My friend asked me to post my secret for perfect hard-boiled eggs, so I thought I’d share how we do that at The New Deli. We’ve learned a thing or two in thirty-plus years in the business- we boil about fifteen dozen eggs a week. So take it from us!
It is quite common to put eggs into a pot, cover with water, and bring to a boil. (Then, eggs are removed from the heat to sit for 10 minutes. After that, the hot water is poured off and the pot’s refilled with cold water to cool them.)
The above method might work all right, but it’s not fool-proof. A fellow co-worker tried that method last week, and said peeling them was torture. I think the reason’s because the eggs take longer to get up to a boil if you start with cold water, and the eggs closest to the burner get too hot (becoming overcooked and rubbery).
Instead, at the deli, we bring a separate pot of water to a boil first. We pour the boiling water over a pot of eggs… see the full method below.
For colorful deviled eggs, let the eggs sit in a mix of food-coloring and water for two hours, to color the outsides in a festive way! There’s a picture of those here, plus a recipe for “No Mayo Deviled Eggs”, using avocado and such.
Oh, and for Easter, the egg coloring companies aren’t joking when they tell you to use cooled-off eggs. I tried using very freshly boiled, slightly warm eggs one year, thinking it would help the colors to stick better, but they don’t!
Deviled Eggs (& Hard-Boiled Eggs)
We often make a tray of deviled eggs for church events, so some of the ladies wondered how to do that. Deviled eggs are easiest to make right after cooking the eggs; the yolks mash up best while slightly warm, making creamy eggs. Makes 24 eggs.
INGREDIENTS
- 12 eggs, boiled
- 1/2 c. mayonnaise (or sub butter for all or part of mayo)
- 2 TBS. sweet relish
- 2 tsp. mustard (hot and spicy is nice)
- For garnishing: Paprika and parsley
- Optional: Capers (for garnish)
PREPARATION
1. Bring a pot of water to a boil and pour over another pot filled with: > 12 eggs
2. Bring pot of eggs and boiling water back up to a boil, then turn the heat down to low for 4 minutes.
3. Turn burner off; let eggs finish cooking as they sit it the hot water for 20 more minutes. (They can sit up to an hour).
4. Pour off the hot water, toss the pot of eggs around so that shells will crack. Fill pot with cold water, and peel eggs under water.
5. Cut each egg in half by scoring around the egg, not cutting through the yolk. This way, the two halves of egg whites can be turned to separate them, and the yolk can pop out whole.
6. To make filling, mash yolks (best done before chilling). Use potato masher if available (or a fork), then add remaining ingredients to taste: > 1/2 c. mayonnaise (or all or part butter) > 2 TBS. sweet relish > 2 tsp. mustard (hot and spicy is nice)
4. Put deviled egg yolk mixture into zip-lock (or other) bag. Cut tip off and pipe filling into whites. Sprinkle w/ paprika, garnish w/dill. Optional: Add a sprinkling of capers.
