Pacific Madrone Bark Tea Eggs
Last spring, I was called crazy, more than once, when I kept bringing home boxes of fuzzy little chicks.
Here we are, this spring and those chicks are now lots and lots of nourishing eggs. What a blessing!
With my abundance of eggs and Easter festivities around the corner, it seemed like the perfect time to finally try out a recipe for Madrone Bark Tea Eggs. This is fashioned after the better-known Chinese Tea Eggs, but I’m a wild American, so I’ll be using bark from a tree in my own forest.
I first saw this in my now well-worn copy of Hunt, Gather, Cook by the legendary Hank Shaw. I have all of his cookbooks, including my absolute favorite Buck, Buck, Moose. It not only transformed the way I approach wild game, but also how I approach classic kitchen meats like beef and lamb. But let’s get back to our Madrone Eggs- the recipe is available online at Madrone Tea Bark Eggs | The Splendid Table .
This is the Madrone Bark Tea steeping overnight. This step is just like making a dye bath for fibers.
My very fresh and colorful eggs coming out of the initial simmering water bath.
The crackled eggs in a “Spiced” Madrone Tea Bath using juniper berries, bay leaves, star anise, lemon peel, and salt. (DO NOT FORGET THE SALT LIKE I DID!!)
The crackled eggs waiting to be peeled following a long steep in the tea bath.
WOW. My first look at the inside of a Madrone Bark Tea Egg. It was a little misleading…
…because it was actually the membrane between the shell and the egg white that took on the deepest shades.
But these are still really fantastic!
Your turn.
Visit The Splendid Table for the recipe or buy yourself a copy of Hank Shaw’s Hunt, Gather, Cook
Forage some local Madrone bark or pick up a half ounce here
Find some farm fresh eggs and get to work.
Approximately one half ounce of dried Madrone bark in a hand-turned Madrone bowl courtesy of Adam at Churchel Fine Woods.