oh nooooo LOL my wife is HORRIBLE about returning stuff back to the fridge,
putting lids back on tight, and leaving raw meat uncovered in the fridge.
I started out cooking chicken at KFC when I was 16 (1964). So it has been POUNDED into
my spirit about the chemistry of how different foods spoil. Some will only make you sick,
some will KILL you. Chicken is at the top of the list for food borne illnesses.
Our farmers just killed over 13 MILLION chickens and turkeys due to the Bird Flu.
So right now, anything to do with eggs or chickens is suspect (to me) and must be
cooked way past the 165*f to ensure all the bugs are killed dead.
I guess to ensure your eggs are cooked correctly is to sacrifice one or two and poke a
cooking thermometer into the yolk and see if it is at a minimum of 155*f.
If at 20 minutes or so, you reach the safe temp, then you will know what to use for your standard boil.
This is just my own personal suggestion from years, years and more years of cooking for crowds.
If you look on the label of the store bought eggs, I am sure it will include more ingredients
than what is suggested on the internet for pickling recipes such as sodium nitrites and nitrates.
And, speaking of preservatives, the mini sausages, smoked kielbasa and hotdogs already
have all this "meat" preservatives in them. Just wash them with warm water and add them to your
egg mix. I doubt very seriously that the nitrates could leach out in sufficient quantities to provide
additional protection in the form of increased preservation properties.
But like everyone else here, we have seen the big jars of eggs and sausages in gas stations and bars
for snacks. Straight 5% or higher vinegar, or cider vinegar is not to be tampered with. THAT is the
PRESERVATIVE that keeps the bad stuff from happening to you.
I have never prepared anything of this nature. I am only going by my past experience and common sense
of cooking SAFELY. Once you know the proper food handling techniques, you can apply that knowledge
to just about anything and be safe about it. I have made some really good Bread n Butter pickles with cucumbers.
Just trust your own judgement and do some research and you will be okay.
I will eat bread and cheese with mold on it. There is no way I would eat tomatoes or poultry with that same mold on it.
My wife is at work so I snuck some pics of her stash . . . . eeeewwwwwwwww !!! :shock: