Last week, the Cheftestants prepared a gourmet picnic at Highclere Castle. If you watch Downton Abbey, you know the place. Fresh off of his victory in Last Chance Kitchen, Chef Dale prepared a luxurious deviled egg fit for the Royal family - in fact, the chefs got to shop at Fortnum & Mason, the preferred grocer of the now-deceased Queen Elizabeth. Inspired by the creamy, bougie offering, I decided to try my hand at making some divine deviled eggs, topped with even more eggs! That’s right, I went a little fancy too and bought some caviar, along with subbing in creme fraiche and mascarpone cheese for the normal mayonnaise. I didn’t stop there. I purchased some higher quality bacon, rendering it slowly and perfectly and even incorporated the bacon fat for the creamy deviled egg filling. Finally, I added an uncommon seasoner: sumac, which gave a little lemony tartness and a hint of lingering floral notes. Sound good? Watch my next episode of Top Chef Tuesday and get cooking with the recipe below!
Divine Deviled Eggs
6 eggs
3 oz slab bacon, cubed ½ inch
2 tbsp duck fat
8 oz creme fraiche
1.5 tbsp mascarpone cheese
3 tbsp dijon mustard
1 tsp pickle juice
½ tsp smoked paprika (or regular paprika)
2-3 tbsp sour cream, for texture
1 scallion, very thinly sliced
Caviar (½ oz jar)
Minced fresh chives for garnish
Sumac
Place your eggs in a pot of water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Once the water comes to a boil, cover the pot and turn off the heat. Let the eggs sit in the water for 9 minutes. Then, using a slotted spoon, transfer the eggs to a bowl of ice water and let them sit for about 10 minutes. Drain, crack, and peel the eggs carefully. Reserve.
Meanwhile, place the duck fat in a pot over medium-low heat, adding in the diced bacon. Render slowly, about 15-20 minutes until browned on the exterior and just starting to crisp. Then, reduce the heat to low and cook very slowly until the fat has rendered from the bacon and it is crisped on the outside, but still soft in texture when chewing.
Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and reserve. Pour about half of the rendered fat, through a fine mesh sieve, into a bowl and reserve.
While the bacon is rendering, slice the eggs in half, dumping the yolks into a medium-sized mixing bowl, breaking up the yolks with a fork. Add in the creme fraiche, mascarpone, dijon, pickle juice and paprika, seasoning with pepper and lightly with salt.
Mix until creamed, then add in 2 tbsp of sour cream and ¼ cup of the slightly cooled bacon fat. Mix well. If the mixture is still a little tight, add in the remaining sour cream. Then stir in the scallions. Taste for any final seasoning needs.
Place the mixture into a piping bag (or ziplock bag), then chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes (or until you’re ready to serve).
To assemble, place the empty egg whites on a working surface, cut a ~¼-inch wide opening in the piping bag, and pipe the yolk mixture into the egg cup, giving light presses as the yolk mixture enters the egg to create a rippled filling. Top with a small portion of caviar, add in a piece or two of rendered bacon, sprinkle with chives and sumac and serve immediately.
______________________________ Copyright 2023, Brendan McCann, All Rights Reserved.
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