I love deviled eggs because they’re full of tasty, old-fashioned goodness. They’re great year round but I think of them lots during summer when I’m boiling up eggs for Franco-Viet beet and potato salads, one of my favorite hot-weather dishes. I often boil a few extra to keep around for an instant deviled egg fix or to add to a bowl of chicken pho, like my mom used to do when we were kids. Boiled eggs are good protein for instant ramen too.
A while back when buying eggs from a local farmer, she volunteered these terrific tips:
1) To center the yolk so that when the egg is halved, the egg does not look lopsided, place the egg on its side overnight. The yolks get repositioned because they’re no longer sitting up, but rather lounging sideways. I tried it out twice and it worked! Check out those yolks at the top.
2) Use medium eggs for deviled eggs because the size is not overwhelming. Their moderate appearance makes them more attractive on a plate. (My thought was: How many more deviled eggs do I get to eat if they’re made from medium eggs?!)
Admittedly, these are cosmetic tips but deviled eggs are such a simple preparation, the devil is in the details!
8/12/11 UPDATE: After my success with centering the yolks, I lost my mojo. Few of my eggs got centered yolks during a several days of experimenting on making perfect hard-boiled eggs. Shirley Corriher suggested storing the eggs on their sides too. I also read about cooking the eggs upright or twirling them during cooking; those ideas were too fussy.
After cooking, peeling and cutting lots of eggs, what I realized is that if the eggs are cooked right, it does not really matter if the yolk is lopsided. An egg that's cooked well has a tender (not chewy/rubbery) white and you can often feel the yolk underneath if it's terribly off-center. My remedy was simple: Halve the egg at a thicker area to avoid showing the thin rimmed area. Let the thinner part of the white be the bottom of the deviled egg. Guests will never know when they bite into that deviled egg.
Related posts:
- Hard-boiled egg tips
- Video tip: How to easily peel eggs
- North Indian Egg and Spiced Tomato Curry Recipe (Anda Masala)
- Instant Feel-Good Foods: Deviled Eggs and Kewpie Mayonaise
Lori says
Great tip but I wanna know how to make that beet and potato salad.
Eve says
Lori: I haven't made it, but I think that's the Russian Salad from Into The Vietnamese Kitchen.
The chicken lady at my local farmer's market always has a basket of little tiny eggs, which are laid by the young pullets. They'd make very cute deviled eggs, except that on very rare occasions you get a yolkless one (good for dieters).
Andrea Nguyen says
Lori: Yep, the recipe I mention in the Russian salad in Into the Vietnamese Kitchen. It's an old family favorite and I make it every summer. Who can resist a fuchsia colored potato salad?!
Eve: LOL, don't you love those little eggs from the pullets? They're chickens in training. Gosh, I think that those eggs are often labeled "small" by our farmer. I see them in spring.
Thuy says
Thanks for the tip! I never knew how to make them look centered. Someone told me that you should poke a pin hole at the top and salt the water well to make it easier to peel.
How To Be Vegetarian says
i like the way you explain and some of your tips are good too 🙂
Such a delicious meal to serve..
may i request... if can post about vegetarian salad recipes!
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Sulfamic acid says
This is a very good point, one I have never really taken the time to think about. I will definitely have to test this out to see if I can benefit from this technique
Thanks
Andrea Nguyen says
Thuy: The pin prick thing is hard to do...
But as you can all see with the update above, I've kind of reversed myself after a recent realization.
davek says
I just found out the older the egg is when you boil it, the easier it is to peel. So when I shop for eggs I look for the older dates. Love egg salad.
Red Bottom shoes says
Time is of no account with great thoughts, which are as fresh today as when they first passed through their author’s minds, ages ago.
Beats by Dr Dre says
Better be sure than sorry.
marlon says
This is a very good point, one I have never really taken the time to think about.
Mr. Cooking Grill says
Such a delicious meal to serve..
Andy Upshaw says
Generally what I do when making deviled eggs. Make sure the thin spot is to one side then split my egg.
Andrea Nguyen says
Nice! Thanks for sharing your tip.