Cajun Deviled Eggs

It's been a while since I updated the deviled egg blog. I actually have made deviled egg several times - I made 3 types (the three most highly-rated from this blog - Bacon & Cheese Deviled Eggs, Deviled Eggs The Way I Like Them [Round 2], and Chicken Deviled Eggs) for Thanksgiving. And I've tried 2 new recipes, just haven't posted the on the blog yet. So here is one of them, in honor of the LSU Bayou Bengals, who won the SEC Football Championship Game on Saturday and will obliterate a totally outmanned and outclassed Ohio State team in the BCS Championship game after the first of the year. Geaux Tigers!

I had made these Cajun Deviled Eggs before, so I knew that they were pretty good, fairly simple, and needed a slight alteration to the original recipe. The original recipe calls for garnishing the finished deviled eggs with more Cajun spice blend, but when I did this before, the Cajun flavor became overwhelming. I understand that Cajun seasoning is the main flavor of this recipe, but it has to be a pleasant flavor, not one that dominates so much that you can't appreciate anything else.

Here is the recipe:

6 hard-boiled eggs
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/2 tablespoon yellow mustard
1 teaspoon melted butter
pinch of salt and fresh ground pepper
1/2 tablespoon Cajun spice blend (such as Zatarain's, Paul Prudhomme's Magic, or Emeril's Essence), plus more to garnish

Mix mashed yolks with mayonnaise, mustard, and melted butter. Season with a pinch each of salt and pepper. Mix in Caju spice blend. Fill egg halves and allow to sit in the refirgerator for 30 minutes or more so the texture sets up and the flavors blend.




Above: adding the mayonnaise, mustard, and melted butter.





Above: adding the Cajun spice blend and the finished product.

I think the ingredient that "makes" this recipe is the melted butter. There really isn't butter flavor added, but the texture of these eggs is tremendous - almost perfect. They are fluid enough to easily fill the egg halves, yet firm enough (and they firm up even more as they chill) that they are easy to eat in two bites rather than having to force it all down in one bite. The flavor of these, unmistakably, is the Cajun spice blend, which other than a little salt, pepper, and mustard, is the only ingredient that isn't there to add bulk or texture. All in all, these are very simple and very good. Let's see how they score on the trusty Deviled Egg Blogger scorecard.

Overall: 72 out of 100
Texture: 19 out of 20
Flavor: 14 out of 20
Uniqueness: 10 out of 20
Appearance: 10 out of 20 (these just don't look that cool)
Ease of preparation: 19 out of 20

Comments?