A poor man's caviar, pickled eggs have long been popular with the masses who enjoy eating these tasty eggs and downing a cold beer or two to enhance the occasion. Essentially, pickled eggs are made by combining boiled, shelled eggs with a mixture of ingredients and then letting the combination pickle in a refrigerator for a period of two days to three weeks.

There are many recipes for pickled eggs, ranging from the standard mild recipe to the spicy hot recipe. Pickled eggs are a popular bar food and can be found sitting in large jars on the bar counters of many neighborhood taverns throughout the United States. Since these eggs do not have to be refrigerated once the pickling process is over, they are also a popular camping food.

All pickled egg recipes begin with the boiling of the eggs. After the eggs have been hard-boiled and cooled, the shells must be removed. Thereafter, a number of items can be mixed together to form the liquid used to pickle and saturate the eggs. Almost all recipes insist that various amounts of water and vinegar be boiled together to form the base. From there, a number of recipes call for brown sugar, salt, garlic, beet juice, and such similar items that will, when added, form a sweet tasting egg. Those who enjoy the hot variety will add hot chili peppers, cayenne pepper, tabasco sauce, mustard seed, and similar spicy items to the vinegar and water.

Once the liquid base is cooked and prepared, the eggs are placed in a large jar and the liquid is poured over the eggs and then sealed with a lid. The eggs will take on the taste of the spices over time. Usually the eggs will be tasty if they remain sealed in the refrigerator for two days to three weeks. If the eggs are refrigerated longer than that, they may take on a rubbery feel and taste.

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Lovers of pickled eggs like to say that these delicacies should always be accompanied by plenty of "cheap" beer.