Alex Guarnaschelli's Go-To Unconventional Ingredients For Deviled Eggs
Deviled eggs are one of those dishes that may seem simple in theory, but in reality, take several steps to complete. Boiling eggs to perfection and removing all the shells without snagging the whites is a large task in and of itself. But if you can make a filling so perfectly extraordinary that everyone around you asks for the recipe, it's worth all the effort.
If you search for a deviled egg recipe, you're likely to find a few staple ingredients in it. Aside from eggs, you'll likely see mayonnaise and Dijon mustard which are used for the egg yolk mixture that you'll ultimately pipe into the boiled whites. Many recipes also call for paprika and cayenne pepper, which add a bit of smoke and heat, respectively.
In her recipe, however, chef Alex Guarnaschelli explains that she likes to switch out the Dijon mustard for yellow mustard, and she also uses dried ginger, which she explained to Food & Wine has more of a wasabi-like flavor to it. Deviled eggs are called that for a reason — because the yolk mixture is supposed to be a little devilish and spicy. Adding some unconventional ingredients can give your dish that certain wow factor and most of them are probably already in your refrigerator or spice pantry.
Try mixing in some unique spices
The star of the deviled eggs show really is the egg yolk filling. It's what will separate bland deviled eggs from a great crowd pleaser. Of course, you can achieve delicious deviled eggs with a traditional recipe, but if you're eager to make a dish that breaks traditions or has a bit more wow factor, then you can't go wrong with Guarnaschelli's game-changing ingredient swaps. These aren't your grandma's deviled eggs.
With the zip from the extra vinegary yellow mustard and the heat from the dried ginger, the yolk mixture will pack a punch, but Guarnaschelli also adds Worcestershire sauce as well to give a bit more umami flavor to the mixture, plus a few dashes of hot sauce to compliment the kick of the dried ginger. If this sounds like it might be too spicy of an addition to your next plate of deviled eggs, you can always experiment with using varying amounts of dried ginger and hot sauce to suit your palate. With that said, Guarnaschelli has one more trick up her sleeve that helps keep the mustard, ginger, and hot sauce in their place.
The creamy addition to elevate the texture
In addition to the unconventional spice blend Alex Guarnaschelli uses in her deviled egg yolk mixture, she also adds another ingredient that amps up the texture of her filling as well, making it a bit lighter and fluffier. Mustard and ginger together are quite the intense flavor combination so Guarnaschelli adds unsweetened whipped cream to the mixture to help balance it all out.
This wouldn't be a time to get out a can of whipped cream from the fridge. Instead, you'll want to put one quarter cup of heavy whipping cream in the mixer and mix it on high speed just until stiff peaks form, which takes about one minute. Once the whipped cream is formed, you'll fold that into your egg yolk mixture until it's well incorporated. To determine how much of the cream you like in your egg yolk mixture, add a small about at a time and have your clean tasting spoons at the ready so you can figure out how much works for you. Try adding this spicy, creamy mixture to your next batch of deviled eggs and watch the excited praise come rolling in.