3 Ways to Devil Your Eggs — Brooke Courtney (2024)

FAQs

Why the name deviled eggs? ›

In the 19th century, the adjective "deviled" came to be used most often with spicy or zesty food, including eggs prepared with mustard, pepper, or other ingredients stuffed in the yolk cavity. Similar uses of "devil" for spiced foods include deviled ham and fra diavolo sauce (from the Italian word for "devil").

The term likely comes from the connection between spiciness and the presumably hot temperatures in hell. Since the word "devil" does have negative connotations, though, some groups of people prefer to call the dish "stuffed eggs," "salad eggs," or "dressed eggs."

While proper cooking techniques are the first step to avoiding weeping, experimenting with certain deviled egg ingredients, unfortunately, can result in a watery, sloppy appearance on the plate. Ingredients with a high water content, like tomatoes or cucumbers, can help create this wet scenario.

When they're overcooked, the yolks not only have a gray-ish hue around the outside, but they also have a sulfuric odor that can be powerful and sometimes stinky. Follow this tip: Our favorite method is to cover the eggs with water, bring the water to a boil, and then let the eggs sit off the heat for about 10 minutes.

“I wasn't able to say I was lucky, because my mother would rather us say that we were blessed, and she also didn't like that lucky sounded like Lucifer,” she told Rolling Stone in 2010. “Deviled eggs were called 'angeled' eggs. I wasn't allowed to eat Lucky Charms, but I think that was the sugar.

The evolution of deviled eggs

Many cookbooks in puritanical early America, though, stuck with labels like "stuffed eggs, "dressed eggs" or "salad eggs" to avoid association with Satan, who is typically not invited to or welcome at church socials.

If we rewind time, we find deviled eggs in ancient Rome, where boiled eggs flavored with spicy sauces were so commonly served as an appetizer that a Roman saying, “ab ovo usque ad mala,” meaning “from egg to apples,” referred to the expected bookends of a meal.

According to The History Channel, deviled eggs go all the way back to ancient Rome, where eggs were boiled, seasoned with spicy sauces, and then served at the beginning of meals. In the 13th century, stuffed eggs began to appear in the southern, Andalusian regions of Spain.

Each half of an egg is filled pretty high with a smooth and creamy egg yolk mixture. Each deviled egg is then topped with a piece of bacon, smoked paprika, and chives. It's definitely a rich appetizer, but it's so good.

If you add too much mayo, it may overpower the filling and make it runny. For a dozen eggs, ½ cup mayonnaise will make a smooth, creamy filling that can sit up high when spooned into the egg. One way to ensure you get a good yolk-to-mayo ratio is to cook a few extra eggs.

Why put white vinegar in deviled eggs? ›

A light-colored vinegar, like the white-wine vinegar we use in these creamy deviled eggs, brings a touch of acidity to the filling and balances the richness of the yolks and the mayonnaise.

Standard deviled eggs are undeniably good, but adding a touch of tomato paste and a generous pinch of smoked paprika makes them a bit more sophisticated. The flavor is gently sweet, forcefully spicy and perfectly smoky.

1) Rotten Eggs

The smell is hydrogen sulfide, which comes from sewage and indicates a potential issue with your plumbing. Prolonged exposure of even low levels of hydrogen sulfide can cause health issues such as headaches, fatigue, dizziness and loss of appetite.

Peel the eggs by gently tapping on the counter top. Slice the eggs in half and remove the yolk to a small bowl. Mash the egg yolks with the back of a fork and add the rest of the ingredients in the recipe card below until you get a creamy texture and no lumps.

For National Deviled Egg Day, we're taking it back to Ancient Rome…. where serving deviled eggs was often referred to as “ab ova usque ad mala.”

Britannica Dictionary definition of DEVILED. always used before a noun. : spicy or highly seasoned.

Far from evil, the word “deviled” is a culinary term that means “adding spices” — usually hot ones like cayenne pepper, Dijon mustard, or chopped chili peppers — to foods like ham, eggs, turkey, or even lobster.