Virginia Willis' Deviled Eggs
What a good egg.
Don't use fresh eggs. Week-old ones are actually easier to peel -- more air will have seeped into the shell, making it easier to separate the membrane from the shell.
Start with cold water and cover by about an inch. These babies are cooking gently.
Then bring them up to a boil and quickly shut off the heat...
... and cover them.
After 12 minutes, pull them out -- they're officially hard-cooked (not hard-boiled).
And rinse them under cold water to stop the cooking.
Once they're cool, cool, cool, peel them under running water. Willis suggests starting from the fat end of the egg.
Slice your little soldiers in half. Marvel at their perfect just-cooked-through yolks.
If you're being diligent, you will mash your yolks through a fine-meshed sieve or chinois.
And they will rain down like furry ticker tape.
Or you can just drop them straight into the food processor, which will whip them into submission.
Here's the secret ingredient -- just a little butter.
And the not-so-secret (but very smartly applied) ingredients: mayonnaise, cayenne, Dijon.
Vroom!
Final stroke of genius: Tarragon, which lifts up the creamy, buttery yolk.
Make sure the tarragon leaves are cool and dry and your knife is sharp, then pin down a handful and start slicing through.
Then rock your knife through the other direction till you're left with tarragon confetti.
Wake up, yolks!
It doesn't get more Easter than this.
Amanda has a very nice pastry bag, but old, déclassé habits die hard. That there is a Ziploc baggie, sandwich-size.
With one snip it goes from baggie to perfectly adequate piping bag.
The really, really fun part.
You can be generous here -- you'll have enough.
Well, aren't they dapper?
A whole army of them -- even better.
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Author Notes: By combining her Southern sensibilities with the restraint of her French training, Virginia Wills' deviled eggs just do everything right. There is a secret ingredient here, one that Willis picked up in culinary school: butter, just a tad. Mixed in while it's soft, it rounds and smooths over the more acidic ingredients and renders the filling creamy without overtaking it. A few classic players -- mayonnaise, dijon and cayenne -- hover at the edges, so the richness of the yolk still shines. A speckling of fresh herbs stirred in at the end lifts everything up. Adapted very slightly from Bon Appetit, Y'all(Ten Speed Press, 2008) - Genius Recipes
Makes 24 deviled eggs
- 12 large eggs (about a week old if possible -- they'll be easier to peel)
- 1/3 cup mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 1 pinch cayenne pepper
- coarse salt and freshly ground white pepper
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh tarragon, chives, or chervil, plus leaves for garnish
- To hard-cook the eggs, place the eggs in a saucepan and add water to cover them by 1 inch. Bring to a boil over high heat (you will see bubbles around the sides of the pot). Remove from the heat, cover, and let stand for 12 minutes. Drain the eggs and rinse them under cold running water. Set aside to cool completely.
- To peel the eggs, once the eggs have cooked and cooled, remove the shells by tapping each egg gently on the counter or sink all over to crackle it. Roll an egg between your hands to loosen the shell. Peel, starting at the large end, while holding the egg under running cold water; this facilitates peeling and also removes any stray shell fragments.
- To prepare the filling, halve the peeled eggs lengthwise. Carefully remove the yolks. Set the whites aside. Pass the yolks through a fine-mesh strainer into a bowl or place them in the work bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Blend the yolks, mayonnaise, butter, mustard, and cayenne, and mix until smooth; season with salt and pepper. Add the finely chopped tarragon.
- Place the mixture in a piping bag fitted with a large star tip, or use a medium sealable plastic bag with one of the corner tips snipped off.
- To assemble the eggs, when ready to serve, pipe the yolk mixture into the whites. Garnish with additional herbs and serve immediately.
- To make ahead: Unpeeled hard-cooked eggs can be refrigerated for up to 1 week. Or prepare the eggs, but don’t assemble, up to 8 hours in advance of serving; refrigerate the whites covered with a damp towel in an airtight plastic container. Store the egg-yolk mixture in the piping bag with the tip also covered in a damp paper towel. Knead the yolk mixture slightly to soften before filling the yolks. The eggs may also be assembled and stored covered in the refrigerator for up to 2 hours. Any longer and the yolk mixture starts to form a crust.
- This recipe is a Community Pick!
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3 months ago artist342
I'll be trying these beauties this weekend! I can't wait for the butter flavor.
12 months ago JohnSkye
i made these on the 4th and here's my take: they're "ok" ... the taste is fine, & based on your personal preferencees you could add more or less mustard, more or different herbs, put a slice of olive on top, etc, etc, etc ... the "problem" is the consistency ... i like chilled, but soft, creamy deviled eggs ... but the addition of the butter makes the yolk mixture of these turn into firm little clumps when chilled ... interesting, but not my favorite ... they were better either before they were refrigerated or after they warmed up a bit and got soft.
about 1 year ago Chokolate911
Since reading this post I have tried adding butter and was amazed at the results. You must try them!!
about 1 year ago Ronald Harper
My mom always added some sweet pickled relish. But I don't know how much. It was good.
about 1 year ago scottd1
I have backyard hens and their fresh eggs are difficult to peel, even a week old. However, steaming makes them peel easily. I steam them 14 minutes for small, 15-16 for large.
about 1 year ago ItalianFoodie
And I sprinkle a few capers on top of each. I need to make two dozen. My brother can eat a dozen in no time. He's a three biter - likes to make it last.
about 1 year ago tigerlille
What. perfect timing. I was getting ready to hard boil some eggs, and
was trying to recall the right way to do it (you know, to avoid the ubiquitious
green ring around the yolk referenced in the article). Deviled egg filling made
with butter is divine! I had somehow forgotten all about that refinement. I also
substitute about half the mayo with sour cream. A version I have been making
the past few years is honey mustard deviled eggs.