Deviled Eggs
Everyone likes these deviled eggs; I often make them at Easter. The recipe is very traditional and has the perfect flavor. After mixing the filling, taste and add more mayo, mustard and/or vinegar to get the flavor you want. The mayo adds creaminess, and the mustard and vinegar give them a hint of tang.
See below for variations.
6 eggs, large (see tip below for easier peeling - eggs should be a week old)
1 teaspoon white vinegar, or more to taste
3 tablespoon mayonnaise
1 teaspoon prepared yellow mustard
salt and pepper to taste
2 leaves of lettuce
paprika, for garnish (BRIAN - do not add paprika to egg yolk mixture! - it turns the mixture red)
Place eggs in single layer in saucepan. Add enough cold tap water to come at least 1 inch above eggs. Cover and quickly bring just to boiling. It should be a full boil. Turn off heat. Let eggs stand, covered, in the hot water about 15 minutes for large eggs. (Adjust time up or down by about 3 minutes for each size larger or smaller.) Immediately run cold water over eggs or place them in ice water until completely cooled. I also find cracking the shells under the cold water helps to make them easier to peel.
Once cool, crack and remove the shell peeling from the larger end. Peeling under running water can also help for getting the shell off. Cut the eggs in half lengthwise and scoop out the yolks.
Place the yolks in a medium-size mixing bowl and mash them. Using a hand mixer, blend in vinegar, mayonnaise, mustard, salt and pepper. Use enough mayonnaise to hold the mixture together, but it should be slightly dry.
Carefully put the egg yolk mixture back into the egg whites but do not pack it. There will be enough mixture so the whites are overfilled. Sprinkle with paprika. Place on bed of lettuce and/or garnish with parsley. Cool before serving.
Variations:
Balance the richness of the yolks with spicy and acidic ingredients like mustard, paprika, relish, or chopped pickles (horseradish?). Don't be afraid to add extra flavor and visual appeal with toppings like paprika, chives, or even a drizzle of hot sauce.
- Try a little curry powder in place of, or in addition to, the mustard.
- Minced green onion, chopped green or black olives, jarred pimentoes, and/or pickle relish may be added to the egg yolk mixture. Sweet pickle relish is popular in the South.
- Top Garnishes: slice of green or black olive, fresh dill, parsley, chives, capers, crisp bacon, radish, grated carrots, slice of jalapeño pepper for a little heat, poppyseed, caviar
- In German cuisine, other common flavourings of the yolks are anchovies, cheese and caper.
- In the UK, the dish is popular at buffets. The eggs are made with a mixture or mayonnaise, English mustard, paprika and chives. Cayenne pepper or Tabasco sauce is often added to the mixture. Devilled eggs came over from the UK to the United states.
- In Italy uova ripiene are usually stuffed with minced boiled egg yolks, tuna, capers, anchovies, chopped parsley, and mayonnaise. They are usually prepared around Easter time.
- In Sweden, the deviled egg (fyllda ägghalvor) is a traditional dish for the Easter Smörgåsbord, where the yolk is mixed with caviar, cream or sour cream, optionally chopped red onion, and decorated with chopped chives or dill, perhaps with a piece of anchovy or pickled herring.
- In Hungarian cuisine, the yolks are mashed and mixed with white bread soaked in milk, mustard and parsley, often served as an appetizer with mayonnaise, or as a main course baked in the oven with Hungarian sour cream topping and served with French fries.
Tip for easier peeling eggs:
Eggs should be at least a week old which gives them time to develop air pockets between the egg white and shell making for easier peeling. A simple test in water will answer the freshness question for you. Place the egg in a bowl of water; if it lies on its side on the bottom of the bowl, it is very fresh. As it ages, the air pocket inside the egg grows, which buoys the egg up so it stands on one end. The best eggs for boiling are the ones on their way to standing up because that extra air makes peeling easier.
I have also found that if you crack the shells when you first put them in cold water by tapping them all around on the side of the pan that the shells come off more easily. Start peeling them at the fatter end of the egg, where the air sac is.
Heres a cute idea for making Deviled Egg Easter Baskets
CWe cut off the top of the eggs, carefully take out the yolks as well.
Then dice the yoks, crush them, and mix them with diced peppers, radishes, onions. Add the salt, pepper and mix with a little mayonnaise until creamy.
The edge of the egg baskets is watered in and then pressed into the chopped parsley green. Fill them with egg cream and make ears of curved parsley stalks for them, or use chive leaves.
