—————————————————— How to make Deviled Eggs | Houston Press

Recipes

Dish of the Week: Deviled Eggs, Five Ways

Deviled eggs can go from classic to wild in no time.
Deviled eggs can go from classic to wild in no time. Photo by Meal Makeover Moms
From classic comfort foods to regional standouts and desserts, we'll be sharing a new recipe with you each week. Find other dishes of the week here.

Since we’re guessing you have some leftover hard-boiled eggs this week, we’re sharing a few takes on deviled eggs. Sure, the end result may be a bit more colorful than usual, but that doesn’t mean it won’t be tasty.

A classic picnic or party food, deviled eggs are hard-boiled eggs that are halved and stuffed with a mixture of the cooked yolk and, in its most classic form, mayonnaise and/or mustard. The filling gets piped into the egg’s yolk cavity. Other common ingredients include salt and black pepper, cayenne, paprika, Old Bay, relish, pickle brine, pimentos and capers, though the variations are endless.

According to history.com, the origins of the modern-day deviled egg trace back to ancient Rome, where boiled and seasoned eggs were traditionally served as a first course or “gustatio” for the wealthy. There was even a Roman saying, “ab ova usque ad mala” — meaning from eggs to apples, describing the beginning of a meal to the end. The first nod to the term “deviled” in reference to food came around in the 18th century, originally appearing as the noun “devil” to describe a highly seasoned fried or boiled dish; later, in the 19th century, the term “deviled” appeared as a verb to describe cooking something with hot seasonings like cayenne or mustard.

The humble deviled egg has made its way around the world, with iterations from Sweden, where it is often mixed with caviar, red onion and cream or sour cream and topped with chive or dill; or from Germany, where the yolks can be flavored with anchovy, cheese and caper.

From classic to buffalo-style deviled eggs, choose-your-own adventure with the recipes below. To start, you'll need a dozen eggs (one recipe calls for only eight).

Base Recipe
Place eggs in a pot and cover with cold water by 1 inch. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then cover, remove from the heat and set aside 8 to 10 minutes.

Transfer hard-boiled eggs to a bowl of ice water with a slotted spoon and let cool. Drain the ice water. One at a time, crack the bottom, wider end of each egg against the bowl, then hold the egg under cold running water and peel.

Slice the eggs in half lengthwise. Scoop the yolks into a bowl and make your filling. Fill the egg-white halves with the yolk mixture using a spoon, piping bag or resealable plastic bag with a corner snipped.

For Classic Deviled Eggs
1 dozen large eggs
2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 to 4 dashes Tabasco sauce, to taste
Salt, to taste
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoon snipped fresh chives
6 tablespoons mayonnaise
Paprika, for garnish
Whole fresh chives, for garnish

Place yolks in a bowl and mash with a fork. Add mustard, Tabasco, salt, pepper and snipped chives. Stir in mayonnaise. Fill each egg white with about 1 1/2 teaspoons of the egg-yolk mixture and dust the top with paprika. Arrange in a spoke design on a platter; garnish with whole chives.

For Buffalo Deviled Eggs
12 large eggs
1/4 cup hot sauce, plus more for garnish
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 tablespoon sour cream
1 to 2 stalks celery, finely diced, plus celery leaves, for garnish
3 tablespoons crumbled blue cheese

Place yolks in a bowl. Add the hot sauce, mayonnaise, sour cream and celery to the yolks and mix to combine. Pipe or scoop the filling back into the egg white cavities. Garnish with blue cheese, celery leaves and more hot sauce.

For Smoked Salmon Deviled Eggs
8 eggs (this recipe calls for extra-large but whatever you have on hand will do)
1/2 cup sour cream
2 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
2 tablespoons good mayonnaise
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoons minced fresh chives, plus extra for garnish
4 ounces good smoked salmon, minced
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 ounces salmon roe

Place the yolks in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and arrange the whites on a platter in a single layer with the cut sides up and sprinkle with salt.

To the egg yolks, add the sour cream, cream cheese, mayonnaise, lemon juice, chives, salmon, salt and pepper. Beat on medium speed until fluffy. With a small spoon, fill the egg whites with the egg yolk mixture. Cover loosely with plastic wrap (you don't want to flatten the filling) and refrigerate for 30 minutes for the flavors to blend.

When ready to serve, garnish with a dollop of salmon roe and some extra chopped chives. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and serve.

For Curried Deviled Eggs
12 large eggs
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon mustard powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/8 teaspoon paprika, plus more for garnish
Kosher salt
Finely chopped fresh chives, for garnish

Mix together the mayonnaise, mustard, vinegar, curry powder, mustard powder, cayenne and paprika. Season with salt. Spoon out the cooked yolks and transfer to the bowl with the mayonnaise mixture. Mash together with the tongs of a fork until smooth. Alternatively, you can press the yolks through a fine sieve over the bowl and stir together.

Spoon the filling into the egg whites, or you can put the filling into a re-sealable bag, cut one end off and pipe it in. Garnish with paprika and chives before serving.

For Bacon-Jalapeño Deviled Eggs
12 large eggs
1/3 c. mayonnaise
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/4 cup chopped cooked bacon
2 tbsp shredded Cheddar
1 1/2 tbsp yellow mustard
2 tsp. chopped jalapeño (seeded if desired)
kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Spoon out yolks into a small bowl and place whites on a serving platter. Using a fork, mash yolks, then stir in mayonnaise, lemon juice, bacon, cheddar, mustard and jalapeño and season with salt and pepper.

Spoon mixture evenly among egg whites and serve.
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Brooke Viggiano is a contributing writer who is always looking to share Houston's coolest and tastiest happenings with the Houston Press readers.
Contact: Brooke Viggiano