Deviled eggs for Labor Day? Happy Labor Day!  We hope you are enjoying time with your family and friends!   Whenever we get together with family, I always get asked to make deviled eggs….why?  Well, obviously, because mine are THE BEST!

I have been asked many times for my recipe, but you know, I don’t think I have ever made them the same way twice, and I NEVER measure anything with this recipe! I just add the basic ingredients until they “taste right”….if you have ever cooked with your grandmother, you KNOW what I am talking about…. “tastes right, looks right, feels right”… all grandmother terminology for “you know when you know”…

Obviously, we start with boiled eggs.  Don’t use SUPER FRESH EGGS, they are hard to peel.  I have my own hens, and when I need to make deviled eggs, I put them in the fridge a week to two weeks ahead of time….trust me on this…. it makes a HUGE difference!  Jay bought me an egg timer, so thingy that you drop in the water and it tells you when the eggs are done…. never used it.   I set the eggs in the pan, cover with water, and THEN turn it on.  I bring the eggs to a boil, let them boil about 2 to 3 minutes, then just let the eggs cool in the pan until they are cool to the touch, then I peel them.  If you overcook your eggs, that is where you get that funky green egg.  That color and smell comes from the overcooked eggs when the sulfur in the white reacts with the iron in the yolks.

After you have peeled your eggs, slice them in half, remove the yolks and put them in a large mixing bowl.   The rest, honestly, is personal preference…. I use mayonnaise, ONLY Blue Plate or Duke’s, don’t use fat free, reduced fat, or any mayo that contains other additives or flavors, you can add those later.

Mash your egg yolks and add mayonnaise, mustard (I use regular yellow mustard AND creole mustard)  also add a teaspoon of vinegar, and a half teaspoon of Worcestershire, 1/4 teaspoon lemon juice(fresh squeezed is best) a dash of black pepper and a few pinches of salt.

Add these ingredients sparingly, you can always add more later, but you can’t take them out…. and if you get your mixture too wet, you may have to boil more eggs.

The following is a list of ingredients I add, you can omit the ones you don’t like

cayenne pepper

red pepper flakes

Tabasco, Cholula, Valentina or whatever other hot sauce you have handy *** I like my deviled eggs to have a KICK***

powdered garlic

A FINELY chopped egg

Some FINELY chopped dill pickle, or pickle juice or both

FINELY chopped bacon or bacon bits

ground sage

I mix everything well. Put it in a zip lock bag, cut one of the corners off, and use that to fill the eggs…..SOOOO much easier than trying to do it with a spoon.  I usually boil about 2 dozen eggs for a BIG batch of deviled eggs. There are always some whites that fall apart. I just feed those back to my chickens in my scrap bucket.

I always top my deviled eggs with paprika and dill., but leave some eggs without a ton, just in case someone doesn’t like dill….if they don’t like heat, they shouldn’t eat my deviled eggs.  Chill until ready to serve.  This TRULY is a recipe of taste, and you can make them mild or BOLD!  If you have never made them before, start out with just a few, and experiment!