⅛teaspoon ground white pepperor ½ teaspoon Tabasco sauce or other hot sauce
½teaspoonwhite wine vinegar,apple cider vinegar, or lemon juice
½teaspoonsugar, optional
paprika and/or chives or dill sprigsfor garnish
Instructions
Hardboil the eggs - you can do this by steaming them (directly from the fridge) for 17 minutes, then submerging them immediately into cold water to chill for 10 minutes (very easy to peel), or by bringing a pot of water to a boil, then gently adding in the eggs (directly from the fridge) and boiling them for 12 minutes. (Optional: To keep the yolks centered, you can gently stir them for the first 5 minutes.) Submerge the eggs in cold water immediately, also, for 10 minutes. Allow the eggs to fully cool, then crack them lightly all over to break the shell, and peel them under running water or while they are submerged in a large bowl of cold water. Pat them dry.
Cut each egg in half lengthwise with a sharp knife, and pop out the yolks.
Mash the yolks with a fork, or use the back of a spoon to press them through a large-mesh sieve, making sure to scrape all the yolk off the outside, too. Alternately, you can whiz the yolks in a mini-food-processor or mini-chopper until they are fine and fluffy.
Add the mayonnaise, mustard, salt, pepper, and sugar (if using), and stir the mixture until you have a smooth paste. If using the mini-processor, just add the ingredients to the pulverized yolks and whiz to a paste.
Wipe any bits of yolk from the cut side of the egg white halves. Fill the cavities in each white with the yolk paste, mounding it up slightly. You can do this using two teaspoons for a more rustic look, or a piping bag with either a round tip or a fluted tip (for a fancier look). You can also make a makeshift piping bag by piling the yolk mixture into a zip-top plastic bag, then cutting off a corner and squeezing the mixture into the egg halves. Divide any remaining yolk paste evenly between the filled egg halves.
Optional - garnish each deviled egg with a sprinkling of paprika and/or a tiny dill sprig or chopped chives.
Makes 12 deviled egg halves, serving 6 people.
Notes
You could also garnish each egg with any topping of your choice - a bit of crumbled bacon or chunk of crispy bacon, a thin slice of pickle, a dollop of caviar and sprig of dill, a bit of red onion and tiny sprig of parsely, a small piece of pickled jalapeño or hot pepper . . . etc.For a slightly softer and silkier yolk filling, increase the mayonnaise to 4 tablespoons (60 ml).For added height in your egg filling, use one extra egg yolk (boil 7 eggs, and discard or eat the leftover cooked egg white) and 4 tablespoons of mayonnaise.