The Perfect Deviled Egg - Tip of the Day

by Sarah LeTrent, Posted Nov 18th 2009 @ 9:00AM

Deviled eggs, a fixture on the appetizer circuit, can give your holiday guests a delicious start to the Thanksgiving feast.

Photo: chick_pea_pie, Flickr.

The key to these devilishly good delights is in the egg white -- the perfectly hard boiled egg. The filling, from there, is customizable.

First, let the fresh eggs warm to room temperature. As a preventative measure, it's always a good idea to boil one or two extra eggs, as some may not have a centered yolk, which can cause the egg whites to break when filling is added.

Next, place the eggs in a single layer in a saucepan and cover them with enough cool water. You don't want the eggs to be too crowded during cooking in order to prevent bumping into one another and cracking.

Slowly bring the water to a boil. When the water has reached a boil, cover with a lid, remove from heat and let the eggs sit for 10 minutes.

In order to stop the cooking and make the eggs easier to peel, they must be cooled quickly. The best way to do this is by placing the eggs in a bowl of ice water for about 15 minutes. From here, you can either peel the eggs immediately or keep them refrigerated (only for a few days) until ready to use.

Once peeled, slice each egg in half lengthwise. Remove yolks and arrange whites on a deviled egg platter. The yolks can then be mixed in a variety of ways -- the most common is the Southern version of mayonnaise, mustard and pickle relish.

Carefully spoon the mixture back into the whites and add a sprinkling of paprika. For a more visual effect, put the egg mixture in a pastry bag and pipe the filling back into the hollowed-out whites.

Got a favorite deviled egg filling or tip? Tell us in the comments!

Filed Under: Tip of the Day
Tags: deviled eggs, eggs, fall, hard boiled eggs, perfect hard boiled egg, thanksgiving, thanksgiving food, tip of the day

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Reader comments (Page 1 of 1)

11-18-2009 @5:05PM Leslie said... To add a bit more zing to the deviled eggs filling, I like to add one or more of the following:
Mustard (Frenches, Gray Poupon, or whatever)
Worshester sauce (a few shakes of the bottle)
Red Hot sauce (a touch)
Capers (a teaspoon)
They look best when filling is piped into the white.
To garnish the finished eggs--a dash of paprika on top.
Reply