Michael's Devilish Eggs

Michael's Devilish Eggs (with huge credit to ThatDudeCanCook for recipe inspirations)

Chipotle Candied Bacon Ingredients

• American (streaky) bacon
• Real maple syrup
• Chipotle powder (sprinkle to taste)
• Chili powder (sprinkle to taste)
• Brown sugar (you'll know how much...)

Herb-Fried Devilish Eggs Ingredients

• 10 eggs (plus 2 for egg wash)
• 1/4 cup
• 1/4 cup
• 2 tbsp English mustard
• 1 tbsp yellow mustard
• 1 dash hot sauce of choice (optional, to taste)
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt for filling (the English mustard is salty)
• Additional spices in small dashes (not required, but can punch up flavor: onion powder, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, white pepper - NOTHING DARK like black pepper, this is for the aesthetics)
• 1/2 bunch chives finely sliced
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups panko bread crumbs
• 5 sprigs of fresh thyme, picked (no stems)
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt for bread crumbs
• 2 quarts frying oil

Cooking Instructions

1. Set your oven to preheat at 350 F (or 175 C).
2. Put 10 raw eggs into a pot and cover with cold water. Set over med-high flame and bring to light boil (this will take a while). If you have a preferred hard-boiling method, feel free to do that.
3. Lay out your bacon on a sheet of aluminum foil in a sheet tray. Brush *lightly* with maple syrup (this acts as a binder for the dry ingredients). Then sprinkle a very light amount of chipotle powder. This stuff is smokey and quite spicy, so if you're uncertain about flavor, only do this on one side (that's what I did - I could go either way depending on if my guests like spice). Sprinkle chili powder. Then pack down a heavy layer of brown sugar, fully covering the entire strip of bacon. Press it in firmly! Repeat for the other side.
4. Transfer the bacon to a wire rack on top of the sheet and put it in the oven for ~30 minutes, keeping an eye on it. (Mine wasn't preheated and didn't finish cooking properly. so I had to put it on parchment paper and continue baking until it reached a dark, bubbly, caramelized sugar state. This is meant to be completely crunchy with very little chew left. It's candied!) Once it's done, set it aside to cool completely before using.
5. Once your eggs reach a light boil, cook for 8 minutes and then transfer to an ice bath to stop the cooking. Peel the eggs under a cold stream of water, being careful not to break the whites.
6. Halve all the eggs with a sharp knife (wipe it on a wet cloth in between to keep it from getting crusty and sticking). Gently pull the yolk away from the inner white lining, then coaxe it out with a small spoon. Try to keep the whites clean from the yolk.
7. Collect all the yolks in a food processor if you have one. If not, a bowl is fine (we're going for a smooth texture and clean, bright color, so try to get the yolks fully broken down and incorporated into the filling ingredients). Add the mayonnaise, sour cream, mustard, salt, optional hot sauce, and any additional dry spices you like. We're going for a vibrant, bright orange/yellow filling with no black spots or lumps. Blend or mash until smooth. Set aside to let the flavors incorporate, at least an hour. If you like cold deviled eggs, put them in the fridge (or if you plan to assemble at a later time.
8. Prepare the frying station! Flour in one bowl, 2 beaten eggs in another bowl, and bread crumbs/picked thyme/salt in the last bowl. Pour frying oil into a *tall* pot and heat to 350 F (175 C). Be careful to have room between the top of the oil and the top of the pot as fried foods make the oil bubble up substantially!
9. Use one hand to drop the egg whites into the flour, coat them thoroughly, shake them off lightly, and drop into the egg wash. Use your other hand to thoroughly coat it in the egg wash, then transfer to the bread crumbs. Use your first hand (this is the wet hand/dry hand method) to cover the wet egg with bread crumbs, pressing them in gently and completely covering it. Set on a tray and finish the remaining eggs.
10. Put 4-6 eggs into the oil at once, depending on the size of your pot. (If you haven't deep fried before: lower the egg to the point that it's touching the oil before releasing, then pull your hand away quickly: the more height you drop from, the likelier it is you'll burn yourself.)
11. Use a spider skimmer (or a sieve, or even a non-plastic slotted spoon) to retrieve the eggs and set them on a bed of paper towels to drain. Remember to let the oil drip off them, especially from the inner hole. Let them cool completely.
12. Dice the chives. The pro tip here is to wrap a bunch of chives in a damp, folded over paper towel (like a little chives belt) to hold them in place. Then a sharp knife and a fine chop do the rest.
13. Chop the bacon into small 1/2 inch (or 1 cm) squares. These can be a bit larger if you like, but you don't want giant pieces. I don't recommend bacon bits crumbles for this because it won't provide the same textural effect when you bite in.
14. Start assembling! You can use two spoons to lower the filling into the hole in the fried egg whites, or you can put it all in a piping bag (or clear sandwich bag), but this is harder to do without a helper. Make sure they are nice, heaping portions for each egg. Sprinkle chives to taste (or none at all if you don't like them, I'd say they're optional but recommended at the least for visual flourish). Add 2 pieces of bacon, one for each bite you're likely to take of the eggs. If you want more, add more in even numbers.
15. Serve as soon after frying as possible. Highly recommend an acidic drink with these; we found that a sparkling rosé was delightful.

Notes

• The flavor balance is this: the filling provides most of the salt and some horseradish-style kick (that's the English mustard, though you could also use actual horseradish). That kick cuts through the richness of the fried egg white. The bacon helps balance the salt and fat in the egg with heavy sweet and smoky flavors, and the chipotle spice complements the mustardy spice. (These are not "spicy" eggs, but they do have some in order to cut through all the fatty richness.) The chives add a bright freshness and visual pop. Between that and the crunch offered by the deep frying and candied bacon, it should be a full, delicious, complex bite!
• If you want to do a stripped down version, you can skip frying the egg whites but *definitely* make the candied bacon (it's very easy and can be prepped in advance).
• You can prep the bacon and hard-boiled eggs up to the steps just before frying, and store them safely ahead of time. I wouldn't leave the egg filling in the fridge longer than a day, but the bacon should be good for a few days.
• We tried these with additional garnishes like fresh dill and dill relish, but they mostly got in the way of the bolder flavors.

Reference video for eggs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dwj40Llm5Y&ab_channel=ThatDudeCanCook

Reference video for bacon: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/kNNYAd02QgM