Fixing the recipe - pickled eggs and sausages, among other things.

So, I got a thing last night. Something rather trendy. If you follow this blog on Facebook, you've already seen it.

Yep.

Yep. Joined the ranks of the Instant Pot users. Y'know what? I don't feel bad about this, either. I've been wanting a pressure cooker, and this model was on the clearance rack. My wife is very excited to share that it was 40% off the Wally World price! So this one, while there are many like it, is mine.

It's already been put to use, too! I made a major ingredient in today's entry.

So, what's cooking today?

We are revisiting, finally, Hawk's Barroom Pickled Eggs and Sausage.

Ok, settle down.

You are invited to go back a few posts and reread this entry. 

If you didn't care to do that, here's the nutshell version. A recipe from social media was attempted, and it was found quite wanting.

I've fixed it.

I think I fixed it.

We're calling it fixed.

WE BEGIN!

Take it down a notch, Screamy.

Let's say you've been invited to a game day potluck. You decide you're not going to bring that cheese ball again, and it's a safe bet someone's bringing a veggie tray. So, you decide you're doing something different. Something funky.

So, we're bringing pickled sausages and eggs to the game.

We will need twelve hard boiled eggs, two packages of Polska kielbasa, pickling spice from another previous post, a teaspoon of kosher salt, one pint of water, a quart of white vinegar, and a large jar to put all this stuff in. That's all from the original recipe, albeit doctored a bit.

See, the main problem with that recipe was the brine. First of all, there wasn't enough of it. Second of all, you were instructed to put all the pickling spices in the brine and then boil it. Why is that a problem? Because it'll break down all the flavorings of the spices and leave you with some watery vinegar that tastes only vaguely of sweet pickles.

It's not great.

So, I changed it up a little. Firstly, I raised some amounts by doubling the amount of brine, and by adding half again the amount of spices. Also, I added a little produce. Two jalapeno peppers, one medium-large white onion, and a head of garlic.

These came out of my garden!

These came out of the produce department at Cub!

Ok, if you have one of those instant pots and use it regularly, you probably already know how to make hard eggs. If you use the stove top method, you probably already know how. If you don't know how to use either, I highly recommend finding an instructive YouTube video, or simply asking Google a direct question. 

"How do I make hard boiled eggs."

"How do I make hard boiled eggs in an Instant Pot."

What if you have a different brand of pressure cooker? Use the same instructions. It'll be fine.

Also, where last time I used hot dogs, I used Polska Kielbasa, which was on sale.

Only thing better would have been free.

We begin.

Thinly slice your peppers and onions. Layer them and the garlic and the onions with your cooked and peeled eggs and sausages. Pour the pickling spice over the top with a teaspoon of kosher salt. 

Peel the garlic cloves. If you want, you could buy already peeled garlic cloves at the store, but they'll be a little pricier than if you just buy a head and peel it yourself.

Once those are done, lay then on top of the rest of your stuff.

Who's thirsty for beer?

Next up, put your water in vinegar in a sauce pan, on the stove, and boil. Once a nice, gentle boil has been achieved, take it off the heat and let it become still again. 

Too vigorous. You want your brine really warm, and quite still. Like a sleeping cat.
Don't try to brine a sleeping cat. The cat won't appreciate it.

Pour it in the jar over your eggs, sausages, onions, peppers, and garlic. Let steep on the counter for a good four hours before you try to eat them. Don't try to put it in the refrigerator for a while, because it's so hot that it'll raise the temperature of the inside of the fridge up to where it won't really be refrigerating anymore. 

Once your four hours is up, go ahead and sample your wares. Way better than the last time around, isn't it?

Ta-da!

A suggestion - after a couple hours when the contents of your jar are still hot, but cool enough to handle, give the jar a good shake to distribute the spices.

And now we've fixed a terrible Facebook recipe with a little know-how, and a few fresh vegetables. Kinda fun, isn't it?

Parting thoughts. You know how they say, "there is no blue food?"

Yeah, about that.

Your garlic might turn blue once the hot brine is on. Don't panic, it's not bad by any means. There's no mold, no toxin chemical reaction is happening. All it means is that your garlic was harvested while still somewhat immature. That's all. It's fine. It's perfectly edible. So eat it.

But it is blue, and it is food.

If you're that worried about it, here's a little information on the phenomenon. I say let it ride. To quote my grandfather, "eat it, dammit! It's good for you!"

Stuff your dishwasher full of knives.

No, wait!

Do the opposite of that.