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Pimiento Deviled Eggs

Source of Recipe

From "Northern Soul" by Justin Sutherland


Recipe Introduction

"It seems few people sit on the fence when it comes to deviled eggs. Either they light up your life or they steer you to the bowl of potato chips and tub of sour cream dip. I think they're delicious, if not craveable—particularly this recipe. The filling is supercharged with pickle brine, pimientos, bacon, and Cry Baby Craig's Hot Sauce—all of those flavors coming together to establish a raucous burst on the buffet table. Spending the time to create this mixture an hour or two ahead of time—or even the night before—will allow the flavors to bloom out and become more pronounced. That will give you the opportunity to taste it first and decide if you want to add more salt, sweetness, or a little kick from some extra hot sauce. For special occasions, level up to high roller status on the presentation and top each filled egg with a tiny dollop of caviar and a dusting of chopped chives."

List of Ingredients

â—¦ One dozen large eggs
â—¦ 2 ounces drained jarred pimiento peppers
â—¦ 3 tablespoons mayonnaise, preferably Duke's
â—¦ 3 tablespoons kosher salt
â—¦ 1 ¾ teaspoons smoked paprika
â—¦ 1 teaspoon hot sauce, preferably Cry Baby Craig's Hot Sauce
â—¦ ¾ teaspoon bread-and-butter pickle brine
â—¦ ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
â—¦ ¼ teaspoon sugar
â—¦ â…› teaspoon white pepper, preferably freshly ground
â—¦ 1 tablespoon chopped cooked bacon, from one strip of uncooked bacon
â—¦ Minced fresh chives, for garnish


Recipe

Put the eggs in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Cover the pan and bring to a boil over high heat. As soon as the water comes to a boil, remove from the heat and let stand for 10 minutes, then drain the hot water and cool the eggs under cold running water.

Carefully peel the cooled eggs (note: older eggs will peel easier than fresh ones). Cut each egg in half, carefully scoop out the yolks, and set the yolks aside. Rinse the egg whites under cold running water to clean them of any bits of shell or remaining bits of yolk, then set them aside to drain on a paper towel-lined plate.

Make the base: Combine the pimientos, mayonnaise, salt, paprika, hot sauce, pickle brine, cayenne, sugar, and white pepper in the bowl of a food processor. Process until smooth and fully combined, 30 to 60 seconds. Add in the yolks and process until you have a fully combined mixture that is smooth and creamy. Fold in the chopped bacon.

Transfer the deviled yolks to a piping bag. Arrange the egg white halves open side up on a platter. If the egg whites are rolling around, you can use a paring knife to cut a "foot" or a flat surface on the bottom of the egg white to help it balance. Pipe the deviled yolk mix into the egg whites, and chill in the refrigerator, covered loosely with plastic wrap, for at least 30 minutes. Garnish with chives and serve cold.

Makes 24 deviled eggs