these deviled eggs are made with smoked fish, i got the idea from a local restaurant. the coarse salt on the top gives them a salty crunch. oh my god, so good.
i used 5 hard- boiled eggs, but for the sake of being even-steven, you can use a half dozen. to hard boil eggs, put them in a pot and cover them with water. add a teaspoon of salt to the water– it makes them peel easier. bring the water to a boil and cook for 2 minutes. move the eggs around with a spoon a bit to help center the yolk. after two minutes, take the pot off the heat and allow the eggs to sit in the hot water for another 12 minutes. after 12 minutes remove the eggs and put them into cold water– even an ice bath if possible. when they have cooled than you can peel them. knock them against a hard surface to crack the shells and peel away under the thin membrane.
after they are peeled, cut eggs in half lengthwise and remove the yolks. i know this is all really obvious, but you never know. i hate to leave anyone guessing.
put the yolks in a bowl and mash them well with a fork. if you want to do this in a food processor you can, but i prefer the natural texture of the ingredients and once you pulverize everything there’s no going back.
to the yolks add a scant 1/4 c of mayonnaise. i’m not a fan of mayo, if you want to use something else you can– sour cream, quark, maybe even a little buttermilk mixed with one of the above. add 1 t each wet [brown] and dry mustard, 2 T well- minced italian flat leaf parsley, 1/8 t celery seed, smoked salt, pepper, and a few shakes of angostura bitters. you can also add smoked paprika [or sprinkle on top], a little lemon zest, and finely chopped onion or chives. mash this up well with the fork, beating well, annihilating the small chunks of yolk. if you like it more wet, add some more mayonnaise or whatever you decided to use as moisture. once this is well- combined, add about 3 T well- minced smoked fish. use the dry smoked fish, not wet, brined/cured fish like lox [i mean, you probably could, but…]. chop the fish first against the grain of the meat, it breaks it up faster. stir well into mixture and distribute the filling back into the egg whites. sprinkle with smoked paprika, chopped parsley or chives, and coarse flaked salt, or a combination…
have some chardonnay…
lambaste 