Hell's Eggs

This is the 29th different deviled egg recipe tasted by this blog, and this one has the best name BY A MILE. "Hell's Eggs." It says it all, right? Not quite.

These eggs, apparently, are supposed to be hot. Very hot. I am not one of those people who subscribe to the philosophy of "the hotter the better," I care more about what the flavor and texture of the food item are. So I was prepared to think these things were just too hot. A serrano chile, some cayenne powder, and pure chile powder were all ingredients, so I was ready for some HEAT. Further, I don't like cilantro - I'm one of those people who think it tastes like soap - so I expected THAT to just make me dislike these eggs even more.

But that's not what happened. Were they hot? Sure. But they were also tolerable. In fact, they were interesting in a lot of different ways. The minced garlic and finely diced chile added an interesting crunch to the texture, and the scant amounts of the cayenne chile powders added some heat, but didn't overwhelm. Plus, this is recipe #1 of 5 in a row where I refuse to use paprika as a garnish. And this recipe included paprika in the filling, but the garnish was chopped chives - and they really looked good! All in all, a pleasant surprise based on my expectations of the recipe. However... I guess these eggs didn't really live up to their tremendous name - Hell's Eggs.

Here is the recipe:

6 hard-boiled eggs
1 clove of garlic
1 serrano chile, seeded
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon dried mustard
1/8 teaspoon cayenne powder
1/8 teaspoon pure chile powder
1/8 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon chopped cilantro
1/2 teaspoon chopped chives

1. Finely mince both garlic and serrano chile.
2. Crumble egg yolks until very fine.
3. Add garlic and chile.
4. Add mayonnaise, lemon juice, mustard, and spices.
5. Add chopped cilantro.
6. Fill egg white halves with filling.
7. Top with chopped chives.


Above: adding the minced garlic, minced serrano chile, and mayonnaise


Above: adding the lemon juice and mustard powder


Above: adding the cayenne pepper, pure chile powder, and paprika


Above: adding the salt and cilantro


Above: the final product, Hell's Eggs, topped with chives

The ingredients work really well together here. The chile and the cayenne and chile powders add heat. The chile and the garlic add some textural crunch. The garlic and the mustard, and even the cilantro, add some subtle flavor. And the lemon juice, I suppose, not only moistens the filling but also seems to cut the heat from the cayenne and chile powder so that it's a flavor more than heat. And maybe it's my sudden anti-paprika-garnish bias, but I really like both the flavor and texture of the chives as a garnish.

Here are the scores:

Overall: 77 out of 100
Texture: 18 out of 20
Flavor: 16 out of 20
Uniqueness: 17 out of 20 (plus 2 because of the name Hell's Eggs)
Appearance: 16 out of 20
Ease of preparation: 10 out of 20 (downgraded because of the chopping - plus I had to go to a specialty store to get pure chile powder)

Comments?

Parsley and Vinegar Deviled Eggs (Round 2)

I originally tested this recipe on January 6 (http://thebestdeviledeggs.blogspot.com/2008/01/parsley-and-vinegar-deviled-eggs.html) and made an error. This recipe called for half mayonnaise and half Miracle Whip, and I used all Miracle Whip. Since then, I've taken some classes in basic reading fundamentals, and I was able to successfully test this recipe AGAIN, this time actually following the recipe.

And the difference was noticeable. Whereas in the original recipe, the Miracle Whip became the dominant flavor, in the redo the Miracle Whip just provided a little tang and the mayonnaise provided the rest of the substance. That allowed the other ingredients - the parsley, the vinegar, and the hot sauce - to stand out a little more.

But the change didn't make this recipe "great." It's adequate - in fact, it was VERY popular with the tasters when I made it - but it's just nothing special.

Here is the recipe:

6 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and sliced in half
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 each salt and fresh ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon dry parsley flakes
1/2 tablespoon white vinegar
couple dashes hot pepper sauce (to taste)
just less than 1/4 cup mayonnaise
just less than 1/4 cup Miracle Whip
paprika, to garnish

1. Mash yolks with a fork until crumbly.
2. Add mayonnaise and Miracle whip a little at a time until the yolk mixture if of a paste consistency.
3. Add dry mustard, salt, pepper, and parsley and mix with fork.
4. Add vinegar and hot pepper sauce.
5. Fill egg white halves.
6. Sprinkle with paprika to garnish.
7. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Above: adding the mayonnaise, Miracle Whip, and dry mustard

Above: adding the salt, fresh ground pepper, and parsley flakes.

