Want to know how to make deviled eggs? Deviled eggs are hard-boiled eggs that have been halved and had their yolks removed. Poor little devils? To add insult to injury, the hollow is then filled with smooshed, seasoned yolk. Kind of like the way Humpty Dumpty might have felt after people tried, but were unable to put him back together again.
What Does the Devil in “Deviled” Mean?
While it sounds like deviled means that the eggs have turned evil, that’s not really what it means. The term hearkens back all the way to the days of yore in the 1700s. To devil food meant to prepare it with lots of seasonings to spice it up. That’s why you can have things like deviled ham, devil’s food cake and deviled tongue (yes, you read that right). Truth be told, you can devil any food at all. You could make deviled chicken, deviled corned beef, etc. Which just goes to show you that anything can be turned to the dark side.
How to Make Deviled Eggs
Deviled eggs are pretty simple to make, but some people can’t even boil an egg. Since cooking eggs (not necessarily boiling – we’ll circle back to that) is the first step in making deviled eggs, it might be trickier for some folks.
How to Hard-Boil Eggs
Hard-boiled eggs simply means that the eggs have been cooked long enough so that the yolk is solid. A soft boiled egg has a soft yolk that is a little runny. Remember Matthew sitting at the breakfast table at Downton Abbey with his soft boiled egg in an egg cup? Soft boiled eggs were a common breakfast item. The person—in this case, Matthew—would then dip his toast rectangles into the yolks and eat them. This was a very routine British breakfast called Boiled Eggs and Soldiers. (The toast represents the soldiers, in case you wondered.) Anyway, that’s soft boiled eggs for you. However, we’re interested in making hard boiled eggs to make deviled eggs.
Place the desired number of eggs in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Heat to simmering and cook for 20 minutes. Drain the water, and plunge the eggs into ice cold water. Crack the egg at the rounded tip and peel. Allow to cool.
Now, everybody and their brother has a “trick” for hard boiling eggs. This one works just fine, but if you want to experiment with some other ways to boil eggs, be my guest.
How to Make Hard Boiled Eggs, Part 2
There’s a growing contingency that feels that steaming eggs is a better way to get the yolk hardened. Some people say that the shell comes off easier. If shelling an egg takes you longer than a minute (and even that’s a long time), then I suggest you try this alternative method:
- Put a steamer basket in a saucepan.
- Fill with cold water to the bottom of the basket.
- Place eggs inside the steamer basket.
- Cover, bring to the boil and let simmer for 15 minutes.
How to Make the Filling for Deviled Eggs
Now that you’ve shelled the eggs and left them to cool, it’s time to make the filling.
- Cut each egg in half lengthwise.
- Use a spoon to scoop out the yolk. Put all the yolks in a bowl.
- Use a fork to mash up the yolks. Do a good job so they are creamy.
- Add mayonnaise, white vinegar, and mustard. For six eggs, a tablespoon of mayonnaise will suffice. To that, add a tablespoon of white vinegar, and a teaspoon of mustard.
Word to the wise – deviled egg filling is very flexible. So you can add more or less of mayo, vinegar and mustard according to your personal taste preference. Just be careful not to add too much. Then you’ll end up with not enough yolk. (It’s kind of like when you’re giving someone a haircut in the kitchen. You can always cut more, but you can’t glue the pieces back on, so cut a little bit at a time.) That’s what you need to do with the mayo, vinegar and mustard. Add a little at a time until the taste is pleasant to you.
Now, put the halved eggs on a plate.
Spoon the mixture into each half. If you have guests coming over, you can actually pipe the smooshed yolk mixture into the halves.
Sprinkle with paprika.
That’s a standard way to how to make deviled eggs. There are lots of variations you can try to. Let us know in the comments how you’re deviled eggs turned out!
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