Catanduanes Forum

For those who are looking for extra income and would like to indulge in backyard livelihood, Itlog na Maalat is a good one.

I have actually indulged in this business and it is profitable. I stopped because of time and i'm locked up in some more profitable endeavor.

A friend of mine earned considerably in Republic of Nauru producing this and selling it to Filipino expats there while I produced Ham, Bacon, Tapa, Chicken Ham, Tosino and Longanisa, and Sausage.

To my knowledge, there are two procedures use;. a) using the traditional clay procedure b) using the brine solution.

I find the clay not suitable for home production as it is messy. So I used the Brine solution procedure which is as follows.

Materials:

1. Medium size Ducks eggs/Chicken eggs (the normal eggs you buy)
2. Salt
3. Water
4. Soaking container.
5. Food color for dying

Selecting the eggs:

We need eggs with shells that are not too thick as salt permeation will be longer while too thin shell cracks and permeation is fast making the product too salty.

Using a flashlight or a bulb, check the thickness of the shell. I know this is a bit tricky. But compare the around 30 (1 tray) and you will instinctively know what is too thick and too thin. Judge. Most of the eggs are the right eggs. Just discard the thick, the thin those with cracks and visible lines which is a potential crack.

Choose also eggs that are rounded. You don't want elongated eggs. Not that they will go bad, but packaging will be an issue when eggs are to elongated.

Soak the eggs in tap water for around 10 minutes to remove dirts and droppings. Look you need not scrub it and make it too clean. That will eat up your time. You will dye it red anyway.

Besides, the egg membrane do not allow dirt and organisms to permeate the egg, unless the shell is cracked. Nature has done that for you already.

Ones most of the droppings and dirts came off set aside the eggs and proceed to do the Brine Solution:

(ung sakit man pallan mag gibo nin procedures. kangangallas pero sigi sana dabid)

Brine Solution

A brine solution is a mixture of ordinary tap water and salt.

There is exact proportion of water and salt. A good brine solution is reached when salt do not anymore dissolve as it has reached its saturation point. Hard water has lots of salt sediments in them therefore requires lesser salt to reach saturation point, while soft water (water from the rain is one) needs a little bit more salt.

In a five liter of ordinary tap water, i use a kilo. Just be ready with another kilo in case. Mix the salt with water and stir until all the salt dissolve. Add when required. Do not worry if you poured many salt. They will not dissolve and you can strain, collect and dry them back for the next production.

Once the brine solution is ready, you are now ready for the next step: Preparing the container.

Preparing the Container

The container is where you will soak the egg submerged in the brine solution. As eggs float in this solution, big container will need more solution. So get the right size for the number of eggs you have. Look for containers with plastic cover as they do not corrode. Punch a hole for where you will pour the brine when the eggs are already sealed inside.

I make a hole smaller than the size of the eggs so it the eggs will not jump off the jar.

For a bigger production, I use the big plastic drum of Lard. I buy them from groceries. Water container sold in Water Refilling stations is perfect as the opening can accommodate your hand to allow you to arrange the eggs.

Once your soaking container is ready proceed to the next step: soaking.

Soaking

Uncooked egg float on water. Buoyancy of water is strong in brine solution so all the more the eggs will float.

Place the clean eggs in a container first. Cover them and pour the brine through the whole until all the eggs are covered with water. Place them on a safe place where they will not be moved or knocked out.

Soak the eggs for 12 to 15 days. Try boiling one on the 13th day to find out if you reached the desired taste.

Boiling

Collect the eggs out of the brine solution and place the eggs on a pot. Boil them over very low fire (makusog sana sa pag unog nin sinapna). Bring to a boil. Once boiling set the timer to 30-45 minutes over the same slow fire. Too much fire will crack the eggs.

For large scale, I use Kerosene can and boil for 1 hour with timer set once the water start boiling. It takes around more that 2 hours for the it to boil under slow fire. So a kerosene can full of eggs will cook for around 3 hours.

With me processing 500 trays per production, I used several kerosene cans and/or, i use three tiered steamer and steam the eggs for 6 to 8 hours.

Dying

While boiling the egg, prepare the dying solution. Make the mixture strong... well your desired. Experiment on 1 egg at a time till you get your desired color. I'm not joking, but in high school, i colored my eggs blue, green, violet... anything but red. All my salted eggs are sold first! Well your gamble. he he he

Place the solution in a basin deep enough to submerge 10 to 12 eggs at a time.

Look for Bag na butas-butas, the one some use in scrubbing clothes, or an old stocking or fruit net.

Place the hot eggs in them and dip in the dying solution twice for better result. Place the still hot dyed eggs in egg trays. Cool. Eat/Sell.

I'm ready for any questions. I rest my case.