Karl’s Curried Deviled Eggs with Capers

I just learned a new hack for easily peeling hard boiled eggs. Since I was making a dinner for wife Jan’s Burner friends, I decided that deviled eggs would be a good appetizer. It took me 2 minutes to peel six eggs perfectly.

Karl’s Curried Deviled Eggs with Chives

Ingredients

6+ eggs

1 Tbs. Madras curry powder
1 Tbs. capers, minced
Pinch Kosher salt
Pinch black pepper
2-3 Tbs. Japanese mayonnaise
1+ Tbs. half and half

1-2 Tbs. parsley, minced

Also needed

Lidded pint jar with square-ish sides

Directions

1. Put a wire rack in a large pot and add about an inch of water.

Tip: You want the water no higher than the height of your wire rack.

Note: I have a round wire rack that came with a wok that fits my Western pot perfectly. You can buy these separately in some large Asian stores.

2. Bring the water to a boil and then add the cold eggs.

Tip: Always add an extra egg or two than the number you need, in case you get a “blowout.”

Note: By adding the eggs after the water boils, you are controlling the exact cooking time of the eggs, preventing over cooking.

3. Cover the pot and reduce the heat to medium low.

Tip: You want your water to continue steaming, but you do not want it to boil away.

4. Steam the eggs for exactly 15 minutes—for large eggs.

Tip: Steam small eggs for 14 minutes and extra large eggs for 17 minutes.

5. Fill the egg pot with cold tap water.

Tip: This is where the new peeling technique diverges from my last best peeling method.

Note: Before I recommended using week old eggs and chilling the eggs overnight. The new technique works instantly with any eggs.

6. Half fill the pint jar with water and add 1-2 eggs.

Tip: The person in the hack video does one egg at a time, but you can really process two at a time—but not three.

Note: It is important to use a jar with internal edges—if you use a round jar the eggs just spin around the sides. It is also vital to leave some air space—if you fill the jar full the water buffers the egg(s) from contacting violently with the sides of the jar—preventing the shells from cracking. Putting three eggs in the jar fills the jar and prevents the eggs from having room to move around and hitting the sides of the jar.

7. Put the lid on the jar and shake it hard.

Tip: At first, the eggs make a sharp “crack” as they hit the sides of the jar. After a few moments the sound is more of a   slight “thud.”

Note: As the shell hits the sides of the jar several things happen. 1) The shell cracks—because it is hard and stiff. 2) In side the soft egg white distorts on contact. 3) When the egg moves away from the edge of the jar the egg white bounces back into shape. 4) Which creates a slight vacuum under the shell crack, sucking the ambient water into the shell and under the membrane just inside the shell—releasing this membrane from the egg white is the cause of all of your egg peeling woes.  5) After just a few hits enough cracks have cause the water to seep under all of the membrane—completely separating it from the egg white.

8. Pour the egg(s) into your hand and pinch off the shell.

Tip: With the membrane completely separated the shell slides right off in seconds.

9. Cut each egg in half on the long axis.

Tip: Hold the half egg gently by the thick white ends and press the back of the egg to pop the yolks into a medium mixing bowl. Remove any yolk remaining in the hole.

Note: Lay the egg half hole side up on a paper towel to keep it from sliding around.

10. Use a fork to mash the egg yolks into a fine powdery mass.

Tip: It is easier to catch any hard lumps of yolk before you start adding other ingredients, rather than trying to chase them around in a slurry. You do not want any lumps larger than about half the size of a pea.

11. Mix the curry powder, capers, salt, and pepper to the powdery yolks and mix them in with the fork.

Tip: It is easier to get a good distribution of the dry additives throughout the dry powdery yolks, if you do it before adding the wet ingredients.

12. Stir the mayonnaise into the egg yolks.

Tip: Add as much mayonnaise as needed to moisten all of the dry yolk.

Note: This mixture will be still be very thick and sticky.

13. Adding the cream—a little bit at a time—whisk the mixture until has your desired consistency.

Tip: Depending on how large the individual yolks were you may need to add more cream.

Note: Do not add too much cream. You want a light and fluffy filling, not a wet sludge.

14. Spoon the filling into the holes of the half eggs and arrange them on your serving platter.

Tip: You will have enough filling to be generous filling the eggs. The filling should hump up above the cut edge of the half egg by at least a quarter inch.

Note: If you do not have a deviled egg plate—with egg shaped indentations to keep the eggs from sliding around—it is useful to lay down a sheet of paper towel on the serving platter.

15. Garnish the eggs with the parsley and serve.

Tip: If you are making these ahead, or transporting them to serve elsewhere, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.