Deviled Eggs

What’s the easiest appetizer that maybe gets a bad wrap? Deviled eggs. These guys are delicious, they whip up with just a few ingredients, and they are just foolproof, delicious appetizer amazingness.

These deviled eggs will whip up in a snap, so let’s get started. The boys were having a playdate and I thought the parents could use a little bit of like a snack table, and the deviled eggs are part of it. Super easy, great for like impromptu little gatherings, and I guarantee they’re gonna like them.

Preparing the Eggs

First off, let’s get those eggs into the pot. I have a big pot here and I’m adding in one, two, three, four, five, six eggs. I’ll add one extra egg in here just because sometimes one cracks and breaks open—consider it a safety net.

We’re adding in two teaspoons of salt and about two teaspoons of white vinegar. This will help us peel the eggs more easily. You do not want sticky shells; that sucks. This is gonna get filled up with water so the eggs are covered by like an inch to two inches, and then onto the burner.

Seven minutes of boiling later, we can place these eggs into an ice bath. You do not want to over-boil the eggs because those yolks can get rubbery and grainy, and it’s not going to make the best deviled eggs—although there is a fix which I’ll tell you about at the end of this. Now they can hang out and just cool down so they’re not going to be molten and finger-burning. Just give it a few minutes and they’ll be ready. Be patient.

Peeling and Halving

Our eggs are all cooled down, so now it’s time to de-shell them. I’m just going to crack them all into this bowl and also occasionally dip them into the ice water to get rid of any of those little tiny fragments of shell. It’s one of my least favorite things.

Once you get into a groove of peeling those eggs, they’ll go by in a flash, and as I go I’m going to transfer my peeled eggs into this other clean bowl. I think older eggs will peel a bit more easily than fresh eggs, so keep that in mind when you’re making deviled eggs. These ones are very fresh, just by the way. The vinegar did help quite a bit though; otherwise this would have been a nightmare—nightmare on egg street.

The next step is to halve the eggs carefully in there, and don’t waste any of that precious yolk—it is a main ingredient. The yolks are going to be deeper and darker depending on what those chickens were eating. If they were just hanging around and eating grain all day, pretty pale, but if they’ve been foraging out and having bugs and things, nice orange egg yolks.

Now what we’re going to do is pop out those yolks just into a bowl. This is the sign of a nice hard-boiled egg: it is yellow still (or orange); it is not gray. If they’re gray, it’s been overdone. Just pop them right out. If your eggs have some stray pieces of yolk on the white, just go ahead and rinse them under water, leave them face down on a paper towel, and they’ll be all nice and dry by the time our filling is ready.

Making the Filling

For that creamy filling, it is so easy but delicious. The one important thing I’m going to tell you right now before we get started: you need a nice mustard. Find a nice Dijon mustard; it should be really peppery and creamy delicious, not full of any preservatives or food coloring—just the good stuff. Okay, that’s all I had to say, had to get off my chest.

• 3 tablespoons of mayonnaise
• 1½ teaspoons of that nice Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon of fresh lemon juice

You can of course adjust this to taste; it’s a very easy recipe. For example, if you hate mayonnaise with a passion, I understand—you can use sour cream instead of the mayonnaise; you can do all sorts of substitutions.

Now mash it up. I’m gonna use a fork to get started, although you could use a potato masher too. If you over-cooked your eggs, don’t feel bad: put your ingredients into a strainer, strain it out, and all the rubbery extra-large parts will be filtered and it’ll be pretty creamy. You’ll have to whisk it a little bit more than you would normally, but no one will be able to tell; it’ll be our little secret.

I think deviled eggs get such a bad wrap for no reason—they’re a delicious thing to have and super easy. Oh, look how silky smooth that is—no, it’s not silky smooth, it needs a good whisk. For my whisking I’ll use my favorite French whisk, small and get into those corners. I will be adding my optional tablespoon of sour cream though right now because it could be loosened up just a bit. Nice and creamy—it is the savory version of French buttercream.

It is time for a taste. You can always go for more acid, more salt, more heat; it’s totally up to you.

Piping and Garnishing

Now let’s get this piped into our little perfect egg-white shells. You could totally just spoon the filling into your little egg-white wells, but I’ll be piping it in—it’s a nice effect and super easy. All you need is a piping bag and a star tip. I think the best results will come from a closed star tip because you’ll get more definition.

Transfer that yolk mixture into your piping bag; it’s a nice sunny yellow color, very springtime-y. Set aside, and now all you have to do is give it a pipe. We’re doing a classical dollop, so if you want just fill it up—that’s it, so easy. Repeat with the rest of the shells, and you can be generous with your filling as well; no one wants a stingy deviled egg.

Garnish Options

A lot of times people will suggest you do fresh herbs on top, and that is an option, but they actually look kind of clumsy because this is so small. I prefer the classical little pinch of paprika. If you want to be a little bit extra, you could add:

• Crispy bacon pieces
• Jalapeño
• Fried bread crumbs (they give you a nice crunch)

Make-Ahead Tips

These guys are so easy. If you want to do a lot of prep work ahead of time and have them be like as nice as possible, just fill your piping bag up, have these halved and covered, and then once your guests are ready to arrive you can just fill them up, top them out, and they’re ready to go. That way you’ll avoid any kind of like hardening or weeping or them getting smushed in the fridge.

Trust me—so creamy, perfectly pecan, the right amount of like spice and acid. It’s all you could ever want in half of an egg.