Is there a more beloved party food than a platter of freshly deviled eggs? The humble and classy appetizer gets sassed up when plunged into a jar of beets, vinegar, brown sugar and pink pepper corns. This unique twist will turn heads and delight tummies! More photos below:
As a kid, I feared the hard boiled egg — the rubbery, lifeless white and mealy, too–rich yolk turned me off and I eschewed the ubiquitous plate of party deviled eggs in search of finer snack foods, namely cheese doodles if super lucky, but I'd settle for crackers of any sort. Then I'd sit on the couch and eat my way through a small stack, systematically whittling down my cracker by nibbling its circumference, enjoying the salty crumbles over a 15 minute period, washing down my forbidden processed glory with a glass of lemonade.
About twenty five years later, I dared try a deviled egg — what a delight I'd been missing! Gone was the chalky, fatty taste and hello to a piquant blend of mustard, onions and pickle. It was party time with me and the eggs and it was on!
These beet–soaked darlings are the only improvement or variation I'd recommend over a classic, paprika-dusted standard. Normally, deviled eggs aren't going to win any beauty contests, but with the beet brine bath, they take on a striking pink cloak as well as an earthy sour tang. The addition of peppercorns and brown sugar imbues another level of pickled spice. The filling punctuates the tang with the subtle curry spice and freshness of aromatic rosemary.
These eggs are not for the faint of heart, they are so lively and packed with flavor! Perfect on their own or smashed onto a piece of hearty toast, they make an excellent breakfast or anytime snack. That's to say you have leftovers, which you won't. So make an extra batch for yourself.

6 eggs
1 can pickled beets
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon peppercorns (I used fiery pink peppercorns)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
1 tablespoon vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Fresh rosemary for garnish
Hard boil your eggs and remove the shells. For perfect hard boiled eggs, I use this method. Set the eggs aside.
To prepare your brine, pour a can of pickled beets into a large mason jar or bowl. Add cider vinegar, sugar, peppercorns and salt. Stir mixture. Carefully (that beet juice will stain!) lower the hard boiled eggs into the brine, cover and let sit for at least 12 hours, up to 2 or three days. The longer you leave them in the brine, the more sour and pink they'll end up. I like just the rim of pink and slight pickled flavor, so I let mine sit about 16 hours.
When brining time is finished, cut each egg in half and scoop out yolks. Place yolks in a medium-sized bowl, along with the mustard, mayonnaise, curry, vinegar, and olive oil. Mix/mash until smooth. You can always add a little bit of water to the mixture, if it's too stiff. Salt and pepper to taste.
Using a pastry bag or a plastic bag with the corner cut off, pipe the yolk mixture back into the pink eggs. Sprinkle with chopped rosemary and season with salt and pepper.

Related: Recipe: Smoky Deviled Eggs with Greek Yogurt
(Images: Leela Cyd Ross l styling by Kirsten Neiman)







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Comments (20)
I had my first - and last - pickled egg when I was in college. But the idea of purple deviled eggs is making me consider trying them again. Apparently I'll do anything for color.
Cannot wait to make this. Always love a recipe when I have all the ingredients in the cupboard/fridge.
I love me some deviled eggs and those are the prettiest I have ever seen. They even coordinate with my apartment!
unique twist? huh, well the Pennsylvania dutch community might disagree with you there, but whatever. they've been doing this for years.
If you are not in the mood for the sour flavor of the beet brine, but want the fancy coloring, you can always plunge them into water tinted with food coloring instead. Red, white, and blue eggs anyone?
Looks both delicious and festive. YUM!
We love these in our house. I can beets every year so that we can make these for salads and snacks. I do keep them in the fridge for at least a week before using, and I cut back on the vinegar so that they don't 'bite' so much. This is an old Amish/Pennsylvania Dutch recipe, and there are many variations.
Regardless, any time I bring them to a gathering, I never have leftovers.
One note - for the best quality egg mouth-feel and nutritional kick, use pastured, local eggs.
- Rosalyn
www.rosalynpricenglish.com
I just put a post on my blog last week about making eggs pickled with beets and horseradish-they were gorgeous. I did not think to make devilled eggs from them, though, that's a great idea. Next time!
Eater beware: Pickled beet eggs produce the most rancid smelling farts my family has ever experienced. Never again...
I'm kind of enamored! These are stunning. I am absolutely making it like this the next time I make deviled eggs.
I made these for a large Thanksgiving dinner last year, and they were gone within 10 min., 30 people and 4 dozen eggs were just not enough. One thing I did was only let them sit in the vinegar and beet mixture for about 90 min., so they came out beautiful but without having much beet taste. I also sprinkled lightly with caraway seeds on top.
Aw! This reminds me of Easter at my (Pennsylvanian) gram's house! Living in California, I thought this was a weird thing only our family did.
Looking forward to making these for my holiday parties! They look fantastic! What a show stopper!
Glad I found this recipe. Thanks!
I make these all the time for parties.....here is my version:
http://www.staceysnacksonline.com/2009/11/pickled-deviled-eggs.html
Each recipe sounds delicious/our recipe included cloves and cinnamon sticks in ours,I for one could not eat just one!
Made these for Easter. They were so beautiful and loved the slight pickled taste: http://epifurious.tumblr.com/post/20788320735/beet-pickled-deviled-eggs
I'vd been ineffectively looking for this recipe since my children's grandmother died in 1986. Will bring loads to our family Thanksgiving. I've told no one - surprise!
Do you refrigerate the eggs while brining, or leave them on the counter?
Refrigerate for sure! My PA Dutch family makes red beet eggs year-round, but I can't recall ever deviling them! We use white sugar and wouldn't dare eat them until the whites were all red, about 3 days minimum. And, want to hear a strange on? We slice them and put them between two soft pieces of white bread with lots of mayo, lettuce and pepper... mmm... red beet egg sandwich :) try it!