Now is the time of year for Deviled eggs. Backyard picnics, BBQ's with friends, or even just for an appetizer at home. That's what I did. I made my famous deviled eggs with one minor modification.
Now that deviled eggs are fashionable again, at least around Boston, I figured I would make my simple yet super flavorful deviled eggs for my husband. He is a fanatic about deviled eggs, but has never had mine in ten years that we have have lived together. I am also feeling a bit inspired after the deviled egg course at Cambridge Common for the Stoudt's Beer dinner. Gorgonzola deviled eggs paired with a Double IPA. They were unbelievably good.
Being from the South, the only secret ingredient that seems to work with nearly all things southern, is the sweet bread and butter pickle. You can't substitute with sweet relish. It's too watery and tastes vastly different from the bread and butter pickle. You got to get in there and finely chop your sweet pickles for this recipe.
The spicy topping makes this perfect for BBQ's and beer. These are sure to be a crowd pleaser.
Recipe:
10 to 12 eggs boiled, shells peeled, rinsed, and halved, yolks removed and set aside
1/2 cup to 3/4 cup super finely chopped sweet bread and butter pickles
*Do Not Use Sweet Relish
1 to 2 tbls. Mayonnaise
1 to 2 tbls. Ranch Dressing
1 to 2 tbls. Yellow Mustard
A big pinch of salt and pepper.
Optional: A pinch of Italian seasoning, a very tiny pinch of garlic and onion powder.
Line up the egg white shells on a platter or plate and set aside. Whisk yolks, pickles and all other ingredients in a bowl. Start with 1 tbls. of wet ingredients so as to not make your yolk mix too runny. Some eggs will yield you a lot of yolk and some will yield you not as much as you hoped for. So take it slow and gradually add more wet ingredients to create a nice smooth paste. You want it fluffy and thick, not thin and runny.
If you have a pastry bag, you can pipe the mixture into the halved egg whites. I have a pastry bag, but honestly it's a lot easier to spoon in the mixture and less of a mess at the end. Evenly fill all the egg whites. Start out small, to make sure your mixture goes all the way and then top them off if your left with yolk mix. You should should be left with enough yolk mix to pile high fluffy eggs like the opening picture.
Spicy seasoning:
1/2 teaspoon Chipotle chili powder
1/4 teaspoon Ancho chili powder
1/2 teaspoon Paprika
1/8 teaspoon Cumin
1/2 teaspoon Old Bay
Sprinkle of Smoked Paprika separate.
Mix all spices together and sprinkle over top of prepared eggs. I like mine spicy, so I coated mine a bit heavy, be as liberal or as moderate as you like with your eggs.
Sprinkle the smoked paprika at the end to add a hint of big red color to the eggs.
Chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour before serving.
I nicked the Old Bay idea from the ladies of Cambridge Common. That's the minor modification I made to this recipe. It's one of my favorite spices being from the Virginia area and being in love with Chesapeake Bay crabs. I was delighted when they used it on their deviled eggs and felt a bit inspired so I put it in my spice mix.
Of course you can moderate this recipe however you feel fit. There are trillions of recipes out there and everyone has a modification that makes it uniquely theirs. This is my recipe. It's easy, flavorful, spicy without knocking you over, and sweet for the exact right balance.
Despite how heavy the spices look in the images, I promise it's the right balance for these eggs. As someone who is a super wuss about all things spicy, I made these with a nice punch that is just right. Flavorful and tingly, not sweating bullets and eye popping.
Damn those deviled eggs look good. I may have to put that recipe to work for me.
Posted by: Jon W | 07/29/2010 at 05:13 PM