I love spring. Not just for the whole not-so-damned-cold-anymore part, but also due to the abundance of egg-themed holidays, and renewed acceptability of outdoor brunches. A while ago now (I’m a bad Fuddite), I was watching some cooking competition show (Iron Chef maybe, or Top Chef Somethingorother?), and one of the contestants made a miso soup with poached egg. That sounded really good to me, but I could not go and copy so obviously! So I thought about the brunch I was hosting a few days later, and considered what I could make in advance, so as to for once not need to panic that morning about it. As I pondered, the idea of marinated or pickled eggs came to mind, as did an old episode of Top Chef (I’m sure this time) where someone made miso-maple bacon. Somehow this all coalesced in my warped brain, and I came up with this delicious and simple (if time-consuming) delight.

What I did:

Boil a dozen eggs, starting in cold salted water with a splash of white vinegar, for however long it takes at your altitude to be hard boiled but still creamy in the yolks (I do about 9 minutes). Stop them by running under cold water. While the eggs cool completely, take out a mixing bowl and add:

– 16 tbs (around 13oz) white miso
– About 6 tbs red miso
– 11 tsp maple syrup (the actually-from-trees kind, not Aunt Jemima’s corn syrup sauce)

Blend all that together until it’s as smooth as you can get it. Cut and lay out strips of plastic wrap about 4″ deep. Peel the eggs – carefully – you want them whole and intact.

Now’s when the magic happens. Spoon about a tablespoon of the marinade onto the center of each plastic strip. Pick up an egg, and use it to spread the marinade around on the plastic, and then place the egg in the center, and wrap it up, making sure it’s as well covered with marinade as you can manage. Put them all in a bowl, and store in the fridge overnight…the longer you marinate, the stronger the flavor will be. I left mine for about 16 hours. When you think they’re done, unwrap your eggs and slice them in half. I topped each of mine with a dab of leftover marinade, mostly because it was pretty, but also to kick up the strength of flavor, since they’d only been in 16 hours.

The results were fabulous – these eggs were delicious, pretty, and my guests were under the definite impression I’d done something difficult and complicated. The next time I make these, I will probably add a couple tablespoons of rice vinegar or Shao Xing, to actually pickle the eggs a little bit and add some bit. But that’s just bonus – these were damn good as they were!

– MAW