by day five. They definintely get better with time, so I recommend waiting the week if you can!
- I recommend eating 1-2 at a time. Any more and you may get a slightly "rotten" stomach. That also may have been from the fact that these typically were consumed with alcohol though.
Enjoy!
Hi, my name is Rachel Smith. I’m a personal finance nerd, Aldi connoissuer, book lover, yoga enthusiast, and budgeting wiz. I was born and raised in Anchorage, Alaska but currently call Michigan home. I want to help people with their finances and eating healthy on a tight budget (no matter what your cost-of-living area is!)
Hello from someone who escaped the UP! I live south now.i do miss the UP ….in summer, nahh even in winter I miss it SOMETIMES. Listen I beg you to put and keep your eggs in the refrigerator. Botcalisim is a real danger. Yes you have gotten away with it ,for now, but that is how botcalisim works! You will not taste it, see it, or smell it. It can kill you. Other then that part I look forward to trying this recipe. Thank you for sharing!
Peace,
Paul Esterline