Elegant Eggs

Dress up your Easter menu or picnic basket with decadent deviled eggs.

Growing up, my mother used to tease me: “You’ll eat deviled eggs, but not egg salad? They’re the same thing!” But her egg salad was celery-laden; my deviled eggs were laced with vinegar. Simple and classic, deviled eggs are the ultimate blank slate, the perfect foundation for any combination of flavors and textures. Here, rich truffle oil and roasted garlic make for a velvety filling. Deviled Scotch eggs give a traditional pub food an ever-so-slightly tart twist. Eggs and bacon take on a new meaning when candied bacon graces a mustard-pickled egg with another breakfast favorite—maple. The flavors of Spanish tapas emerge in the brine of Ibérico ham balanced with the subtle sweetness of red pepper and onion relish. Charcuterie boards inspire beet-pickled eggs brimming with liver mousse and goat cheese. And the morning following a family gathering, the few remaining make a wholesome breakfast.

Deviled Scotch Eggs

16 eggs

32 ounces ground pork sausage

1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, finely chopped

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

4 tablespoons sherry vinegar

2 ½ cups fine dry breadcrumbs, divided

⅓ cup olive oil mayonnaise

2 tablespoons chopped sweet pickles

2 tablespoons malt vinegar

1 teaspoon dry mustard

½ teaspoon paprika

½ teaspoon black pepper

Hard boil 12 eggs, let cool, and peel. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine sausage, rosemary, mustard, and sherry vinegar with ½ cup of the breadcrumbs. Divide the mixture into 12 portions, and wrap each egg completely with a portion of the sausage. Beat the remaining raw eggs. Roll each sausage-covered egg in the remaining breadcrumbs, then dip in the beaten egg and roll in breadcrumbs again. Bake the eggs until browned, about 30 minutes. Once cooled, halve the eggs lengthwise and remove the yolks. Mix the yolks with the mayonnaise, sweet pickles, vinegar, mustard, paprika, and pepper. Pipe the filling into the sausage-wrapped whites and garnish with sprigs of fresh rosemary. 

Maple Bourbon Bacon Eggs

12 mustard-pickled eggs

⅓ cup olive oil mayonnaise

2 teaspoons white balsamic vinegar

½ teaspoon dry mustard

½ teaspoon paprika

½ teaspoon cayenne

½ teaspoon black pepper

2 tablespoons crumbled candied bacon

2 tablespoons caramelized onions, finely chopped

Halve mustard-pickled eggs lengthwise and remove the yolks. Combine the yolks with the remaining ingredients. Pipe filling into the whites and garnish with a piece of candied bacon and a small dollop of black pepper maple cream.

For the maple bourbon-candied bacon:

¼ cup brown sugar

4 tablespoons bourbon barrel-aged maple syrup

3 tablespoons bourbon

1 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar

1 teaspoon black pepper

6 strips thick-cut bacon 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine sugar, maple, bourbon, vinegar, and pepper in a pot over medium-high heat until sugar is dissolved. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and allow mixture to thicken. Sprinkle bacon thoroughly on both sides with additional black pepper, bake for 5 minutes, then flip and bake for an additional 5 minutes. Brush bacon thoroughly with sugar mixture on each side and bake for 5 minutes more. Flip bacon, again brushing with sugar mixture on each side, and bake again for 5 minutes; repeat if necessary until bacon is cooked through but not overly crunchy (15 minutes after first basting should be sufficient).

For the caramelized onions: 

1 tablespoon olive oil

¼ cup white onion, very thinly sliced

Add olive oil to a pan over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the onions. Cook until tender, browned, and aromatic. 

For the black pepper maple cream: 

1 cup heavy cream

1 tablespoon buttermilk

2 teaspoons black pepper

2 teaspoons bourbon barrel-aged maple syrup

Combine all ingredients and beat until soft peaks form.

Black Truffle & Roasted Garlic Eggs

12 eggs

5 cloves garlic

1 tablespoon olive oil

⅓ cup olive oil mayonnaise

2 teaspoons white balsamic vinegar

1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

½ teaspoon dry mustard

½ teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon smoky paprika

1 teaspoon black truffle oil

chives, finely chopped

Hard boil the eggs. Once cool, peel, halve lengthwise, and remove the yolks. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Drizzle unpeeled cloves of garlic with olive oil, wrap in foil, and roast in the oven until tender, browned, and aromatic, about 20 minutes. Press or mince garlic and mix with yolks, mayonnaise, vinegars, spices, and truffle oil. Pipe filling into egg whites and garnish with chives.

Spanish eggs.

Spanish Eggs

12 eggs

⅓ cup olive oil mayonnaise

1 tablespoon tomato paste

2 teaspoons sherry vinegar

½ teaspoon paprika

½ teaspoon black pepper

Ibérico ham

Hard boil the eggs. Once cool, peel, halve lengthwise, and remove the yolks. Combine yolks with mayonnaise, tomato paste, vinegar, paprika, and pepper. Pipe filling into the whites and top with Ibérico ham and red pepper and onion relish.

For the red pepper and onion relish:

½ red pepper, finely diced

½ red onion, finely diced

1 tablespoon dry red wine

½ tablespoon freshly squeezed orange juice

½ tablespoon sherry vinegar

½ tablespoon sugar

Combine ingredients in a pot over medium-high heat; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cook for 20 minutes. Remove from heat; cool.

Deviled Pickled Eggs with Liver Mousse

12 beet-pickled eggs

⅓ cup olive oil mayonnaise

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

1 tablespoon pickled onions, finely chopped

1 teaspoon chopped sweet pickles

1 teaspoon whole grain mustard

½ teaspoon black pepper

½ teaspoon paprika

¼ teaspoon cayenne

¾ cup chicken or duck liver mousse

goat cheese

Halve beet-pickled eggs lengthwise and remove yolks. Combine yolks with next eight ingredients. Side by side, add liver mousse into one half of the piping bag and yolk filling into the other. Pipe filling into the whites. Garnish with a small dollop of goat cheese, pickled onions, and whole grain mustard.

Note: To add a dash of color to your table, pickle or dye your hard-boiled eggs before deviling them. Click here for pickling recipes.

This article originally appeared in our April 2019 issue.