Devine Deviled Eggs

Saturday, 27 - March - 2010

These are not your typical deviled eggs and it is not just because I live in France and use the ingredients that I get in France. You see, when I was growing up my mother's version of these eggs was what was served at holiday meals and taken to pot-lucks. I was the one who made them the majority of the time but I was always the one who peeled them. I hated that job and the job of making my mom's deviled eggs. Deviation from her recipe was not allowed at any point which is definately not something any cook ever wants to hear. So, of course, as soon as I was on my own I took my mom's recipe and changed it. This is the current recipe I use.

This recipe is portioned for 3 eggs which will yeild 6 Devine Deviled eggs. Multiply it as you need. I also use this same recipe divided by 2 for Devine Deviled Quail Eggs when I serve these as an appetizer instead of as a side dish. 12 Quail eggs will yield 24 Devine Deviled Quail Eggs. Here's a hint: if you are serving women then 2 Devine Deviled Eggs or 6 Devine Deviled Quail Eggs is pretty much all a woman will eat. If you are serving them to men though then 3-4 Devine Deviled Eggs and as many Devine Deviled Quail Eggs as you can stand to peel will disappear in the blink of an eye.

If you are not in France and you are making this recipe you will need to adjust the ingredients of dill pickles and mustard. The mustard and pickles I prefer in France are Maille brand. (I know you see Amora in the photos. The store was out Maille mustard. *cry*) Regardless of the brand, both of the French mustard and pickles are quite a bit different than in the USA. The mustard is strong, not spicy. It will make your eyes tear when you first open the jar, it is so strong. The pickles are quite small and intense in flavor. They are not so much dill but rather salty and strongly seasoned with pearl onions and mustard seeds. So if you cannot get the French mustard and pickles then use Vlasic Baby Kosher Dill Pickles. Good luck on finding any mustard in the US which you can substitue for real french mustard.

• 3 Hardboiled Eggs, cooled and peeled.
• 1/2 tsp dried dill
• 5-8 Pickles, finely diced. (This probably works out to about 2 Tbs of pickles but I didn't measure.)
• 1 Shallot, finely minced
• 1 Tbs Mustard, well rounded
• 1 tsp mayonnaise, rounded
• 1-2 Tbs Pickle Juice
• Salt and Black Pepper, to taste

Step 1:

With a wet knife sharp knife blade slice each egg in half lengthwise. Be sure to rince and clean the knife between each egg you slice and then proceed with a west knife blade to the next egg or you will suffer the possibility that the blade will tear the next egg. You really shouldn't use any torn eggs for making this recipe because they will fall apart when they are being eating and the contents will fall in the person's lap. This type of event will not endear you to your friends, no matter how good the eggs are.

Step 2:

With your fingers remove the cooked egg yolks from the whites; again, being careful to not tear the egg white. Place the cooked egg yolks into an appropriate sized bowl. Once you have all the egg yolks in the bowl, use a fork to smash them up until they have a rough texture resembling uncooked polenta.

If you are looking at the images please notice in the upper left hand corner the white egg halves have been carefully rinsed and are drying on some paper towels at this point.

Step 3:

Either use chop the dried dill to finer pieces or use your mortar and pestal to ground it to the texture you desire. Add to the egg yolks and fluff in.

Step 4:

Add the finely minced shallots and the finely diced pickles to the egg yolks and fluff them in to distribute them evenly.

Step 4:

In a small bowl combine the mustard, mayonnaise, pickle juice and black pepper and mix well.

Step 4:

Add the mustard mixture to the egg yolks while stirring but making sure to only add what is necessary so that the texture will be firm and not at all wet or runny. you have the proper texture when the egg yolk mixture will form a peak which will hold it's shape. This is when you taste a small amount of the egg yolk filler to see if you should add salt. With the pickles in France I find I never need it, but with the US pickles I always do.

Step 4:

Turn the egg whites over. Wet two teaspoons with water and using one as a scoops and the other as a push fill each egg white. Make sure you rince the spoons after every use before beginning on the next egg white. After all the egg whites are filled then use any extra egg yolk filler to cover the top of the egg but be careful to leave a little bit of white around the edges for a nice show.

Step 4:

Place the Devine Deviled eggs in the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes to firm up before serving.

You have the option of placing a bit of fresh fennel leaf on the top of each egg for the visual effect or you can lightly sprinkle a bit of paprika over the yolk filler and around the plate. If the egg whites are dry you can place them on an ordinary plate for serving. However if they are wet they will slide around the plate. There is such a thing called an Egg Plate but I have not found one which is sized for quail eggs. You certainly will have a problem transporting either type of eggs unless you have them in a dish designed to hold them in place. What I usually do is dampen 2 paper towels and fold them to fit an ordinary plate. This is easy to do if you use a spray bottle filled with water after you have put the paper towels on the plate. Then I place the eggs amongst the folds of the towels and place the platter into a carrier of appropirate size for transport. These eggs will last 24 hours if stored in a covered container and refrigerated. Lastly, I usually hardboil one or two additional eggs just in case I tear a white or an egg shell breaks while boiling. I use the extra yellows in the egg yolk filler but dispose of the whites which is a treat for KiKoo.

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