Brining Hard-boiled Eggs Before Smoking?

[jwed980]

Greetings All,

I'm going to cold-smoke some hard-boiled eggs and I'd like to brine them before smoking.

I just want to add season so I won't need to salt them before eating (packing for lunches).

Any recommendations on brine solution% vs time? I'd hate to ruin my 1st batch ever...

Thanks,

-John

 

[AllAces]

Buy a jar of pickled eggs and smoke a few.

 

[daveomak]

Try a few in a pickling brine... If they come out bitter and acrid, it's because the water in the egg formed an "acid rain" with the smoke.. Maybe, try smoking then pickling.. or add liquid smoke to the pickle....
I would start with a 3% salt in the brine/pickle.. weight of the eggs + the weight of the water...

 

[jwed980]

So it seems that a 1 hr &15- min soak in a solution of 1 tbs salt per cup H2O yields a little bit too much saltiness for my taste. Still edible, but salty.
Next time I will try 2/3 the salt for 1-hr and see what happens.
Eggs and brine water were both cold to start and soaked in the fridge before patting dry and transferring to the smoker.
Smoker temp stayed between 42-45* during the 3-hr smoke with 100% hickory pellets.
Mailbox mod w/AMNPS, long duct and johnmeyer's SS pot-scrubbers keep the smoke nice and clean so there's no bitter taste whatsoever right out of the smoker.

The eggs took on an interesting salmon color, but only on the top side. I placed them directly on the racks, but didn't turn them. I don't notice any difference in taste.
I noticed that both the saltiness and the smokiness have intensified since yesterday.

I have to say smoked HB eggs will likely become a new favorite...
Thanks for the replies-

John

 

[gmc2003]

John, If you can - try dust in your anmps. It burns cleaner then pellets. Don't worry about the color its all show the same with cheese. As far as a salt brine I wouldn't do it, but that's me. I would rather salt when eating so I can control the amount of sodium I'm eating. They look good BTW.

Chris

 

[AllAces]

Those would be good with some cold PBR long necks.

 

[big t bbq]

I smoke and sell/trade a lot of eggs my brine consists of 1/8 cup kosher salt, 1/8 cup granulated garlic, 1/8 cup black pepper, 1 gallon cold water, mix and brine in fridge for 12-24 hours, cold smoke for 3-6 hours. Other things can be added for other flavors (hot sauces, onions, etc.). The brine does change the texture of the egg, I prefer to sprinkle the eggs with salt, garlic, and pepper after they are on the trays in the smoker, but others prefer the brined eggs.