How to Mash Egg Yolks for Deviled Eggs

By: Brynne Chandler

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Classic fare from the simplest country picnic to the most sophisticated city dinner, you'll find as many variations on deviled eggs as there are cooks making them. The technique for mashing the yolks remains the same for any type of deviled egg. How you season the yolk is up to you. The technique is a simple one, but the end result can be as sophisticated as you like.

Step 1

Peel the hard-boiled eggs and rinse them under cool running water to remove any trace of shell fragments or membrane.

Step 2

Slice the eggs in half lengthwise. Remove the yolk halves from the whites by coaxing them out and into a small bowl carefully with a fork. Use a spoon to scrape out any yolk that may have crumbled and been left behind.

Step 3

Mash the yolks with a fork, use your fingers to shred them on a fine grater or press them through a mesh strainer with the back of a spoon, depending on how finely you want them mashed.

Step 4

Add mayonnaise, mustard, chopped pickles or whatever else you want and mix it with the egg yolks until it forms a creamy paste. Season to taste with salt, pepper and paprika.