Bacon Deviled Eggs

With the Superbowl on the horizon, my thoughts turn to party foods.  One of my go tos for party food is Bacon Deviled Eggs.  Every time I make these, they are a complete hit.

Bacon Deviled Eggs

12 large eggs

3 slices of bacon

Bacon fat

1/3 cup mayonnaise

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

1 heaping tablespoon chopped scallions

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Thinly sliced scallions

I start off with boiling the eggs.  I have experimented with several ways to do this.  The most effective method I have found is to gently add the eggs to boiling water.  I let them boil for 12 minutes and then transfer the eggs to an ice bath (a bowl of ice and water).  Once the eggs have cooled, I peel them, cut them in half lengthwise and remove the yolks to a small bowl.  I lay the eggs out on a tray.

Next, I chop the bacon and cook it over medium heat until the bacon is brown and crisp.  I transfer the bacon to a paper towel and strain the drippings through a fine-mesh strainer into a small bowl.  I add enough bacon fat (we always have a jar of it on hand) to make two tablespoons.  If you don’t have bacon fat melted butter will work, but you will lose some bacon flavor.

I mash the egg yolks, bacon fat, mayonnaise, Dijon mustard and chopped scallions together and season with salt and pepper.

I put the mixture into a piping bag (a freezer bag with the corner cut off will work as well) and pipe it into the egg halves.  Finally, I garnish the eggs with the bacon and thinly sliced scallions.

I found my original recipe on Epicurious.com.  A handy tip for transporting the eggs is to put the yolk mixture into a freezer bag for transport, then cut the corner off and pipe the eggs after you get to the party.  It only takes a few minutes and you won’t have to worry about the eggs getting smashed while transporting them.