Asian-Style Bacon and Deviled Eggs - Dare to Be Different!

Submitted by KateL

"In a rut, ready for a walk on the wild side? How about eggs brined in cranberry juice and tea for your deviled eggs, with a soothing chunk of bacon to make you feel a bit more at ease? These deviled eggs by Aki Kamozawa and H. Alexander Talbot, "Maximum Flavor: Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook", will save you from "Samo, samo" and spark conversation at your next gathering. Posted for safe-keeping. This recipe calls for stove-top steaming, a food processor, a refrigerator and an oven. It also calls for a pastry bag with a star tip."

 

• Ready In: 49hrs 15mins
• Ingredients: 10
• Yields: 24 deviled egg halves
• Serves: 24

ingredients

• DEVILED EGGS

• 12 large eggs
• 4 cups cranberry juice (907 grams)
• 1⁄2 ounce lapsang souchong tea leaves (15 grams, about 6 tea bags)
• 1 tablespoon fine sea salt (18 grams)
• 1⁄2 cup mayonnaise (preferably Duke's or Hellman's)
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard (14 grams)
• 1 tablespoon sweet pickle juice (14 grams)
• 2 tablespoons red pepper jelly (43 grams)

• GLAZED BACON

• 6 slices bacon
• 1⁄4 cup red pepper jelly (85 grams)

directions

1. COOK & BRINE THE EGGS.
2. Set a stovetop steamer over high heat and bring the water to a boil. Put the eggs in the steamer basket, add them to the pot, cover, and steam the eggs for 14 minutes.
3. While the eggs are steaming, prepare an ice water bath.
4. When the eggs are cooked, transfer them to the ice water and let cool for about 15 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine cranberry juice, tea leaves, and salt, stirring until the salt is dissolved.
6. Remove the eggs from the ice water. Use the back of a spoon to uniformly crack the shells all over without piercing the eggs or removing any of the shell. (Don't you feel more artistic already?) Put the cracked-shell eggs into the brine and put another bowl on top of the eggs to keep them submerged.
7. Refrigerate the eggs for 48 hours.
8. After 48 hours, take the eggs out of the brine and peel them, discarding the shells. Halve each lengthwise.
9. Remove the yolks and set the whites aside.
10. In a small food processor, combine the egg yolks, mayonnaise, mustard, and pickle juice and puree until smooth. Scoop the deviled egg mixture into a pastry bag fitted with a star tip, and put the bag in the refrigerator.
11. MAKE THE BACON.
12. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil.
13. Lay the bacon slices on a cutting board. Brush one side of each slice with some of the pepper jelly and then lay the slices glaze side up on a wire rack set over the foil-lined pan.
14. Bake the bacon for 15 minutes, or until just crispy and glazed.
15. Remove the bacon from the oven, brush both sides of the bacon with more jelly, and put it back in the oven for 3 more minutes.
16. Remove the bacon from the oven and let cool. Cut each slice of bacon into 4 pieces so that you have 1 piece for each deviled egg half.
17. ASSEMBLE THE EGGS.
18. Put the egg whites on a cutting board or other flat work surface. Spoon 1/4 teaspoon pepper jelly into the bottom of each egg white.
19. For each deviled egg half, pipe a rosette (about 1 tablespoon) of the egg yolk mixture on top of the jelly.
20. For each deviled egg half, top with a slice of bacon.
21. Arrange the deviled eggs on a cutting board or platter to serve.