Above: adding the white vinegar, the hot sauce, and the finished product.

The texture and flavor were improved, but everything else remains the same. A slight bump in score, but not a lot. And I'm so goddamn tired of seeing paprika as a garnish of deviled eggs (it's a lazy garnish - just sprinkle, nothing else required) that I vow to make five consecutive recipes that use ANYTHING OTHER THAN PAPRIKA as the garnish.

Here are the scores:

Overall: 58 out of 100
Texture: 13 out of 20 (held up better with mayonnaise used appropriately)
Flavor: 13 out of 20
Uniqueness: 8 out of 20
Appearance: 7 out of 20 (I've had enough of paprika as the garnish - see above)
Ease of preparation: 17 out of 20

Comments?

Grandpa's Angry Deviled Eggs

This recipe was sent to me along with a little story about its name. Apparently, someone's "Grandpa" was a mean old coot that frightened all the kids. But Grandpa was also a helluva cook, and one of his favorite recipes was for his "Angry Deviled Eggs."

The story continued that the Angry Deviled Egg recipe reflected Grandpa's personality. Lots of fire and anger, sometimes hard to take, but ultimately tolerable to those who give him a chance. What makes Grandpa's deviled eggs "angry"? I guess it's the large amount of prepared horseradish. Or maybe the accompanying story. But I went into the test of Grandpa's Angry Deviled Eggs with high hopes, because the story accompanying the recipe was so much more memorable than the standard recipe I receive.

Here is the recipe:

6 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and sliced in half
slightly less than 1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 to 1/2 tablespoons prepared horseradish (or more to taste)
1 teaspoon yellow mustard
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon white vinegar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon dry mustard
1/8 teaspoon pepper
paprika for garnish

1. Mash egg yolks until smooth.
2. Add all ingredients and blend until smooth.
3. Fill eggs with filling.
4. Sprinkle with paprika as desired.
5. Let eggs sit in the refrigerator for at least one hour so that flavors will blend.


Above: adding mayonnaise, horseradish, and sugar

Above: adding yellow mustard, white vinegar, and salt


Above: adding the dry mustard, the pepper, and a shot of the finished products

I found two things interesting about this recipe, beyond the accompanying story. First, the addition of sugar into a recipe with a LOT of horseradish and described as "angry." But the sugar really does make a difference! You can slightly taste it, and it cuts the pungency of the horseradish just enough to make the horseradish a nice flavor rather than an uncomfortable bite. Second, the use of two mustards - both prepared and dry. I still can't figure this one out, although maybe the prepared mustard allows for more substance to the filling or something. Still, it's the sugar that makes this horseradish-based recipe so good. Maybe Grandpa wasn't really such an asshole, but had a sweet spot in his somewhere. Doubtful.

Here are the scores:

Overall: 72 out of 100
Texture: 14 out of 100
Flavor: 14 out of 100
Uniqueness: 17 out of 100 (3 additional points for the story)
Appearance: 11 out of 100 (I'm getting SO tired of the paprika-as-garnish appearance)
Ease of preparation: 16 out of 100

Comments?

Slightly Sweet Deviled Eggs

Once in a while, you get really pleasantly surprised by something. And these eggs were really surprising to me. Many people feel like deviled eggs can be used as a quasi-dessert and add some sugar, but I've never agreed with that. Yet here's a deviled egg recipe wher the only real flavor beyond mayonnaise, mustard, etc., is sugar. But the result was very, very good ! I was pleasantly surprised.

That's not to say that this recipe is perfect. As with the last few recipes, the proportion was off. And this recipe said you could add milk, as needed, to change the texture. I like thicker deviled egg filling and I thought the texture was perfect, with no milk needed. The recipe also allowed for either dry mustard or prepared mustard, and I went with prepared mustard. Maybe that made the texture perfect with no milk added.

