Deviled Eggs
Dying Easter eggs with kids is a fantastic family activity. It makes for a great family tradition and gives us time to create memories with our kids. When I was a kid, we used the old-fashioned PAAS dye kits with the fizzy tablets and vinegar. The egg holders that helped transfer the eggs from the dye mixture to the cardboard drying stand were made of copper and left a ring of dye on the egg, usually in an unfortunate spot. A favorite feature was the magic crayon used to write your name on the egg before you dipped it. It was always fun to see how it turned out once the egg was dyed.
We kept that tradition alive for our own kids. But somewhere along the way, the dye gave way to fancy markers and stickers. But the tradition of decorating eggs, the symbol of life, remained. The kids loved creating, laughing, talking, sharing stories. We loved being all together as we were reminded of the egg’s symbolism of Jesus’s rise from the tomb.
With five kids, we needed to make a lot of hard boiled eggs to give each child a satisfying number to decorate. Lots of kids = lots of eggs. Lots of eggs meant lots of ways to use them after Easter. Our favorite way has always been Deviled Eggs from leftover dyed Easter eggs! They are quick to make and even quicker to eat!
One recent Easter, when the kids were mostly grown and gone, I was prepping dinner. I still had Deviled Eggs, mashed potatoes, and cheesecake to make. As I was cutting potatoes, I cut my finger. I cut it deep! Stitches deep! Dinner prep came to a grinding halt. I was able to drive myself to urgent care for stitches. But who was going to finish dinner?! Now if you are reading this and you know Kevin, you know it isn’t going to be him! (He is awesome, but doesn’t cook.)
Kevin and our oldest son Michael were the only two at our house. Kevin got lucky, as Michael is a great cook. So Michael started to make the cheesecake and mashed potatoes, and Kevin was stuck with Deviled Eggs. The eggs were already cooked, so how hard could it be?
While I was gone, Kevin set out to peel the cooked eggs. Sometimes hard boiled eggs are easy to peel; other times, they make your life miserable. Kevin got the miserable ones. He was hunched over the sink, still peeling away and hacking off chunks of egg white with the parts of the shell when I walked in the house. He looked at me and vowed to never request Deviled Eggs again, as he had no idea how labor intensive they were.
Well, they are no longer labor intensive for me. I have tried every tip and trick known to man:
- week old eggs
- baking soda in the water
- start with cold water
- start with boiling water
- add vinegar to the water
- bake in the oven in a muffin tin
- shock in cold water after cooking
None of these methods provided consistent results. My daughter-in-law uses an Instapot to cook her boiled eggs. I don’t own an Instapot and didn’t want to buy one just for eggs. My niece suggested I buy a small egg cooker. I am rather against cooking items that only have one function, but I really wanted some consistency with hard boiled eggs, as we love Deviled Eggs. So two years ago, I caved and bought a DASH Rapid Egg Cooker on Amazon for about $15 (not an ad, just a great tool). I have had consistent, excellent results ever since. I follow the instructions to the letter. It takes 16 minutes to cook them to a hard boil. Then they get shocked in ice water. I bought the 6 egg cooker, and can use it right away when I need to make another 6 eggs. So I don’t feel the need for anything bigger.
One thing I have noticed over time is that the best method for cooking hard boiled eggs is whatever gives you the best results. The DASH cooker is my go-to. But despite the cooker, another thing I do makes a HUGE difference. I peel the eggs right after they have finished cooling in the ice bath. It doesn’t matter if I am going to use them that day or throughout the week. Peeling them right after shocking is the key! They keep well in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 7 days. Plus I don’t have to peel one when I want one for a salad, which makes it easy to quickly add another protein. Makes preparing Deviled Eggs so quick and easy, too!
Whether you are making Deviled Eggs from your decorated eggs, or just boiling them for this purpose, the recipe below will be your favorite way to enjoy them time and time again. Give them a try and let me know what you think in the comments section. Enjoy!
Deviled Eggs
Ingredients
- 12 hard boiled eggs (See blog post above for how I cook eggs)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoons prepared yellow mustard
- ⅓ cup mayonnaise (add additional 1 teaspoon at a time if needed to make yolk mixture smooth)
- paprika for sprinkling
Instructions
- Peel hard boiled eggs. Cut in half lengthwise. Place yolks in medium bowl and whites on a platter with an edge or a deviled egg plate.
- Mash yolks with a fork or pastry blender until very fine.
- Add salt, pepper, mustard, and mayonnaise. Blend together until smooth and easily spreadable.
- Place sandwich sized ziploc bag on short drinking glass and fold edges over the top of the glass.
- Scoop yolk filling mixture into the ziploc bag.
- Zip bag closed and snip off one corner.
- Pipe yolk filling equally into egg white halves.
- Sprinkle each egg half with paprika. Store covered in the refrigerator. Enjoy!
