Tangy Deviled Eggs Recipe A La Naddy
73One of my favorite foods to snack on at a party or enjoy as an appetizer with friends, is deviled eggs. They're devilish to say the least and I must say I lust after them. Creamy and perfectly tangy... if they're done right.
The trick to a good deviled egg is flavor and texture. By texture, I don't simply mean the wonderful creamy center of these sinful fingerfoods, I also mean the smoothness of the white. We all know that if the shell takes off too much and leaves the white of the hard boiled egg pocked, you may as well throw it out or chop it up for something else, because as far as deviled egg texture goes, it just won't do. Not to mention it tends to somehow or other do something not so nice to the flavor. For this reason, I will always boil more eggs than necessary, just in case. However I do have a simple trick that I've provided for you below, on how to best avoid this dramatic situation.
In this recipe, my ingredients are few. And they are nice and tangy, giving the creamy deviled eggs enough of a zip.
The type of mustard you chose plays a big part in flavor, so do chose a good one. Just because it's good for a sandwich, does not mean it's good for a deviled egg.
While some prefer the sweet of pickle relish, I prefer the tang and softer sensation of a caper in my deviled eggs. So why Capers? Not only do capers taste great, without being over powering at all, and add texture to this recipe, but capers stand supreme in the worl of antioxidant foods.
My secret ingredient to perfectly tangy deviled eggs? Well, you'll just have to read on to find out.
Whatever you do, do not let your cooked yolks sit out for any amount of time after cutting your eggs and removing the beautifully cooked center. Your mix will be much tastier, all the flavors with blend nicer, and the color will last. Don't forget to open a test egg in case they are not fully cooked. And don't forget to check the expiration of all your ingredients before using.
Feel free to enjoy the slide show. All ingredients are provided for your viewing pleasure, along with some tips and tidbits in the captions.
INGREDIENTS:
4 eggs
1-3 t capers
2 T Hellmann's mayonnaise
1 T mustard (I like Plochman's mustard best for its tang and color)
2-3 t fresh juice of 1 sm. lemon
PREPARATION
- Cook eggs for at least 20 minutes. 30 minutes if you like them well cooked with a bit of green on the outer yolk.
- Immediately rinse in cold water and let cool. I take the pot and place it directly in the sink and let the cold water push out the hot water. This usually takes about a minute. Then I let them set for 5 minutes.
- Peel eggs.
- Cut in halves lengthwise.
- Remove egg yolks by gently squeezing just behind the yolk on the backsides of the eggs - Place the yolks in a glass bowl - set the white of the egg on a deviled egg platter or a sturdy plate with a good rim.
- Mash yolks well. I use the back of a fork for this.
- Add mayonaise, mustard, and lemon juice.
- Mix thoroughly with a fork - or a small spoon can be used at this point, using the backside as well as the scoop side to assure a good mixing and a creamy texture.
- With a small spoon, dallop your mix into the centers of the set aside egg whites.
- Top with capers. - If you prefer the taste of more capers, you can add 2 teaspoons of them into your mix in step three and skip this step alltogether.
TIP
For some reason, adding a T of cider vinegar when eggs are in full boil helps the shells separate from the whites better.
Mr. Walrus has also advised, via the comments section (see below), that eggs that are too fresh do not peel well either.
Hope you ejoy this recipe. It's a hit at all our parties and on lazy afternoons when it's just Hank and I.
~Naddy
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Comments
Oh I know! I've already made us a batch. We're rolling around like eggs ourselves right now. You welcome. It's crazy, but it does something to the shell. So does the flash from boil to cold water (sometimes hank dumps a bunch of ice in where there are lots of eggs. The capers, I don't remember what prompted me to use them, it was so long ago. And probably I was missing an ingredient and decided to experiment. Though I'm sure someone somewhere does the same. It's wonderful. You let us know what you think. Good to see you JamaGenee. :)
I'm a sucker for a good deviled egg recipe and I'm going to try these this weekend! I will also try the vinegar tip, as I sometimes have difficulty with the whites. Thanks, Naddy!
Oh good. You're very welcome. By the way, if anyone has any good storage tips for leftover deviled eggs, let me know! I do alright with my tupperware, but they knock around a lot and get moisture retention. I'm willing to try something new.
Hi Naddy, I just made devilied eggs over the holiday weekend. I love them! I never thought of adding capers, I am going to try that.
Thanks Anne
Hmm Naddy, I may try this one. I know one thing, fresh eggs are not good for hardboil. They are harder to peel and leave those pocks. My wife worked at our local egg factory many years ago and knows all about this food item. They would never let eggs got to the store fresh as they do now days because of this pock factor. Vinegar does work too. I do not boil my eggs. I set them aside when they start the boil with a tight lid on and let them set for 20 minutes. I get perfect eggs that way. Then when they are cool after a cold water bath I crack them all over and roll them gently in my palms and they just peel so nicely then.
