Loaded Deviled Eggs
Image: serving plate containing boiled egg halves filled with an egg yolk mixture and topped with various toppings.
Description: Deviled eggs are a party favorite in my family and these come loaded with bacon and a few additions to the filling that make a truly heavenly deviled egg experience!
Yield: Makes 3-4 servings
Ingredients:
6 strips of thick cut smoked bacon
12 eggs, hard boiled
Filling (Makes around 1 cup of deviled egg filling):
Yolks from 6 whole boiled eggs
1 avocado
2/3 cup Mayonnaise (Link to recipe)
2 tablespoons bacon fat
3 tablespoons Sweet or Dill Pickle Relish
3 tablespoons Nutritional yeast
2 garlic clove, grated
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon white vinegar
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt, or to taste
Topping:
cayenne pepper
smoked paprika
crumbled bacon
Chopped chives
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Fill a medium size pot half full of water, cover with a lid, and bring to a boil over high heat.
While the water is warming up, arrange the bacon in a single layer on the parchment paper lined baking sheet. Bake for 12-14 minutes on the middle rack, or until desired crispness is reached.
Once the water is boiling, add the eggs slowly so they do not crack, reduce heat to medium high, and cover with a lid. Allow to remain at a steady boil for approximately 60 seconds.
Turn the burner off but leave the eggs covered on the burner for 10 more minutes.
Once the eggs have cooked, you can cool them quickly by submerging them in a ice bath. Alternatively, if you don’t want to bother with doing the ice bath, you could just continuously rinse and drain the eggs in really cold water in the same cooking pot for 30 seconds to quickly bring down the temperature.
By now, the bacon should be done. Remove from oven, and place on counter to cool for a couple of minuts. It will crisp up a bit more as it cools. Crumble the bacon and set aside. Reserve 2 tablespoons of the bacon fat for the filling.
Once the eggs are peeled, slice each in half and set aside the yolks from 6 whole eggs. If you have trouble peeling eggs, see note below.
To a blender or food processor, add the filling ingredients and process until smooth. Alternatively, you can mash everything together in a mixing bowl with a fork.
Add the filling mixture to one end of a small plastic sandwich bag and stuff it down into the corner, then cut of the corner of the bag to make a DIY piping bag. Alternatively, you can use a standard piping bag if you have one.
Pipe the mixture into each of the egg halves. Add the crumbled bacon and chives on top. Sprinkle with Cayenne pepper and smoked paprika! ENJOY!!
Notes:
To peel the eggs easily, I submerge them completely in cold water in a big mixing bowl. While submerged, I gently crack each egg all over against the sides of the mixing bowl and allow to sit under the water for another couple of minutes before attempting to peel to allow the water to penetrate the broken shell and membrane, which will make them easier to peel. These steps have definitely helped me make eggs easier to peel, especially on those boiled eggs where the shell feels like it’s glued on there.