Deviled Egg Magic

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This weekend is Labor Day and we are having a family gathering. I am going to make several food offerings for this. Among them will be Deviled Eggs. 
Deviled Eggs are less of a recipe and more of a method. They have been made for generations and there are as many recipes out there as there are cooks, using a wide variety of ingredients! As a child they were always present at church dinners and picnics. I remember the story I was told all my life of my grandmother, who wouldn’t say the word “deviled”. She saw that as a bad word! She always called them “tormented eggs”. Maybe she was right, because there is a certain magic to Deviled Eggs!
I have always loved eating Deviled Eggs, but hated making them because - peeling. I would cook the eggs, but the peeling step was such a mess. It took forever and the ugly white thing that came out barely resembled an egg with all the damage. 
Then came the Instant Pot and it changed the way I feel about making deviled eggs. If you cook your eggs in the Instant Pot they peel very easily. I use the 5-5-5 method of cooking eggs. This recipe will explain that method. 
Today I’m peeling 1 ½ dozen eggs that I cooked the other day. This will make 3 dozen deviled eggs. 
When I make deviled eggs I use this approach: Something sweet, Something tart, something creamy, salt and pepper. The most traditional interpretation of this is vinegar, sugar and mayonnaise. Today I’m using Dill Pickle Juice (from the jar of dill pickles), sugar and Aioli (recipe here). Some other options are listed in the recipe on my website here. 
A note about the TASTE step. This is an important step. Some people like their eggs more sour and some sweeter. Maybe a little saltier. Taste and adjust‼ I keep powdered citric acid on my shelves because it comes in handy for so many things. To add a little more sour to something without adding more liquid is one way I use it. And you do need to be careful about adding too much liquid, because you don’t want soupy yellows. They are just messy‼
Here are the amounts I’m using for 6 eggs. You can multiply if you are making a family size batch.
6 Eggs, hard boiled, peeled
2 ½ tbsp dill pickle juice
½ tbsp sugar
1 tbsp aioli
Pinch of salt
10 grinds of black pepper
Put the yellows of the eggs into a bowl and crush them with the back of a fork. Add the other ingredients and blend until the yellows are a smooth and creamy mixture.


TASTE! Adjust as needed.
Place the entire mixture into a small zip top bag and cut off a small corner of the bag. Squeeze the mixture into the cavities of each egg white, evenly dividing the yellows between them. 
If you want them fancier, you can use a decorating tip to pipe the yellows, sprinkle them with paprika, or place a slice of olive on top of each egg. 
I would estimate about two eggs per person, unless you are feeding a family like ours. Then, the sky’s the limit‼

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