Here is the recipe:

6 hard-boiled eggs
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons vinegar
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon dry mustard or 1/2 tablespoon prepared mustard
1 teaspoon sugar
milk, as needed

1. Crumble egg yolks until very fine.
2. Mix all ingredients.
3. Add milk as needed to smooth the mixture.
4. Fill eggs with filling.
5. Sprinkle with paprika or garnish as needed.
6. Let sit in the refrigerator for at least one hour so flavors will blend.


Above: adding mayonnaise, vinegar, and salt.


Above: adding pepper, mustard, and the sugar.


Above: the finished product

So, again, notice that there are only 9 deviled eggs rather than 12. There just wasn't enough filling to fill all 12 egg halves, but like most deviled egg recipes, this one is easily scalable. Also, I'm getting bored with just paprika as garnish and I'm going to look for some recipes in my unused stack that use something OTHER than paprika as garnish. It's just a little pedestrian, and I've got enough recipes that use something other than paprika that I need to use some.

But these eggs, flavor-wise, were very good. The sugar didn't make them TOO sweet - had they tasted like a deviled egg dessert, I'm sure I wouldn't have cared for them. And my reviewers LOVED them - gobbled them up in a hurry (and the reviewers were tasting them in combination with another recipe that will appear soon).

Lastly, I've also got a stack of recipes that I have reviewed and said I would try again with some change. Look for those soon or I'll get to too far behind.

Here are the scores:

Overall: 70 out of 100
Texture: 18 out of 100
Flavor: 14 out of 100
Uniqueness: 12 out of 100
Appearance: 8 out of 100
Ease of preparation: 18 out of 20

Comments?

Curry Deviled Eggs (Round 1)

I struggled with this recipe, since it listed some ingredients with amount and some without. And after making this recipe, I think some of the amount listed were wrong, and some of the amount I chose to use were also wrong.

Because this thing ended up like a salt lick. With no curry. The idea seems great, the recipe is easy, and the end product looks very good. In fact, it even TASTES good in the first instant you put it in your mouth. But the salt just overwhelms, so I'll try again with a some altered ingredient amount (and I welcome suggestions, as always).

Beyond all that, the proportion wasn't right (I didn't have enough filling to fill all my egg whites), one "squirt" of mustard seemed to drown out any curry, but the white pepper did add a nice bite to the flavor. I really like the idea of mixing half mayonnaise and half sour cream, as the mayonnaise is a subtle flavor rather than a dominant flavor, but it seemed to allow the salt to dominate rather than the curry.

Here is the recipe:

6 hard-boiled eggs
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
1 tablespoon sour cream
1 squirt yellow mustard
1/8 teaspoon curry powder (or to taste)
paprika

1. Crumble egg yolks until very fine.
2. Add dry ingredients, except curry powder.
3. Add wet ingredients.
4. Add curry powder.
5. Spoon filling into egg halves and allow to become firm by refrigerating for at least one hour.
6. Garnish with paprika.

Here are the pictures:

Above: adding the garlic salt and white pepper

Above: adding the mayonnaise, sour cream, and mustard.

Above: adding the curry, and the finished product. (Notice only 11 eggs had filling)

I think this recipe has enough potential that I will retry it, altering the proportions. A little more mayonnaise and sour cream, so the proportion works out. A little less mustard and a little more curry so that the curry flavor is more obvious. And less salt. I might even use a little garlic powder rather than garlic salt (something the original recipe offered - but it also calls for straight salt and I used garlic salt rather than both). We will see...

And one more thing. I'm getting a little tired of recipes that use JUST paprika as garnish. The original recipe suggests paprika, but also says you may use a black or green olive, or caviar, or a "sweet midget pickle" as garnish. Once I figure out what a sweet midget pickle is, I think I might use it as a garnish on the retry of this recipe.

Here are the scores:

Overall: 62 out of 100
Texture: 13 out of 100 (the texture was very good; the proportion was out of whack)
Flavor: 7 out of 20 (potential here, just ruined by the salt)
Uniqueness: 12 out of 100
Appearance: 12 out of 100
Ease of preparation: 18 out of 20

Comments?