RECIPE

Deviled eggs that even God would cosign

Most folks lean on salty flavors when making this cookout favorite. I like to go salty and sweet

By D. Watkins

Editor at Large

Published September 19, 2023 4:15PM (EDT)

Deviled Eggs (Getty Images)
Deviled Eggs (Getty Images)

I love deviled eggs. So much so that it is extremely embarrassing for me to admit that I thought they were called "doubled eggs," well into my teens, both because of thick Baltimore accents and how they are made–– I mean you literally take out the yolk and add a bunch of ingredients to it, which in actuality doubles the egg. 

I also inaccurately thought of deviled eggs as being exclusively soul food. It is not strange to go to a Black function, maybe a holiday dinner and hear "Hey Auntie, lemme get yams, seafood salad, macaroni salad, three turkey meatballs and four of those double-eggs!" So, I'm guessing that you could probably imagine the wild look on my face, when I posted up a bar — in a mostly white neighborhood, with a mostly white staff — and saw three different types of deviled eggs on the menu.

I was even more surprised, when a dude who looked like Kelsey Grammer from that show "Frazier" sat two stools down from me and devoured about three orders. Frasier was eating those devil eggs so hard that I thought he was going to mess around and gnaw off his index finger. A chunky scoop of yellow even bounced onto his argyle sweater — and, yes, he ate that too.  

Later I learned that deviled eggs are essentially soul food for white people, much like casserole.  According to the History Channelthe dish dates all the way back to Ancient Rome, where they cooked eggs with "spicy sauces" which were served as appetizers. The dish didn't become what we know it as today until an1896 cookbook suggested "mayonnaise as a way to bind ground egg yolks together." 

My mother, the original egg master, had a delicious recipe that tasted nothing like the deviled eggs I had at my aunt's, grandma's or neighbor's house.

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See, most people I know leaned on the salty, but my brilliant mom opted for sugar. What better way could she convince us kids to eat all of that cholesterol­­? At least the white part had protein. When I graduated from the boy who was asked to bring paper plates or bags of ice to the function to the man who was capable of making a dish, I took the liberty of combining both worlds, the savory and the sweet. 

Most deviled eggs recipes call for mustard, mayonnaise, salt, pepper and paprika. And if you abide by those ingredients than congratulations, you successfully leaned how to use google. Now pay attention while I tell you how to makes the Devil's eggs like a pro. 

D's salty and sweet deviled eggs
Yields
12 deviled eggs
Prep Time
10 minutes
Cook Time
8 minutes

Ingredients

  • 6 large eggs 
  • 2 Tablespoons mayonnaise 
  • 1 Tablespoon of sweet relish  
  • 1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard 
  • 1 teaspoon of sugar  
  • Salt and pepper, to taste 
  • Caviar for garnish (Optional)
  • Crumbled bacon for garnish (Optional; I don't eat pork so I tend to use turkey bacon, but I've heard pork bacon is the best for this dish)
  • Paprika 

 

Directions

  1. Boil the eggs in hot water for 8 minutes and immediately place them in ice water afterwards 
  2. Slice the eggs into halves and place the yolks into a large mixing bowl.
  3. Add the mayonnaise, sweet relish, Dijon and sugar, into the mixing bowl with the cold yolks. Whip until it's smooth and creamy. Salt and pepper to taste. 
  4. Refile the egg halves and dust them with paprika. 
  5. Sprinkle caviar and crumbled bacon on the top of each yolk

 

 


By D. Watkins

D. Watkins is an Editor at Large for Salon. He is also a writer on the HBO limited series "We Own This City" and a professor at the University of Baltimore. Watkins is the author of the award-winning, New York Times best-selling memoirs “The Beast Side: Living  (and Dying) While Black in America”, "The Cook Up: A Crack Rock Memoir," "Where Tomorrows Aren't Promised: A Memoir of Survival and Hope" as well as "We Speak For Ourselves: How Woke Culture Prohibits Progress." His new books, "Black Boy Smile: A Memoir in Moments," and "The Wire: A Complete Visual History" are out now.

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