Smoky Eggy Deviled Eggs

I did not warm up to deviled eggs until I was an adult because I was grossed out by mayonnaise until my teens, and too much mayonnaise can ruin food for me so I needed time to learn how much was too much for me, but I love them now. They are a great picnic food, and people get really excited about them at parties!

Deviled eggs are one of those things that everyone has their own way of making and thinks theirs is the best, probably because anyone who makes them regularly tailors their recipe to how they personally like to eat them. It's not necessarily a contest, it's about finding what you like! I love their versatility. I've developed my own recipe emphasizing what I love in a deviled egg:

• Simple: so as to let the egg flavor shine, and also because I am lazy. Gudetama would approve.
• Minimal mayonnaise: just enough to stick everything together. This makes the filling quite thick as deviled eggs go, and not necessarily pretty or easy to pipe (unless you make a lot of them at once) but it tastes good and has a nice deep yellow color. Quality is important here. I like to use Kewpie mayonnaise because I keep it on hand and I love its rich, eggy flavor. You can get it at bigger Asian grocery stores.
• Dijon mustard instead of yellow: I do not like yellow mustard so I use a mild Dijon mustard instead. Maille is my very favorite but it can be hard to find where I live; Grey Poupon or Emeril's brand works well too.
• Smoky flavor: Paprika is a common topping for deviled eggs. I love smoky flavor with my deviled eggs so I use Spanish smoked paprika. Evokes bacon without the work of cooking bacon or excluding vegetarians from eating delicious deviled eggs.
• A little spicy: If you like smoky AND spicy food, you can use dried ground chipotle (chipotle peppers are smoked jalapeño peppers!) instead of or in addition to the smoked paprika for an extra kick; Penzey's sells a nice one for my mild-end-of-medium spicy tolerance.

One of my former coworkers, Maria, served deviled eggs in a simple but absolutely beautiful fashion for a work potluck once, and I will include some instructions for it here because I am normally terrible at presentation but this is something I can handle.

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RECIPE:

Smoky Eggy Deviled Eggs
By The Matcha Chronicles
Makes 12; serves 3-4 people as an appetizer

6 eggs, the best quality you can find, refrigerator temperature
2 tbsp Kewpie mayonnaise
1 tsp smooth Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp dried parsley
A sprinkle of onion powder (the tiniest bit, so you can taste it but it doesn't make everything taste like onion)
1/2 tsp kosher salt
A few grinds of black pepper
Smoked paprika and/or ground dried chipotle pepper, for garnish

For serving, if you're feeling fancy and/or want vegetables to eat with the eggs:
Green leaf lettuce or butter lettuce leaves
Fresh sweet peppers (red/orange/yellow), either cut into strips or finely diced


Place eggs in a single layer in a saucepan. Add enough cold tap water to cover eggs. Place pan on burner and set heat to high. Heat to almost-rolling boil. Take pan off heat and let sit 18 minutes. Meanwhile, fill bowl with cold water and ice. Transfer eggs to the bowl of ice water after 18 minutes to halt cooking.

Once eggs are cooled to room temperature (about 10-15 minutes), peel them under cold running water. Cut each boiled egg in half lengthwise and gently push the underside of each half to pop out the yolks into a small bowl. Place egg whites on a plate or leave on the cutting board. Add mayonnaise, mustard, parsley, onion powder, salt, and pepper to the bowl. Mash everything together, breaking up the yolks with a fork, then switching to a spoon after the mixture is fairly smooth. Spoon about a tablespoon of the mixture into the indent of each egg white. Sprinkle with smoked paprika and/or chipotle powder.

For serving: Place the lettuce leaves on a plate. If you cut your peppers in strips: scatter them over the lettuce. Arrange the deviled eggs between the pepper strips. If you diced them finely: Arrange the deviled eggs on top of the lettuce, then top the deviled eggs with a little bit of the diced peppers.