Crab Deviled Eggs

Is it just me, or are deviled eggs pretty much the easiest, quickest thing you can throw together when you have to go to a potluck? They require all things I normally have in my house, and they're really hard to screw up (with the exception of peeling eggs, and we'll be talking more about that later on).

These are a little different, though. These are my Crab Deviled Eggs, and while I've often made them using fake crab, if you can afford real stuff (canned is fine), it's definitely worth it.

Simple ingredients, although a bit expensive. I put two cans of crab in the picture because I wasn't sure how much there was going to be once I drained them, but it turns out one 6 1/2 ounce can was enough. This is another recipe where I insist on a name brand, because there is nothing else in the world like Old Bay Seasoning. I've tried umpteen recipes that claim to copycat it, and they all lie. Sure, it only comes in one size can, and that can is about eight bucks, but once you own it you'll find yourself using it a lot, especially if you eat a lot of seafood.

It's not that I think you don't know how to boil eggs, or can't figure out what they look like. It's that the recipe calls for 12 eggs to make two dozen deviled eggs, and if you count you'll see I'm boiling 14. I've met me. I have tried every trick anyone has ever heard of for peeling boiled eggs, and I have about an 85% success rate. I always boil a couple extra, and if they peel nicely then I can either eat them as they are or make myself a nice egg salad sandwich.

This is what I'm saying. You see this? This is why we can't have nice things. Sometimes the shell just welds itself to the egg, and you don't win. But see how I ruined two of them? Years of experience have taught me that's about how it goes. I still had a dozen left, and while a couple more of them had a bad spot here and there, I was able to walk away from these two without worrying about it. And they made a nice breakfast with some toast.

Standard deviled egg procedure. Slice your eggs in half, carefully remove the yolks and put them in a bowl, and then put your eggs in a serving dish. I actually put them in a box I wasn't planning on serving from, because then when I got to the paprika step I didn't have to worry about getting it on the dish. Instead, after I refrigerated them overnight I moved them to the serving dish.

Mash the yolks with a fork until they're crumbs, then add the mayonnaise, seasonings, crab, and green onion and stir well to combine.

Standard deviled egg procedure: Fill the egg whites with the yolk and crab mixture (I tend to overfill them, but I like the filling best), then sprinkle with however much paprika you want - or Old Bay if you'd rather. Refrigerate at least an hour to let them set. I always do overnight, because it also gives the flavours more of a chance to meld as well as letting the filling set.

You may have a little more filling than will fit in your eggs. That's terribly tragic, isn't it? Spread it on some toast or a toasted English muffin, maybe melt some cheese over the top, and you have yourself a tasty treat.

This is my favourite deviled egg dish ever. It's a Pampered Chef, and they don't make this exact one any more. The new one does the same thing, but instead of the tray being one piece it's split in two. Instead of me taking a bunch of time to describe it, I'll just link to the one they sell now: Pampered Chef Cool & Serve Square Tray. It's a little spendy, but totally worth it! And no, they didn't pay me to say that... they don't know I exist. I just love the tray.

Crab Deviled Eggs

Serves 24

12 eggs
3/4 cup olive oil mayonnaise
1 tablespoon mustard
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons green onion, chopped (with tops)
1/2 tablespoon Old Bay Seasoning
1/2 pound crab meat
1 tablespoon paprika, divided (for decoration)

Step 1
Hard-boil the eggs; drain, cool and peel.

Step 2
Slice eggs carefully in half lengthwise and remove yolks to a bowl; place egg whites on a serving tray, open side up.

Step 3
Combine yolk with next six ingredients and mix well.

Step 4
Stir in crab meat.

Step 5
Fill egg whites with yolk mixture, and sprinkle with paprika (or additional Old Bay if you'd rather).

Step 6
Cover and chill at least an hour before serving to allow flavours to meld.

Serving Size: 1 (40.5 g)

Calories 60.5

Total Fat - 3.6 g

Saturated Fat - 0.9 g

Cholesterol - 89.3 mg

Sodium - 129.8 mg

Total Carbohydrate - 2.3 g

Dietary Fiber - 0.1 g

Sugars - 0.5 g

Protein - 4.6 g