Wasabi Deviled Eggs

Did you remember the Wasabi Deviled Eggs Dear?

BBQ season is upon us. And what would a cookout be without deviled eggs.

I like a good Deviled Egg as well as the next guy, but thought it was time to raise the bar. Wasabi Deviled Eggs are like Buffalo Wings, you can make them as wimpy or atomic as you like. These are also great if you need to clear your sinuses.

Step 1: Ingredients

Ingredients:

1 Dozen Eggs-hard boiled and shelled

1/2 Cup Mayo or Salad dressing (I prefer Miracle Whip lite)

1/4 Cup Spicy Brown Mustard

1 Tbl Wasabi paste (or to taste)

1 Tbl Frank's Hot Sauce (I put that stuff on everything!)

Salt and pepper

Thai Chili Paste (optional)

Food processor (but if you're a glutton for punishment this can be done by hand)

Step 2: Hard Boil Your Eggs

Hard Boil your Eggs

My mom taught me a great trick for perfect hard-boiled eggs: Start them in cold water, covered, and bring to a rolling boil. Turn off the heat and let them sit on the stove for 20 minutes. Run under cold water and peel. Perfect every time! As peeling the eggs (in my opinion) is the worst part of the job, keep in mind, the older the egg the easier to peel. If you need to make these right away, look for the oldest eggs you can find.

(There could be an entire 'ible' on peeling eggs).

Step 3: Make the Filling

Grab your food processor and a platter. Cut your hard-boiled eggs in 1/2. Pop out the yolk and put in food processor and place the egg white on the platter.

This is where things can get interesting as there are several factors that can affect the quantity of your ingredients (humidity, hardness (done-ness) of egg, personal textural preferences) so we'll use a baseline and go from there.

With cooked egg yolks in processor, add 1/2 Cup mayo or dressing, 1/4 cup spicy brown mustard, 1 tablespoons wasabi paste (for starters), 1 Tablespoon Franks Hot Sauce. Blend well. You want your filling creamy enough to pipe through a bag (if you're the fancy type) but not so creamy that the filling will melt on a hot day. At this point you'll need to sample for your personal tastes. Add salt and pepper, more wasabi if you like it hot, ditto hot sauce. For a serious kick in the pants, add a heaping tsp of Thai Chili paste (but no more as it can overpower the wasabi). If you desire a more creamy texture, add mayo oneTablespoon at a time and blend after each addition. Keep tasting as you go. When the filling is smooth and creamy yet firm, you're ready to fill your eggs.

Step 4: Fill the Eggs

If you're not trying to impress anyone, you can just spoon your filling into the prepared egg white, sprinkle with paprika, and call it a day. If you're the Martha Stewart type, you can choose your favorite pastry tip, fill your pastry bag with the filling, and pipe artistically into your egg white. I go middle of the road as not to shame myself: I put the filling into a zip-lock bag, squeezing the air out and forcing the filling into a corner of the bag. Zip it shut and cut a small bit off the corner and I use this as my piping bag to fill the eggs. Toss empty when done.

Step 5: Presentaton

Warning: deviled eggs contain everything you need for a bad case of food poisoning if not refrigerated. Keep cold until serving. Should they remain at room temperature more than an hour once served, consider placing a cold-pack under the serving platter.

Make sure the platter you use is large enough for all your eggs to lay flat. There will be condensation (unless you serve immediately) so put paper towels under your eggs to absorb excess moisture until ready to serve.

Garnish. You could be lazy and just sprinkle with paprika (for goodness sake, if you're this lazy at least use smoked paprika) or get creative. Capers, chopped red chilies, thinly sliced ginger (the kind they use for sushi) green onions, or BACON - use your imagination. If you've gone crazy and made several levels of hot, make sure the eggs are labeled. A peel and stick label on a toothpick could also work as a garnish.

Some people are extra sensitive to wasabi. Several antidotes to kill the heat are dairy, sugar, bread and carbonated beverages to name a few.

If you like some heat, give these a try.

Enjoy!