I recently ate an amazingly delicious snack:  a pickled egg.

The guy at a local cheese shop where I bought it assured me they were “stupid easy” to make at home after I asked him how they had conjured such amazingness.  So I went home and tried my hand at making some.  They really are easy to make and customize to your taste buds.

The humble hen’s egg takes very kindly to a number of potent flavor combinations.  I offer you three flavors of pickled eggs, paying homage to my California roots:  Lemon with black pepper, Meyer Lemon with fresh thyme*, and Sriracha.  Enjoy!

Pickled Eggs
(makes eggs and brine for a dozen eggs)

12 large eggs, boiled and peeled
2 cups white vinegar
1 cup water
3 TB Diamond crystal kosher salt
Option one: zest of one meyer lemon and several sprigs of fresh thyme
Option two: zest of one lemon, 1 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
Option three: 1/4 cup Sriracha

Combine the vinegar, water, and salt.  Stir until salt is dissolved.  Pack boiled eggs and your choice of flavor options in a lidded glass jar.  Pour brine to completely cover the eggs and herbs, for options one and two.  For the Sriracha option, combine 1/2 of the brine with 1/4 cup of Sriracha before pouring over the eggs.

Store in the fridge.  It takes at least 3 days for good flavor to develop.  Eat the eggs within two weeks for best freshness.  The whites of the eggs will become firmer over time.

*Meyer lemons are common in California, and their scent profile is different from a regular lemon, and share characteristics with thyme.