The Peppery Mix Alton Brown Swaps For Paprika In Deviled Eggs
Deviled eggs are a classic appetizer or side dish that makes an appearance at any good family gathering. A basic deviled egg is quite simple to make, as it only requires eggs, mayo, mustard, and paprika. While the classic deviled eggs are undoubtedly nostalgic and delicious, there are several ways to jazz up your recipe that will suit various tastes. If you have some room in your budget, you can make fancy deviled eggs with black truffle shavings. If you're saving but still want your deviled eggs to stand out, adding lemon juice to egg yolks is a simple hack that will amp up the flavor.
Alton Brown is no stranger to taking simple recipes and taking them up a few notches. On his show, Good Eats: Reloaded, Brown revisits some of his old recipes and videos and makes subtle tweaks to enhance them. On his original show, Good Eats, Brown takes the humbled deviled egg and adds some spices to give the eggs a peppery kick (per Food Network).
The key is using multiple peppers
In Alton Brown's deviled egg recipe on his website, Brown uses five different peppercorns in place of paprika for the hint of spice and flavor (per Alton Brown). Brown calls for green peppercorns, pink peppercorns, white peppercorns, black peppercorns, and brined green peppercorns. He takes every variety, minus the pink, and blends them in a spice grinder. The pink peppercorns are grated on top of the finished egg for an extra bite. Brown says the richness from the yolk can handle the heat from the five types of spices.
In his original recipe, which debuted on Good Eats, Brown used only four varieties. He used caper liquid instead of the brined green peppercorns (per Food Network). He even suggests that in the five pepper recipe, people can use capers and caper liquid if they prefer the flavor. For those worried about potential heat, pink peppercorns have a more fruity and sweet flavor than black pepper (per Spicewalla Brand). The same goes for green peppercorns, which have less bite and sting than black peppercorns (via Food Republic). The next time you're in the mood for some deviled eggs that pack a punch, try adding in peppercorns and experience the flavor for yourself.