Horseradish and Black Pepper Deviled Eggs

This recipe has been quite an adventure. I have made it twice so far and I'm STILL not totally satisfied. Unlike the disastrous Sour Cream and Lemon Deviled Eggs from July, I see potential in this recipe. It might not be perfect, but it continues to be worth tinkering with and trying again.

So here is my Horseradish and Black Pepper Deviled Egg adventure:

When I made these the first time three weeks ago, I was never comfortable with the horseradish I was using. The original recipe called for "prepared horseradish" and I used some horseradish that I had in my refrigerator. According to http://www.horseradish.org/facts, prepared horseradish loses its potency and turns slightly brown as it ages. I think this is what happened with the horseradish I used in my first crack at this recipe (this attempt is represented in the pictures).


The second time I made this, I used "horseradish sauce" rather than prepared horseradish. Although horseradish.org does not distinguish between "prepared horseradish" and "horseradish sauce," I think the horseradish sauce that I used was horseradish cut with some mayonnaise. The result is that the horseradish is not nearly as hot as it was in the first attempt, and not nearly as hot as I think the recipe intends, but is actually a nice flavor. The problem, however, is that the texture is too runny when using "horseradish sauce."



So I'm going to make this recipe again, a third time, using a little less mayonnaise and using prepared horseradish that I know is fresh. But I'm going to try a couple of new recipes first. Perhaps the third time will be the charm.


Recipe:


6 hard-boiled eggs
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 1/2 tablespoons (or more) prepared horseradish
1 tablespoon sweet pickle juice from jar of sweet pickles
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt
12 fresh parsley leaves

Above: adding the mayonnaise and the original prepared horseradish

Above: adding the pickle juice, the freshly ground pepper, and the salt

Above: the finished product, with the parsley garnish

Overall: 65 out of 100

Texture: 8 out of 20 (just too runny)

Flavor: 14 out of 20

Uniqueness: 17 out of 20 (the pickle juice bumps this up a couple points)

Appearance: 12 out of 20

Ease of preparation: 14 out of 20

Comments?