Deviled Eggs With Chile and Lime Recipe • 4★ • 45 min

Preparation

• Step 1Set a medium pot of water over high heat and bring to a boil. Lower eggs into the pot and return to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes. Fill a bowl with cold tap water and ice.
• Step 2Transfer eggs to the ice bath. When eggs are cool, forcefully tap each one all over to crack the shell. Return eggs to ice bath, so water seeps in. Peel eggs and blot on a towel.
• Step 3Cut eggs in half lengthwise. With a small spoon, carefully remove yolks and place in a large bowl. Set the egg whites cut side up on a paper towel-lined plate.
• Step 4To the yolks, add butter, lime zest and juice, mustard, chile and cayenne. Add salt and pepper to taste. Mash to a soft paste with a fork, then use a wooden spoon to thoroughly work the seasoning.
• Step 5Stir in mint and most of the chives, reserving 2 pinches of chives for garnish. Taste and adjust seasoning. Spoon egg yolk mixture into the cups of the reserved egg whites, dividing it evenly among them.
• Step 6Arrange egg halves on a platter. Sprinkle with flaky salt, remaining chives and petals, if using, and refrigerate until ready to serve. To serve, remove from the fridge and bring to room temperature.

Private Notes

A voice from the South (Atlanta) here...don't neglect the whites. You'll be surprised how a simple upgrade can elevate the umami of any devilled egg recipe.

Just season the whites with a dusting of white pepper and sea salt before you fill them. You'll want to reduce the salt you add to your filling. With seasoned whites and a fabulous filling you'll find there will be no leftovers.

The only clue you need to get easy to peel hard boiled eggs. They must be put cold into boiling water for 10 min.

Lower them very, very gently into a pan of quietly boiling water, you can increase the heat once all are safely in, pull them out after 10 min. Drench them in running cold/iced water until they are cool enough to handle, crack the shells all over and pull off the willing shell.

You can toss the peeled eggs back in the cold water for further chilling until all are done. I find the J Kenji Alt-Lopez steaming method to be great for eggs, and almost always easier to peel.

Put an inch or so of water in a pot, just below your steamer device. Add eggs in one loose layer once water comes to boil.

Cover with lid and steam for 5-6 minutes for soft boiled, 7-9 for medium, and 10-12 for hard. Go a little longer if not sure; they won't overcook as fast as boiled eggs. If you have an Instapot, my go to every time is 1 cup of water, pressure cook 5 min, let natural release for 5 min then put in an ice bath.

Always works but if not at room temp, some will crack This intrigues me so much. Mint doesn’t appeal, but I love tarragon.

I can’t wait to try it! As some have mentioned, this is my fail-safe egg boiling method, from this same site. Delicious flavor made with butter option and texture unique to any devilled egg recipe I've used (lots of them over decades).

I always appreciate David Tanis' approach to food. In this case, I enjoyed the eggs more when made with mayo (Best Foods) option, as I did the second time. If using butter then eggs need to be room temp so that butter doesn't make the filling too solid.

If using mayo, chilled is fine. 2T lime juice is a lot so you may want to start slow and add to taste.