Today a friend asked me if I had a good deviled egg recipe, and I confessed that I have never been good at deviled eggs. More to the point, I have never tried very hard. Deviled eggs were one of my mother’s signature dishes. She took them to every church dinner, and she always came home with an empty platter. I tried to duplicate her eggs once or twice, but it has been a good twenty years since I last made deviled eggs.
My mother said she liked to take them to covered
dish dinners because they were the easiest thing to make, and I doubted her. As usual, she was right! They aren’t that hard to prepare. Like cables in knitting, they make you look
clever when you really aren’t.
Some of my previous problems with making deviled
eggs involved not being confident in how long to cook them. Boiling eggs for a good long time results in
a tough white and a dark ring around the yolk.
Today I followed these instructions, and the eggs were perfectly cooked:
I’m not sure if my mother used relish; she did use a
bit of pickle juice. Now, if anyone asks, I have a
deviled egg recipe!
6 large eggs (should be at least a week old for
easier peeling)
1 Tablespoon plus one teaspoon Miracle Whip salad
dressing
1 teaspoon mustard
1 tablespoon relish (sweet or dill, your choice)
1 teaspoon pickle or relish juice
Black pepper
Paprika
Place eggs in a single layer in a heavy saucepan;
cover with 1 inch of water.
Bring the
water just to a boil, then turn off heat and cover pan with tight fitting lid. Let stand 12 minutes. Pour water off eggs and run cold water over
them to cool. Once the eggs are cool,
peel them. With a sharp knife, cut eggs
in half.
Carefully remove yolks from
whites and place yolks in a small bowl.
Set whites aside. Mash yolks very
finely with a fork. Add Miracle Whip,
mustard, relish, pickle juice, and a bit of black pepper. Mix well.
Spoon yolk mixture into halved eggs. Sprinkle with paprika and transfer to serving dish. Yield: 12 egg halves.
Note: I did
not add any salt, but I found these deviled eggs to be a bit salty for my taste. The mustard, salad dressing, and relish all
have salt.
Yum! Deviled eggs always seem to be a big hit at pot lucks. I like to put the mixture in a pastry bag or a ziploc with the corner cut out and squeeze to fill the whites. Toss the bag! 8^)
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