So what came first the chicken or the egg? Well it sure doesn't matter to me as I love them both! You can do so much with eggs. Not only for breakfast but cakes, custards and my fav the deviled egg!
You may call them stuffed or deviled eggs, but what ever you call them they seem to be very popular now, but stuffed eggs was one of the first things I made as a young girl. I had to make extra because I love warm hard boiled eggs! Mom had to get onto me as I would eat them before I deviled them. I still to this day prefer my hard boiled eggs warm with salt and pepper. Yum!
Now I just didn't make plain deviled eggs, I would let my young creative juices flow and add other ingredients like chopped up Spam.... Yes we had Spam in our family. I would add fried up small pieces of sausage and bacon. As you may of guessed, Spam deviled eggs was not a big hit.
Today I make Shrimp, Crab or Jalapeno deviled eggs. They are always a big hit where ever I take them.
The key to a great deviled eggs is to be sure you don't over cook the eggs. Ever notice when you peel an egg and cut it open you see a dark greenish edge around the yoke? Oophs, you cooked it to long. If I asked 10 cooks how to boil an egg I would get 10 different answers. In my many years of cooking here is what I do.
Place the eggs in a pan and cover eggs with cold salted water and cover. Bring to a boil and take of the burner. Let set for 10-15 minutes depending on the size of the egg. To stop the cooking, place in cold water. There you have it! Perfect eggs!
Once the eggs are cool enough to handle I peel then cut them. Most the time you see stuffed eggs cut length wise, but try cutting a small amount of the top off the pointed end so it will have a flat surface. then cut the top off the fat end to expose the yolk. Take out the yolks and place them in a bowl. The whites you can place back in an egg carton or something similar. I like the way the eggs look when cut in this manner.
I mash up the yolks really fine. I then mince/finely chop my shrimp or crab or Jalapenos. To the yolks I add my mayo. I add just a little at a time to see how moist they are. You can also add sour cream or even Ranch dressing. Anything goes! Add salt and pepper. If I am making plain deviled eggs I would add some mustard and not just the plain yellow kind. Try the spicy types. You may even add a bit of thyme or rosemary to these. Mix some sour cream with mayo. Very tasty if I do say so.
For the shrimp eggs I add the shrimp and some minced dill. Crab I like to add some very finely minced shallots and a bit of ole bay type seasoning. Or seasoning similar to ole bay. I would place a small salad size shrimp on these and perhaps a bit of dill. Makes for a nice presentation.
The Jalapeno eggs are a real favorite in my house. I add the finely chopped pickled jalapenos to the yolks and even add a bit of the juice. I also may add a bit of cilantro. Soooo good. I decorate with a thinly sliced Jalapeno or some cilantro.
You can pipe the mixture into the eggs. I use a plastic zip bag. This way I can cut the corner just the right size to pipe the mixture. Easy clean up too!
So the next time you look at a dozen eggs, think about making stuffed eggs. Be creative! Cook like no one is watching. You will be amazed at what you can create.
Until next time, may your life be well seasoned and your pans well used.
