E is for Egg

My family eats eggs nearly every day. If we don't eat them as fried eggs or egg pancakes for breakfast, then we're likely to have them as deviled eggs or egg salad for lunch. We all do better when we get plenty of protein.

photo credit: photography.andreas via photopin cc

We've experimented with different methods of boiling eggs to get hard boiled eggs. We definitely have our preferences, which I'll share in a moment. First, I have to show you our new favorite way to peel eggs. It gives perfect eggs without any chips or ugly scarring in the whites, so your deviled egg plate looks delicious. How do we do it? We blow them out of the shell!

Tap each end of the egg and peel off a small bit of shell to create two holes: one for blowing in and one for the egg to blow out. Next, hold it tightly, pucker up, and blow. Watch below

This method does better if you lean over your plate so that it doesn't have far to drop. If it plops on the edge, it can land with enough force to crack the soft white open. Also, it takes a good bit of air pressure, so younger egg-blowers might not have much success.

Cooking Methods

There are two basic methods:

1. Boil your water and then add the eggs. Continue boiling for 15 minutes.
2. Add eggs to cold water and bring to a boil. Boil for 10 minutes. 

Once finished, pour off the hot water and immediately pour into a cold ice bath. They should now peel easily.

Both methods have their good points. With the boiled water method, the yolks come out yellow and delicious. The cold water method yields grey-ish yolks and a more sulphuric taste. There is a noticeable difference. However, the yummier choice (cold water method) gives uglier whites. The whites consistently have a flat-bottom rather than a beautiful round oval shape.

Basically, you have to choose between having yummy yolks or pretty whites. For deviled eggs, you obviously want pretty whites that can hold their shape and display nicely. The yolks will be flavored with tangy ingredients that will cover any sulphur taste. For egg salad sandwiches, no one will see your whites, so opt for the best flavor.

Divine Deviled Eggs
*For egg salad, prepare as if for deviled eggs, but dice the egg whites. Mix together with the deviled egg filling at the end.

12 yolks from hard boiled eggs
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup mayonnaise
2 tsp dijon mustard
2 tsp (or 5) sriracha sauce
2 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp sugar

Whip together all ingredients until smooth. If it is too thick, add more mayonnaise. Two yummy alternatives are butter or bacon fat. Pipe the filling into empty egg white cups and sprinkle with paprika. Or dice the egg whites and stir them into the filling as a sandwich spread or a nice bowl of yummy goodness.

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