One of the most popular food dishes at a covered dish get together or holiday meal – heck, even just for daily snackin’ – is Deviled Eggs. They’re a real conversation starter, even with your mouth full!
This is a real staple in Southern meals, and even folks up north and hear tell in other parts of the world like Deviled Eggs, too. Recipes differ with region and how your momma or granny may have fixed them, but they are made with pretty much the same steps all around.
This recipe is what we used in our family and is what we grew up with here in Texas. We think you’ll like it. And you can always modify it with little secrets to make it like your own momma’s dish.
First of all, you’re gonna need some eggs. Now, while eggs that just popped out of the chicken are fine to use, it’s said that eggs that are a few days or even a week or so old are the best ones for Deviled Eggs. But if they float on the top of the water or you’ve had them for a year and you’ve buried them in the back yard, you might be thinking about that 1000 year-old egg dish and this ain’t that.
Now, six eggs will make a dozen Deviled Eggs since you cut them in half. You can adjust your recipe depending on your the crowd at your get together or how hungry they are, because these usually get snatched up quick.
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup Hellman’s mayonaise
- 1-1/2 tablespoons Best Maid dill pickle relish
- 1 teaspoon French’s prepared yellow mustard
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Paprika for garnish
Brands may differ for your region or tastes.
Boil Them Eggs
Don’t eat ‘em raw! You’re gonna need to boil these eggs. Now you can boil them traditional like by putting them in cold water on top of a stove, with water a couple of inches above the eggs, and keep cooking them for five minutes after the water reaches a boil. Cook them longer for harder boiled eggs if you like, but don’t let them boil too long. The yolk turns gray if you cook it too long. It’ll still work, though.
Now my favorite way to boil them is in a pressure cooker like an Instant Pot. It really takes a lot of the guess work out of the process and you don’t have that whole “watched pot never boils” conundrum. Also, eggs seem to peel easier with this method. My cooker is a Crock Pot brand, but it has the same settings as the standard Instant Pot, so anything you’ve got like that will work.
We’re gonna use the 5-5-5 cooking method. Five minutes pressure cooking, five minutes natural release, and five minutes cold water or ice water bath. To pressure boil your eggs, put your little rack in the bottom of the cooker pan and place six eggs on that rack. You can even do a dozen this way and still cook them the same length of time, but we only need six for the recipe.
Add one cup of water. Yep, that’s all the water you need. It does a pressure steam boil that works every bit as good as that half gallon of water you would probably use in a stovetop pan.
Lock the lid in place and set the petcock closed. Select Manual pressure and set to five minutes. Hit Start and let it work the magic.
Once the timer goes off, let it natural pressure release for five minutes. Then use a fork or other utensil to release the pressure the rest of the way before opening the lid.
Use a slotted spoon or tongs to remove each egg and place them in your cold water / ice bath. Swirl them around a bit and let them cool for five minutes.
Deviled Egg Mixture Prep
Shell and cut six of the eggs top to bottom to make a dozen egg halves. Set the egg whites aside in a plate or Deviled Egg server with the cut side up.
Drop the cooked egg yolks in a medium bowl and mush the egg yolks with a fork. Now, add 1/4 cup Hellman’s mayonnaise, 1-1/2 tablespoons Best Maid dill pickle relish, 1 teaspoon French’s prepared yellow mustard, salt and pepper to taste. (Brands may differ for your region or tastes.)
Add salt and pepper to taste. Mix the egg yolk mixture up until creamy enough to spoon into egg whites. If you want it even more creamy, add more Mayo.
Spoon in the mixture to each egg half using two teaspoon utensils – one to dip into the mixture and one to slide that mixture out of the spoon and into the egg half. Some people use a piping bag to do swirly stuff for a fancy presentation. But believe me, nobody’s gonna say “I’m not eating that, it’s not swirled enough!”
Use one heaping teaspoon for each egg half. You can always go back and fill some more in if you have some left over. Top your finished masterpiece with a sprinkling of paprika.
Now you have perfect deviled eggs! Of course, some people like to be different and we understand that. So one option while you’re mixing up the ingredients with the yolk is to use sweet pickle relish instead of dill.
Or add a drop of Tabasco or your favorite pepper sauce to give it an extra kick. Aunt Ida adds a splash of Jack Daniels for a totally different kick. Look out! Ha ha. A touch of dill pickle juice, vinegar or a little more prepared mustard helps you up the zing factor a bit. But be careful adding liquids, because you don’t want runny or watery egg filling. If that happens, adding more Mayo or another boiled egg yolk usually fixes it.
Now you have the perfect side or snack (or hors d’oeuvres, if you’re fancy). Y’all enjoy!
