Pickled Eggs and Sausage

These easy refrigerator pickled eggs and sausage are a deliciously tangy snack that is easy to prepare and requires no canning. Pickling eggs is a great way to use up extra eggs in the refrigerator and they are perfect to eat with pickled sausage for a tantalizing protein-packed treat.

What are they?

This pickled eggs and sausage recipe features hard-boiled eggs and smoked sausages quick pickled in a seasoned brine flavored with onion, pickling spice, and a blend of vinegar. The smoky flavor of the sausage infuses the brine with a deeper flavor than you get from traditional bar pickled eggs alone.

Both pickled eggs and pickled sausages have been a popular preservation method for centuries. Even today, you will find either of these to be a popular bar snack at any local tavern in the Midwest. However, when combined together in the same jar the flavor of the sausage really enhances the flavor of the eggs.

Ingredients and Substitutions

• Hard boiled eggs 
• Smoked sausage - Any smoked sausage links will work fine, however, I find using Lit'l Smokies makes the best pickled sausage because they fit nicely into the jars and don't need to be cut up.
• Yellow onion - You can substitute a white or red onion as well.
• White vinegar
• Red wine vinegar
• Salt - Table salt will work fine, but pickling salt is best because it does not contain iodine, which will turn the brine cloudy.
• Pickling spice - You can buy pickling spice from the grocery store. However, I am partial to my homemade pickling spice recipe, which contains a mixture of coriander seeds, mustard seeds, allspice berries, bay leaves, cinnamon sticks, cloves, and ground ginger.
• Black peppercorns - You can use a small pinch of black pepper if needed.
• Crushed red pepper flakes - This can be left out if you want less heat. Otherwise, for a bit more heat, adding hot sauce is a great idea. In particular, a few squirts of Franks Red Hot Sauce or a cayenne pepper based sauce would be perfect.
• Garlic cloves

How to make them

Making this pickled eggs and sausage recipe is fairly straightforward. You will need to hard boil eggs ahead of time. The easiest way to make hard-boiled eggs is to place large eggs in a large pot of cold water and bring them to a boil. As soon as the pot begins boiling shut off the heat and let the eggs sit for 14 minutes.

Tip: Older eggs hard boil better than fresh eggs because the shells stick less.

Next, we need to prepare our brine. Add all of the brine ingredients to a medium sauce pan and set it over high heat on the stove top. Bring the pickling solution to a boil and then reduce to a simmer for ten minutes. Once all of the salt has been dissolved let the hot vinegar mixture cool to room temperature.

Place the peeled eggs, sausage, and onion slices in your quart jars in alternating layers, then pour in the pickling liquid until the jars are full. Be sure to get the spices and seasoning in the jars too. However, any excess liquid can be discarded.

Storing Pickled Eggs and Sausage

This is a refrigerator pickled eggs and sausage recipe, which means this tasty snack is meant to be stored in the fridge when not being eaten. Since this is not a canning recipe it is not meant for room temperature storage and water bath canning should not be attempted.

For best flavor, the sealed jars should be set in the refrigerator for one week prior to eating. Their shelf life when stored in the refrigerator can be expected to be up to three months.