Here's The Secret To Trisha Yearwood's Perfect Deviled Eggs
While deviled eggs originally started as a Southern staple, as noted by Martha Stewart, they've since become a party favorite all over the world. These two-bite apps have been the stars of countless holiday parties, potluck dinners, picnics, game-day gatherings, and any other occasion that calls for crowd-pleasing snacks that are easy on the budget and the clock. They're just about as versatile as you can get, too. Deviled egg recipes range from classic to out of the ordinary, with recipes offering everything from Tex-Mex style with cilantro, jalapeño, and chili powder to spicy shrimp rémoulade deviled eggs with shrimp, spicy Creole mustard, and ample garlic, per Southern Living.
And in addition to being delicious, deviled eggs are also pretty easy to make. You probably already know how to make hard-boiled eggs; deviled eggs are just an upgraded version of the classic protein-packed snack. (Just avoid some of the most common egg cooking mistakes, such as overcooking the eggs, leaving large chunks of the yolk uncrushed, or not allowing the eggs to cool enough after you've boiled them, per The Kitchn.)
But in addition to perfectly cooked eggs and a tasty filling, appearance also matters with deviled eggs. No one wants a stringy egg yolk, or worse, one with that dreaded green hue. Fortunately, cookbook author Trisha Yearwood's family has been making these savory treats for years. Her grandmother handed down a few tips to achieve the perfect-looking appetizers, and Yearwood shared all the details with Food Network.
The perfect deviled eggs start before you even boil the water
Trisha Yearwood gave fans a genius hack for keeping a handy drawer of room-temperature butter — did you think she wouldn't have a deviled eggs hack, too? In a Food Network video, Trisha Yearwood shared that she likes her deviled eggs with mayonnaise, mustard, sweet relish, and, of course, egg yolks. But when it comes to the musician's deviled eggs recipe, it's not so much what goes inside the cooked egg white as much as it is how the eggs are handled before they even encounter a pot of boiling water.
Here's the secret to Yearwood's deviled eggs: Flip over your carton of eggs the night before you're planning to prepare them. This helps the yolk find its way to the center of the egg so you get an even distribution of white around the edge. Eggs have traveled a long way before they make it to a spot in your refrigerator; it's likely the yolks have settled to the bottom. This tactic will help avoid a thick white on one end and a thin one on the other.
"When you get ready to boil them the next day, the yolk's right in the middle, and they turn out perfectly every time," Yearwood told Food Network. "Really, really fresh eggs are harder to peel, so if you can buy your eggs and let them sit in the fridge for a couple of days before you boil them, they'll peel easier."
The hard-boiling process matters for deviled eggs, too
The basic recipe for deviled eggs is as easy as it gets. Hard-boil some eggs, let them cool, peel and halve them, remove the yolks, mix up some mayo, mustard, salt, and pepper to add to the yolks — and then spoon or pipe away into the remaining hollowed-out egg whites (per The Spruce). But there are at least a dozen methods claiming to be the best way to make perfect hard-boiled eggs. Some, like The Kitchn, swear by the boil-and-simmer approach. Others, like Tasty, recommend putting the eggs in a pot of cold water and then boiling.
Whatever hard-boiling method you use, just be sure that once you've got your eggs in the boiling water, you don't overcook them. Trisha Yearwood also shared her insider tips for keeping the egg whites clean and neat, as well as her hack for preventing your egg yolks from developing that unsightly green rim around the outside, per Food Network. If you overcook your hard-boiled eggs, the yolk will have a green outer rim that will affect your deviled eggs' appearance.
Finally, one you've cooked your eggs, Yearwood advises keeping a wet towel handy to wipe down your knife as you slice each one in half. This will keep the egg white from becoming yucked up with yolk residue.
Oh, and in case you were wondering, Garth Brooks prefers more mustard that mayo in his deviled eggs, while Yearwood prefers hers with more mayo than mustard.