Thanks for your recipe and now I must get some more capers too.
Anne, hi there. Do give it a try. Hope you come back and let us know what you thought. The bit of lemon really blends them into the mixture tastewise. The two work well together.
Mr. Walrus, I did not know this. Thanks for the tip. So no new eggs for hard boiling then. I haven't tried the set aside method but I will the next time. Should they have some to a hard boil before setting aside? I crack the butt of the egg and peel from there with the side of my thumb, if that doesn't seem to be working well enough, I do the all over crack and gentle roll in the palms as well. That does help. I knew I could learn a lot from a walrus. I'm glad you stopped in. So any storage ideas for leftover deviled eggs?
Didn't know they were this devilishly easy to make! Thanks Naddy!
You are so very welcome Feline Prophet!
Naddy dear. Let the pot come to full boil, remove from heat and cover straight away with lid. 20 min, no more than 22 and ya got perfect eggs and less energy spent. I crack all over and yes pewel from the top end where the air is trapped after a good roll. No tips on storage as they never last around these parts. LOL Jado loves em as well as the 4 dogs. LOL I also use hungarian paprika on them. Just a wee sprinkle. I will give yer recipe a try next time, promise and I will let ya know how they are.
I'm going to try that this weekend. Thanks for the tip! I like to make a couple of batches for those two gathering weekends. It saves me time, so I'm always on the lookout for storage ideas. If you hear anything, let me know. Jado eats eggs? I had no idea Parrots would eat eggs. Fascinating.
I never heard about the vinegar making the shells separate from the eggs. I will definitely try that.
Hereabouts, we let the eggs boil for ten minutes, drain all the hot water out, replace that water with cold water, and swirl the eggs and cold water in the pot, making sure the egg shells crack madly in the process. Then we roll each egg between our palms in the cold water to loosen the shell from the white, and then start peeling the shell off from the blunt, not the pointed end. By that time, the cold water has made its progress between the shell and its membrane and the white, and it has done what it has to do to separate the shell from the egg.
What great mysteries there are in shelling eggs! Great Hub. Glad I found it.
love deviled eggs! And you've inspired me - I think we have enough differences I might be able to churn out my own deviled egg hub :-) Or at the very least, a tribute to Duke's Mayonnaise ;-)
Hi Sally. 10 minutes. I don't have luck with that short of time. Are the eggs super fresh or is it the altitude I wonder. Thank you for sharing that special shelling tip! Yes, that shock and all the water between, i see that helping. Sounds like a fast process.
Dineane, glad to be a source of inspiration.
You know, Naddy, I'm not sure why it works. Every once in a rare while, like the other day when I made tomato and egg sandwiches, one or two eggs out of the same batch (whether the batch is very fresh or not) will not give up the shell, and I have to resort to scraping the white and yolk out with a spoon.
About altitude, I live at sea level.
This egg boiling method was handed down to me by that infamous mother of mine. I figure if it worked for her for all the years she's been boiling eggs, then it will work for me. But I'm still going to try the vinegar!
The only other thing I can add is that I start out with cold eggs and cold water, turn the heat on medium, not high, wait for the water to get bubbles in it, turn the heat to high and start the 10 minutes from there, and then turn the heat down a notch so that the eggs aren't bouncing all over the bottom of the pan. I'd say 99% of the time, the shells release easily.
Maybe you are on to a new Hub on the science of shelling hard boiled eggs? :)
dineane did her hub and she uses some of my technique too and she spoke of you Naddy
Hi Sally. We live sea level too. And actually our timing must be the same because what I do is I start the timer at the cold water cold eggs time. It seems that way, doesn't it. Great tips from everyone. I ought to edit the title a bit and credit all of you. Many thanks. My daughter tells me she always peels her eggs under the water. She saw me doing it once, though I can't say as I do that often. Once I learned the vinegar trick. But you're right, there are those stubborn ones no matter what you do. Worse comes to worse I use the center and chop up the outside and have it with toast and some of the extra filling.
Mr. Walrus, thank you much for letting me know. Will be over to check. Hope she included you as well. :)
I never thought of capers, nor did my husband that is a cook - oops, don't call him anything but "chef", which he is. I can't wait to try them on the deviled eggs. I love their flavor.
Oh they're fantastic. You'll be most pleased! Surprise "Chef" and tell us what he thinks :). Don't forget the bit of lemon, it's what brings all the flavors together.
nice article!I like it! ;)
Thank you Gin. Glad you enjoyed. ~Naddy
related links
- Add Antioxidant-Rich Capers to Meats - Prevention.com
Antioxidant-rich caper extracts can raise levels when added to cooked meats, according to research. Read more meal suggestions from the experts at Prevention.
JamaGenee says:
7 months ago
Oh my. This recipe makes me hungry for deviled eggs!! Never thought of using capers. Hmmmm... Also thanks for the tip about adding vinegar to the water at full boil. I *knew* there had to be a way to make the shells come off more easily.