No holiday meal is complete without a side of those delicious boiled and yolk-filling stuffed Deviled Eggs! While a standard Deviled Egg recipe used to be quite simple, modern chefs and home cooks alike have taken them to a whole new level with just about every flavor combination you can imagine. Believe it or not, Deviled Eggs actually go all the way back to Ancient Rome, but have essentially become a traditional classic dish in the North American Southern region. Even though I would love to go crazy and introduce you to some wild, innovative new flavor or style, I grew up in the South so today's Deviled Egg recipe will remain classic in style. Stick around for a few tips and tricks I have learned over the years as I explain how to make the quick and simple traditional Deviled Egg for your next family gathering or holiday meal...Let's Get Cooking!
The first step in making a delicious Deviled Egg is to properly boil and peel the eggs themselves. While you may be tempted to run out and grab a dozen fresh eggs from the store, older eggs will actually peel better due to the shell itself microscopically deteriorating over time allowing air to penetrate the shell, but not the egg sac inside. What does that mean exactly? Well, simply put, older eggs allow some air to seep through the shell creating a gap layer with the inner "white" of the egg surrounding the yolk. Ok great, so what am I supposed to do with that information? Well, that gap between the egg white and the shell is key to easily peeling the shell without creating a mess of your eggs! Break all that fancy data down, do a little analysis, and I'm here to tell you that 3- to 4-week-old eggs are best for boiling and peeling! Of course, even older eggs will work as well, and if you didn't already know, you can place a raw egg in a bowl or cup of water to test whether it is still fresh or not. A very fresh egg will lay flat on its side on the bottom, a slightly older and better egg for boiling and peeling will semi-float off its point, and a rotten egg will float to the top and should be discarded. I realize many of you all may have already know those fancy tidbits, but it's a good refresher and "egg"cellent knowledge everyone should know! Sorry, you just have to "crack" a good egg joke when they are "layed" out like that!
Now that I have massively digressed, let's talk about boiling eggs. We all know there are multiple stages of boiled eggs, but for this recipe, we want a true hard-boiled egg so place your eggs in a pot and cover them with an inch or so of cold water. Now turn the stove on and bring the water up to a boil. Once the water is fully boiling, turn the heat off, cover the pot, and let the eggs sit in the hot water for 16-18 minutes. While the eggs are doing their thing in that hot water sauna, prepare a large bowl of ice water. Once the eggs have cooked for about 18 minutes, carefully transfer them to the ice water bath and let them chill and cool down for 10 minutes or so until cold to the touch. At this point, they should easily peel with a tap to crack them on a flat surface or under cold running water. I realize there are numerous gadgets and gizmos out there to steam cook/boil eggs and peel them so if you want to use those that's perfectly fine as well. I have a little 6 egg electric cooker I use often if I'm making a small batch or just want a quick breakfast. Oh, and one final note. Eggs will be eggs sometimes so it doesn't hurt to make a few extra in case they don't peel very well or you end up needing more yolks later on for the filling.
Those older eggs sure did peel just about perfectly, eh? Anyway, slice your eggs in half lengthwise and remove the yolks into a mixing bowl. If you are even remotely close to a deviled egg lover such as myself, I suggest buying a tray or container designed for egg halves storage and/or transportation. I have a smaller one that stacks to hold 24 deviled eggs. Again, they are not necessary, but they do make life much easier when it comes to keeping these little slippery devils at bay for filling and storage. Oh, once you get all the boiled yolks into a mixing bowl, go ahead and use a fork to break them down into smaller crumbles.
Nothing left to it really but just to do it so add the mayonnaise, mustard, apple cider vinegar, and dill pickle relish and stir until everything is well combined. Personally, I think Deviled Eggs are better with a slightly clumpy yolk filling, but you can use an immersion blender or hand mixer to really make this filling extra smooth and creamy if you wish. That being said, this is where you can put your own personal touch on the recipe and use a different mayo/mustard variation, add cayenne pepper, bacon bits, green onion, etc etc. Dijon mustard also works well here if you are not a huge fan of yellow mustard, but like I previously said I kept this particular recipe very basic and classic this time around. You don't have to be very exact with your measurements, but do be careful not to add too much mayo making the filling too liquid-like and runny. It should be slightly thick when you are done mixing. If you did happen to add too many ingredients and things got a bit too thin, just add a few more boiled yolks you should have prepared earlier as a backup to thicken the filling back up. As always, be sure to give it a taste and season with salt/pepper accordingly.
When you are finally happy with the Deviled Egg filling, you can simply spoon it back into the boiled egg halves. If you want to be extra special and fancy, transfer the filling to a piping bag and use one of those snazzy tips to create a nice little swirl of filling in each egg half. If you don't have any piping bags, like 95% of us, you can also put the filling in a ziplock bag and just cut the corner off with a pair of scissors. It certainly won't look as fancy, but it will be neater and cleaner in presentation than simply spooning the mixture back in like a bum. I went full bum this time around and just used the same fork I mixed the filling with to dump a little bit of delicious yolk-filling right back in the eggs. There is no right or wrong here so if looks are important to you then by all means make it fancy. Otherwise, just fill the damn eggs back up!
You could leave things as is at this point and serve up these tasty Deviled Eggs, but any true Southerner knows good and well that no Deviled Egg is complete without a dusting of paprika! Does it actually change the taste at all? Not really, but it definitely adds a pop of color and makes things look a bit prettier since I went bum mode and just forked the filling right back into the eggs.
Oh yeah now that's what I call some good looking Deviled Eggs! Simple and Southern in style, this classic take is sure to satisfy everyone's cravings for the ultimate holiday side dish! They actually taste better after a couple days in the fridge so you can make them ahead of time or simply double up the recipe and enjoy them a few extra days with other leftovers. Whether you keep them the same or go rogue and put your own flair on these Deviled Eggs, get in the kitchen and put a smile on someone's face when you serve up these tasty treats...Just Keep Cooking!
DEVILED EGGS
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