Phillipe’s is an institution in LA that was established in 1908 and is famous for inventing the French dip sandwich. It’s very old school and there’s not another place in LA like it. The setup there is more deli than restaurant, with sawdust covering the floors, fast-moving lines, and long refrigerated deli cases full of macaroni and potato salad, coleslaw, and pickles. You come here for their famous double dipped beef sandwich, a side of Phillipe mustard, and if you’re me, a perfectly purple pickled egg from one of the massive jars sitting on their counter. Yes, I said it: a perfectly purple pickled egg. How’s that for alliteration.
Growing up I remember seeing big jars of purple pickled eggs sitting on the top shelf of our fridge at home and looking at them with disgust. “Ewww what are those!?” They were usually next to the large jar of stewed prunes and lemons, another concoction that my mom always had on hand that I had zero interest in at the time. My mom would pickle 2 dozen at a time and eat them over the course of a month. It took a trip to Phillipe’s when I was in high school for me to realize that maybe we weren’t the only people in the world who actually ate these strange purple pickled eggs and finally give them a shot. Let me tell you, they are good.
Pickled eggs are especially good in their deviled form — the pickled whites giving the deviled egg a whole new dimension of flavor. And they are beautiful — the purple outer rim that fades to white that surrounds their piped yellow center. As far as deviled eggs go, these are my favorite, and hopefully will become one of your favorites too.
The purple color that the eggs have comes from sitting in the juice of pickled beets. When you make your first batch, experiment with the length of your pickling process. If you like a light pickled flavor, let them sit with the beets for 8 hours before making your deviled eggs. If you like a more pickled flavor, let them sit for 48 hours. The longer the eggs sit in the pickling juice, the firmer the texture of the white will get. You will also notice that the longer the eggs pickle, the further in the purple color will permeate the white. I prefer the 48 hour pickle, but each pickler is welcome to his/her own pickling opinion. Let’s get started.
P.S. If you are looking for easy protein to snack on or to throw on the salads you have for lunch every day…these pickled eggs are it! I make a new batch every Sunday, and add them to all of Kevin’s salads throughout the week.
Step 1: Boil those babies. Hard boil your eggs using the only technique that actually works for me. Add the eggs to a boiling pot of water and reduce to a simmer. Allow to sit for 13 minutes and then remove the eggs to an ice bath. Let the eggs sit in the ice bath for 2 minutes and then peel. Wasn’t that easy?! No stubborn peels.
Step 2: Prepare your pickle. To make the brine, combine the whole can of pickled beets, apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, peppercorns, and salt. Stir mixture.
Step 3: Jar ’em. Lower your peeled eggs into a mason jar and cover them with your brine. Store in the fridge for your desired pickling time. At least 8 hours and up to 48 hours (they can sit even longer, this is just my preference for deviled eggs). If you don’t have a glass mason jar, use a glass bowl and cover with plastic wrap. I try to avoid storing anything for a long period of time in plastic.
Step 4: Dance with the devil. Once your pickled eggs have reached your desired level of pickled-ness, it’s time to devil them. Slice each of the eggs in half and remove all of the yolks into a separate bowl. Smash all of the yolks with a fork until they are smooth with no lumps. Add softened butter, mayo, salt, pepper, and yellow mustard. I made these with grass-fed butter and my paleo mayo, but any butter and good mayo will do. Transfer your yolk mixture to a pastry bag or plastic bag with the corner cut off. Pipe the yolk mixture back into the egg whites. Top each deviled egg with a thin slice of radish and sprig of dill.
in a pickle {perfectly purple pickled deviled eggs}
Ingredients
- For the pickling: 12 large eggs
- 1 16-ounce can of jar pickled beets
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon peppercorns
- 1 teaspoon salt
- For the deviled eggs: 2 teaspoons yellow mustard
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon pepper
- 1/4 cup mayo
- 1 radish sliced thinly for garnish
- Dill for garnish
Instructions
- Hard boil your eggs and peel them.
- To make the brine, combine the whole can of pickled beets, apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, peppercorns, and salt. Stir mixture.
- Lower your peeled eggs into a mason jar and cover them with your brine. Store in the fridge for your desired pickling time. At least 8 hours and up to 48 hours (they can sit even longer, this is just my preference).
- Once your pickled eggs have reached your desired level of pickled-ness, it's time to devil them. Slice each of the eggs in half and remove all of the yolks into a separate bowl. Smash all of the yolks with a fork until they are smooth with no lumps. Add softened butter, mayo, salt, pepper, and yellow mustard. Using a pastry bag or a plastic bag with the corner cut off, pipe the yolk mixture back into the egg whites. Top each deviled egg with a thin slice of radish and sprig of dill.
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i love this recipe- my husband and i are on our second batch of eggs in 2 weeks!
<3 <3 Thank you Miss Kara. May there be lots of pickling in your future!!