Bacon-Cheddar Deviled Eggs & All about the PERFECT Egg (Part 1)

Eggs are the perfect food!  Relatively inexpensive, easy to prepare and a great source of protein!  I cringe every time I hear someone say they only eat the white of the egg!

Eggs have been a huge part of my diet since I was a kid.  We would sometimes get fresh eggs from our neighbor across the street (my brother and I would go help her pick them up and throw away the bad ones).  I would only eat scrambled eggs that my mom cooked, never would I eat eggs prepared outside of our house!

My experience with cooking eggs has grown significantly. I now like fried eggs (but not runny yolk) and eggs prepared many different ways and I LOVE DEVILED EGGS!  I know most people just cook eggs for breakfast with no attention to detail, typically over-cooking, under-cooking, under-seasoning or cooking the same style eggs over and over! I have learned a lot over the past few years about purchasing and cooking eggs and wanted to share with you some of my tips.

Here are a few tips when using eggs in recipes:

1. To create the tastiest egg, you must start with the best quality.  Purchase locally pastured eggs from chickens that actually graze for their own food.  Just as cows weren't designed to eat grains, neither were chickens.  Their diet should consist of bugs and worms not pellets in a bag! ;-(  Check out you local newspaper, Craig's List, etc. to find local, farm fresh eggs!  The taste (and appearance) can't be beat!  My mil keeps me supplied with eggs and it's a great perk!  When my husband and I were dating, he brought me some gorgeous eggs and he told his mom, to keep them coming! ;-) I personally would chose local pastured eggs over store bought organic any day! Pastured eggs also have that BEAUTIFUL golden colored yolk which gives your cakes a golden color or your deviled eggs a natural yellow color without the mustard! 
2. Local pastured eggs are ALWAYS fresher than those purchased at the grocery store!  Of course, fresh is always best.  The only thing about fresh eggs is that they may not peel as well when making hard boiled eggs than older eggs but their are ways around that! (Keep reading more more tips to boiling eggs).
3. To test to see if eggs are ok to use, dissolve 2 tbsp of salt into 2 cups of cold water.  Fresh eggs will sink and old eggs will float. If you have floaters, DO NOT use them!
4. I use large eggs in all of my recipes.  Egg size will vary when purchasing pastured eggs.  A large egg is around 2 oz.  The eggs I receive from my mil are all roughly 2 oz.  I have received eggs that were bigger than 2 oz and would adjust the recipe accordingly. When cooking for the Farmer's Market, making large batches, I would actually weigh eggs to ensure consistency. If your eggs are smaller than large, weigh them to see how many you will need to equal a large egg.
5. Keep eggs in fridge to give eggs a longer life.
6. When baking, use eggs at room temperature.  This is especially the case when beating egg whites.  A room temperature egg white will hold its shape and volume must better than cold eggs.
7. If a recipe calls for egg yolks, simply freeze the egg whites in an ice tray for later use. 

Handy Color Changing Egg Timer

Tips for the PERFECT Boiled Eggs:

1. Choose pot big enough for all eggs to rest on bottom of pan, not stacked.
2. Fill pot with cold water to cover eggs.  Continue to fill pot until water is 1 inch over eggs.  You can add more water but this will only take longer for the water to come to a boil.
3. Cover pot with appropriate lid and turn on med-high heat.  Bring to boil.  The lid will help water come to a boiling temperature quicker.  DO NOT ADD SALT to boil quicker!  The water may boil quicker but it will not be the correct boiling temperature!
4. Once water comes to a full boil, turn off heat and allow eggs to soak in hot water for 10-12 minutes.
5. While eggs are soaking in their hot sauna, get a few cups of ice and cold water ready.
6. Cooking time will vary based on size of egg.  Start with soaking eggs 12 minutes and if after cutting into them there is a green ring around the yolk, which is a sign of an over cooked egg, decrease your sauna time to 10 minutes.
7. If the timing of boiling the eggs is too complicated, you can always purchase this handy gadget that changes colors once the egg is perfectly cooked!  I love mine! 
8. Carefully pour off hot water (use lid to keep eggs in pot while straining water) and add ice and cold water to cover eggs completely. 
9. Leave for 5 minutes to soak then precede to peel eggs.
10. To peel eggs, remove egg from water and tap on counter top on all sides and at the ends.  Then proceed to roll egg on counter top to help release shell from egg white.  
11. NOTE:  Older eggs will peel better than fresh eggs because the membrane that surrounds the egg white and connects to the shell has started to separate from each other.
12. Carefully start to peel shell off.  The cold water shock should help this process be easier.
13. If eggs are not peeling easily, let the remaining eggs soak a little longer.
14. This is NOT A FOOL PROOF method but will help in most cases.  
15. If an egg doesn't peel well, remember, it will be perfect for egg salad! ;-)

Bacon-Cheddar Deviled Eggs

1 dozen boiled & peeled eggs (following directions above)

1/2 cup homemade mayonnaise (see recipe below)

Sea salt to taste

1/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

5 pieces of cooked, crumbled bacon

Fresh black pepper

Split peeled eggs carefully on the horizontal and carefully remove the yolk with a spoon or fork and place yolks in medium bowl.  Use fork and mash cooked yolks so that there are no large pieces.  Add mayo and stir.  Stir in 1/2 off shredded cheese (or you can just reserve all for the top). Taste for salt.  Place egg white halves on serving dish.  Pipe (or spoon) the egg yolk mixture into the well of the egg white.  Top with the remaining cheese and then with bacon.  Finish with a little fresh black pepper.

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The key to good deviled eggs is not only great eggs but great mayo!  Making your own mayo is easy if you have the right tools. I use my Kitchen Aid Food Processor to make my mayo, it's so easy!!  There is a tiny hole in the apparatus that presses the food down that allows you to pour your oil in an then it drizzles out!  Hands Free Mayo! Traditional mayo you buy in store is made with soybean or canola oil which is a big NO NO! Check out THIS great link that explains why veggy oils are BAD!! 

Best Homemade Mayo 

Taken from Satisfying Eats Cookbook

Makes a little over 2 cups 

Entire batch <1 Net Carb; DF

2 whole pastured eggs
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
3/4 tsp sea salt
2 tsp prepared mustard
2 cups light olive oil (not a vegetable blend)

Blend eggs, vinegar and salt in food processor. While machine is running, slowly add oil, VERY SLOWLY!! Continue until all of oil has been added. Taste for salt.

Store in refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.