How to Make Classic Deviled Eggs

Ah, deviled eggs: For the most part you either love them or hate them. And as you can probably guess, I love them. In fact, I have such an obsession with the flavor of eggs, that my old coworker nicknamed me “Huevos.” And so for those of you who are also fans of eggs, I want you to know that this dish - while it may have a laborious appearance - is actually quite simple.

In fact, I prefer this classic recipe to the over-the-top version of deviled eggs you find in many restaurants, which are usually filled with an overwhelming quantity of relish, aioli and chopped bacon. The simplicity of this recipe really brings out the rich and unique flavor of the egg, while still giving off a hint of heat and freshness with its garnishes of choice.

Full Recipe

Servings: 12

Ingredients:

6 Eggs
1/4 cup Mayonaise
1 tsp Dijon Mustard
1 tsp White Vinegar
Salt and Pepper
Paprika for a pop of color
Herb garnish of choice (I used Tarragon as that’s what I had around the house that day, but other popular options include Chives, Dill or Pickled Red Onion)

Directions:

First, we are going to start with my mother’s recipe for hard-boiled eggs. I love it because in her house there are never any overboiled eggs with a green-ish/gray appearance. They will turn out gorgeously sunshine yellow, yet also thoroughly cooked.
First place the eggs in a room temperature pot of water that just covers the eggs completely, and turn the heat onto high until it comes to a rolling boil.
Let the eggs boil for just 2 minutes, and then turn the heat off and remove the eggs from the hot burner, keeping them submerged in the water.
Quickly place a pot lid on the eggs and let them sit in the hot water for 15 minutes. Then remove the eggs from the hot water and immediately place them into icy water so they don’t overcook. Leave them in the icy water for at least 10 minutes.
Once the eggs are ready, peel and gently slice them in half. There’s a slight chance that the yolk may have hardened so close to the edge of the egg white that it’s too thin on one end to use in the recipe. If it falls apart, set it aside to munch on later. As for the surviving egg whites, gently pop the cooked yolk out of them and set them to the side. Add all of the boiled yolks to a bowl.
Mash the egg yolks with a fork and add mayonnaise, vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper. Combine thoroughly. Martha Stewart recommends mashing the mixture through a sieve to make it extra fine. But I personally didn’t follow this step and thought it was fine, pending you mix well.
If you want to get extra fancy, use a piping bag and textured tip to place the mixture into your hard-boiled egg white halves. You can of course spoon it into the egg white, but if you are sans a piping kit and still want the piped appearance, you can do what I did and place the mixture into a Ziploc bag, cut off one corner to create a make-shift piping bag and squeezed the mixture into the white. It still looked gorgeous!
Garnish your deviled eggs with a light sprinkling of paprika and place your garnish on top.
Place the deviled eggs on a plate or platter. I loved the contrast of the white and yellow against my gray slate display boards.

And of course, if you have any leftover broken egg whites that didn’t make it to the final product, feel free to dip it into the leftover egg yolk mixture (you will always have some leftover) and have a quick snack. Deviled eggs are great for entertaining, as you can make them ahead of time and keep them in the fridge until your guests arrive…you know, once you start having guests over again.

Thanks so much for checking out my blog. Please let me know if you tried out my recipe at all! Until we meet again!