Deviled Eggs, and Getting Those Eggs Right


A dozen hard-boiled eggs, prepared using the following technique.

It’s the day before Thanksgiving 2016. Personally, I’m looking forward to all the deviled eggs at the various get-togethers over the next month or so. I’m seriously addicted to hard-boiled eggs, and if there are deviled eggs in the vicinity you’d better hide them from me. I’ll eat eight halves before I’ll even consider stopping.

It might take a couple more halves before I finally stop eating the things.

One of the more oft-asked questions is “What’s the best way to cook hard-boiled eggs?” There are a lot of different answers out there, some using vinegar, some barely boiling the eggs once the water starts rolling then letting them rest in the hot water off the stove for an additional time, others suggesting using sous vide (that is, if you can afford the equipment.)

Some folks also say it’s impossible to hard-boil eggs at altitudes greater than 10,000 feet above sea level. I have yet to be able to vouch for this.

I learned quite a bit from a Greek I worked for from 1983 – 84 by the name of Gus Pappas. A Vincent Price doppelganger, Gus used the restaurant kitchen’s commercial steamer to steam a few dozen eggs at a time to hard-boiled in 12 minutes flat at low pressure. He’d then immediately place them in a running-cold water bath to stop the cooking process, and have us peel them five minutes later. They were great for salads and such, and the yolks never turned green. If you have a presure cooker, you can use this same process with a steamer basket with water underneath.

Gus was the one to explain the following process to me, which has worked for me every time since. The claim of “you have to use the freshest eggs” doesn’t seem to apply here. They still come out perfect every time.

Basic Deviled Eggs

Ingredients
1 dozen eggs
Mayonnaise
Yellow mustard
Salt, iodized
Black pepper, ground
Paprika, smoked

  1. Place a dozen chilled eggs in the bottom of a short pot wide enough to allow the eggs to remain in a single layer.
    Add cold water to about a half-inch inch above the tops of the eggs.
  2. Place the pot on a burner on the stove, and set the burner to High.
    When the water begins to actually boil, lower the heat to about 90% and set a timer for 20 minutes.
  3. Walk away.
  4. When the timer goes off, remove the pot from the heat. Gently dump most of the hot water down the drain and set the pot with the eggs into the sink.
  5. Run cold water into the pot and walk away for five minutes while it continues to run. This stops the eggs from cooking themselves all the way to the center.
  6. Stop the running water and walk away for five more minutes.
    Return and shell the eggs, being sure to rinse excess shell and membrane off in the chilled water in the pot before placing them off to the side.
  7. Cut each egg in half, removing the halved yolks and placing them in a small mixing bowl. Place the halves of the whites into a presentation platter.
  8. Add mayonnaise and a small bit of yellow mustard to the yolks and stir until smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste, stirring as you go.
    Spoon or pipe the smoothed yolk mixture into the halved whites.
  9. Top with sprinkles of smoked paprika.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *