There are just too many puns that I could make with this post – but I shall refrain from making you groan – instead let us explore the undertaking of making the age old party food – Deviled Eggs.
It was a fine Saturday morning in Seattle with visiting brothers from Minnesota and a big birthday party to prep for – what does one do? Boil two dozen eggs of course and begin researching the world of deviled egg recipes.
The hardest part about deviled eggs is peeling the eggs in a way that does not destroy the eggs. My research revealed a number of techniques that make this part of the recipe less disastrous.
1. Do not use fresh eggs straight from the chicken – older eggs peel better.
2. Do not over boil the eggs and immediately bath them in cold water after they are cooked.
3. Run cold water over the eggs as you peel them.
Following the above advice 20 of my 24 eggs peeled pretty decently and made it to the deviled egg plate.
Meanwhile, the kitchen began to smell a little sulfurous from the large collection of cooked chicken embryos amassing in my mixing bowl. I chose to create a hybrid slightly non-traditional recipe for the filling after reading about 10 versions of "traditional" deviled eggs and a whole slideshow of "twists" on deviled eggs in a New York Times article.
One of my prototype recipes called for shallots so I decided to go Walla Walla spring onion to keep it Washington local and minced the little onion into little bits and tossed it in with the egg yolks.
Followed by dijon mustard, white wine vinegar, mayonaisse, sea salt, pepper and sriracha and mixed them all together until it became a tasty yellow paste.
Then it was time to stuff the eggs. Using a spoon I was able to neatly stuff 40 egg halves.
Paprika Angel's Deviled Eggs
Makes approximately 40 deviled egg halves
2 dozen eggs
1 small spring onion, finely chopped (roughly 1/2 cup)
1 cup good quality mayonnaise (organic or at least all natural with no sugar added)
4 tbsp white wine vinegar
4 tbsp dijon mustard
1 1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp sriracha (or other hot sauce of your choice that is not Tabasco)
1 tsp smoked paprika for garnish
Step 1: Cook Eggs. Place eggs in a large sauce pan and pour cold water over them. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat and cover letting the eggs sit for about 10 to 12 minutes.
Step 2: Peel the Eggs. Pour out hot water and pour cold water of the eggs and let them sit another 5 minutes in the cold water. Under cold running water peel the eggs carefully.
Step 3: Cut the eggs in half using a sharp knife. Using a small spoon scoop out the yolks and place them in a large mixing bowl. Set the egg whites on a large platter and put to the side.
Step 4: Finely chop the spring onion into small bits and add to the egg yolks.
Step 5: Measure and add the mayonaisse, dijon mustard, white wine vinegar, sriracha, salt and pepper to the egg yolks. Blend everything together using a fork or an electric mixer (if you want a really smooth consistency).
Step 6: Using a small spoon scoop the egg yolk mixture into the hole of each egg white. Fill each hole just up and over its edges. Repeat until you have filled all the eggs and have no more egg yolk mixture.
Step 7: Sprinkle the eggs with smoked paprika.
Step 8: Bring to party and enjoy!