The humble deviled egg is enjoying quite a renaissance these days, finding itself on trendy restaurant menus across the country. I have fond memories of my mother’s classic version — mayo, a little mustard, a little Worcestershire sauce, and some cracked pepper — and while I love the traditional style, I came up with a couple of versions that I like even better. The first is a spicy Asian take with candied bacon; the other is inspired by the lox bagels I love so much in New York City.
For perfectly hardboiled eggs, place fresh (preferably pastured) eggs in a pan and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil, turn off the heat, and cover the pan. After exactly 15 minutes, run the eggs under cold water to stop the cooking process. (Note: fresh eggs are easier to peel; pastured eggs are available at better markets like Whole Foods.)
Candied bacon Deviled Eggs
Serves 6–8
Candied bacon
- 4 strips of high-quality bacon (I like Prather
- Ranch, available at the Ferry Building)
- 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon of togarashi or cayenne
- powder (or as much as desired)
- 1 teaspoon Chinese five spice powder
- Pinch of ground cinnamon
- Pinch of ground ginger
Egg filling
- 6 large hardboiled eggs, peeled
- ¼ cup mayonnaise (use more for cream-
- ier filling)
- 1 clove garlic, finely chopped (optional)
- 1 tablespoon fresh chives (plus extra for
- garnish), finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon Japanese or Chinese hot mus-
- tard (or 2 teaspoons regular mustard)
- 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
- Juice of one medium lemon (preferably
- Meyer lemon)
- Pinch of togarashi (Japanese chili sea-
- soning) or cayenne powder
- Pinch of ground cinnamon
- Pinch of ground ginger
- Dash of light soy sauce
- Dash of maple syrup
For the candied bacon:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Place the bacon strips on a wire rack over a baking pan.
In a small bowl, mix together dry ingredients. Sprinkle each bacon slice liberally with the spiced sugar mixture.
Bake 10 minutes; flip slices and sprinkle with remaining mixture; bake until cooked through and crisp (about 15 minutes more). Set aside to cool.
For the deviled eggs:
Slice the eggs in half lengthwise and, using your thumbs, gently pop the yolks into a small bowl and place the whites on a serving platter. Add remaining ingredients to the yolks, smash with a fork, and then whisk until smooth.
When bacon is cool enough to handle, crumble one slice (in small enough pieces to fit through the tip of a piping bag) into egg mixture, and whisk until fully incorporated.
Fill a piping bag fitted with a large star tip with the mixture and carefully pipe the egg mixture into each white. (If you don’t have a piping bag, use a gallon-size freezer bag and cut off one of the bottom corners.)
Crumble remainder of bacon slices over tops of eggs, sprinkle with chives, and serve immediately.
Lox And Salmon Roe Deviled Eggs
Serves 6–8
Egg filling
- 6 large hardboiled eggs, peeled
- 4 ounces good quality smoked salmon,
- finely chopped
- ¼ cup mayonnaise (use more for cream-
- ier filling)
- ¼ cup cream cheese, room temperature
- Juice of one medium lemon (preferably
- Meyer lemon)
- 1 tablespoon fresh chives (plus extra
- for garnish), finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh dill, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon white pepper, freshly ground
Garnish
- ¼ cup salmon roe (labeled “ikura” at
- Japanese markets; optional)
- ¼ red onion, very thinly sliced (optional)
- Chives, finely chopped
- Black pepper, freshly cracked
Using the methods in the recipe above, combine all filling ingredients and pipe the mixture into the egg whites. If using, top each with red onion slices and salmon roe. Sprinkle with chives, finish with pepper to taste, and serve immediately.
