¼ cup raw honey (find HERE) *The traditional Pennsylvania Dutch recipe uses much more white sugar than this, but I found this amount of raw honey is the perfect amount of sour and sweetness. You can omit the honey for a sugar free option, too.
Instructions
Slice the tops and ends off of the beets and add them to your 6 cups of water.
Bring to a boil over medium high heat and cook for 20 minutes or until they are tender.
Remove the beets from the water and set aside to cool (don't throw out the beet water!).
Add the garlic, cinnamon, cloves, salt and pepper to the beet water and set aside.
Once the beets are cool enough to handle, the skins should slip off easily so slip the skins off and slice the beets to desired size.
Place the beets in a large bowl or mason jars (I use THIS large jar).
Add the hardboiled peeled eggs and sliced shallots to the jar with the beets and set aside.
Once the beet water has cooled to a warm temperature, stir in the honey and apple cider vinegar.You want the beet water warm enough to dissolve the honey but not hot enough to destroy the beneficial enzymes in the acv and raw honey. Set aside for 1 hour so the flavors can develop.
After an hour, strain the liquid into the jar with the beets, onion and eggs. You want the liquid to completely cover the eggs.
Cover the jar (or bowl) lightly and refrigerate for at least 8 hours. They get better with time in the fridge - I typically like to wait 3 days. Enjoy!
Notes
If you have leftover beet pickling liquid, save it until you have some more hardboiled eggs! After you've eaten the eggs and beets, you'll most likely have a lot of leftover liquid. Save it and reuse it!
Recipe by Primally Inspired at https://www.primallyinspired.com/red-beet-eggs-using-fresh-beets/