Spicy Deviled Eggs with Jalapeno Candy

Directions

1. A good tip here is to start with room temperature eggs. If you forgot to take them out of the fridge, you can still make this but they are more likely to crack due to the larger temperature differential when you place them in the water. Get a pot of heavily salted water on to boil, filled enough to cover an egg. Invert your eggs now, yup, flip them over in their carton and let them sit like that while you get the water up to temp. This will help center the yolk. Generously salt the water and then when it reaches a rolling boil, add the eggs in 1 or 2 at a time with a slotted spoon, carefully so they don’t crack.

2. Stir the eggs gently for the first minute to also help center the yolks and boil for 12 minutes on high. Over cooking eggs will lead to discoloration of the yolks around the edges and a stronger sulfur flavor. :(

3. Remove the eggs from the heat, drain the water and then place them into an ice bath to rapidly cool them. This will help making the peeling easier. Man, I have so many tips in this recipe, trust me though. I hate difficult to peel eggs.

4. Cook your bacon how you like. I use a cast iron skillet and a cast iron weight to keep them super flat. For this recipe I pre-cut the slices so I would have one piece per egg. So each rasher was cut into 4 pieces for a total of 12.

   

5. Peel the eggs and using a sharp knife open them like an avocado by running them around the edge and pop the yolks out into a small mixing bowl.

6. Add all the deviling ingredients to the yolks and mix well with a fork. Once everything comes together and there are no more yolky bits I piped mine into the eggs with a pastry bag and a large tip but you can use a spoon. Then top with the bacon and jalapeno candy for a show stopping and delicious devilied egg. You can also use some chili powder for decoration before or after you add the toppings. I used some smoked serrano powder for an additional flavor pop but paprika will work fine as well.