1. Start with 12 medium-to-small eggs.
2. Carefully remove any material clinging to the surface of the eggs.
3. Make the dye with the onion skins: in a stainless saucepan, place the skins of 15 red (Spanish) onions and 2 tablespoons of white vinegar in 4 1/2 cups of water and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes.
4. Strain dye into a glass bowl and let cool to room temperature. (Don’t be fooled by the orange colour.)
5. In a stainless steel saucepan, add the cooled, strained dye and eggs at room temperature (up to 1 dozen). The eggs should be in one layer and covered by the dye.
6. Bring to a boil over medium heat. When boiling, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer.
7. Dyeing time will be affected by the color of the eggs. Start checking for color at 12-15 minutes. Do not simmer longer than 20 minutes (see step 9 if they aren’t red enough).
8. When eggs are the right colour, proceed to step 10.
9. If eggs are not a red enough colour after 20 minutes, leave in the pot and remove from heat. When the pot has cooled enough, place in refrigerator and let sit until desired colour is reached.
10. Remove eggs with a slotted spoon and cool on racks.
11. When they can be handled, coat lightly with olive (or other edible) oil and polish with paper towelling.
12. Refrigerate until time to use.
Time Required:
50 minutes
+ 2 hours cooling