Deviled Egg with Crab

A deviled egg with crab is but one of a nearly endless list of devilish permutations.

Start with the basic yolks mashed with a little Dijon mustard and bought mayonnaise, and then pick a main additive. Think minced shrimp, tuna, gorgonzola cheese, mashed avocado and minced jalapeño, deviled ham (double deviled), minced crispy bacon, smoked salmon, pimento cheese.

Then coordinate spices, herbs and garnishes accordingly.

Perhaps a section of fresh fig and a piece of walnut with the gorgonzola.
Or crushed blue taco chips on the avocado. A tiny triangle of Swiss cheese and a strip of gherkin with the ham. A tiny slice of a tiny tomato and a shard of romaine lettuce with the bacon (for a BLT deviled egg). Salmon roe on the smoked salmon, or a diamond of pimento on the pimento cheese. Minced parsley or cilantro, snipped chives, shredded basil, sweet, hot or smoked paprika, a sprinkle of “Everything But the Bagel®,” Jane’s Crazy® salt — you get the idea, run with it.

The deviled part may go back to Ancient Rome, but in the late 18 th and early 19 th century.  “Deviled” food items usually implied that they were made with spicy (as in hot) ingredients. If they were ‘hot as hell’ well then the devil must be involved. The association with the devil was firmly embedded in the mind of the consumer when Underwood trademarked the little pitchfork wielding, pointy-tailed devil for their Underwood Deviled Ham® in 1870.

1. Slice the eggs in half lengthwise and remove the yolks. With a fork mash yolks, add crab meat and onion. Add seasonings, Worcestershire sauce and mayonnaise and mash to desired consistency. Mound egg whites with a rounded teaspoon or so of mixture. Garnish with a tiny sprig of dill, a tiny lemon segment and caper or two.