Buttery Deviled Eggs

Until recently, I wasn’t a huge fan of deviled eggs.  I liked them well enough, but didn’t love them.  I much preferred hard boiled eggs turned into egg salad or eggs cooked by poaching or to runny perfection sunny side up in my cast iron pan.

Yet poached eggs or fried eggs didn’t make a very good side dish for a barbecue celebration.  So, when Fourth of July came around this year, I decided to look for a new deviled egg recipe and put the dozens of fresh eggs from our chickens and ducks that were waiting in the refrigerator to good use.

I didn’t have to look far before I found the recipe I wanted to try.  Within minutes I had discovered a Julia Child recipe that I couldn’t wait to make.  It had a fascinating secret ingredient:  butter.  I should have known that Julia would find a way to incorporate butter into her deviled eggs.

Julia’s recipe also recommended creating a puree from fresh asparagus to work into the egg yolks.  I had more traditional deviled eggs in mind, so I decided to use her recipe as a starting point and change it to suit our tastes and use what we had on hand. 

The idea of working softened butter into the egg yolks intrigued me.  So, I gathered together a dozen chicken and duck eggs and got to work.  I prepared the eggs by my favorite method of steaming, but you can prepare your boiled eggs using your favorite method.  Set the eggs aside in a bowl of ice water to chill after cooking and you’re halfway home.

While the eggs cook and chill, warm your butter up to room temperature.  Softened butter is much easier to work into the egg yolks.  The addition of the butter creates a smooth texture with more body and structure than a typical deviled egg yolk.  It’s a brilliant way to improve the flavor and texture of the yolks without masking their natural delicious flavor. As usual, Julia was right.  Butter really does make everything better, even deviled eggs. 

I hope that you’ll give her method a try.  I think that you’ll love the results as much as I did.  In fact, I might even like these deviled eggs as much as the poached and fried eggs that I usually turn to when preparing our flock’s fresh eggs.

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Buttery Deviled Eggs

Jennifer from 1840 Farm

Course: Appetizer, Side Dish

Author: Jennifer from 1840 Farm

Ingredients

• 12 hard boiled eggs chilled
• 2-3 Tablespoons butter room temperature
• 1/3 cup mayonnaise
• 1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
• salt and pepper to taste
• Herbs or paprika as garnish if desired

Instructions

• Peel the chilled eggs, removing all of the shell and membrane. Using a sharp knife, divide each egg in half lengthwise. Remove the cooked yolk from the egg and place in a bowl. Repeat until all of the eggs have been prepped in this manner.
• Using a large fork, break up the egg yolks. Add the softened butter and continue using the fork to work the yolks and butter into a smooth paste. Add the mayonnaise and mustard and mix until smooth. Taste for seasoning, adding salt and pepper if desired. If you prefer, white pepper can be used to keep from creating black specks of pepper in the bright yellow yolk mixture.
• Using a small spoon or a pastry bag with a large tip, fill the hollow egg whites with the yolk mixture. You can top each egg with a sprinkling of paprika for color or add a bit of fresh minced herbs from the garden. We tried fresh dill, thyme, and chive and loved the burst of fresh flavor they each added to the deviled eggs.
• Deviled eggs are best eaten within an hour or two of assembling, so serve them immediately and enjoy every last bite!
  

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