Blue Cheese Deviled Eggs
I’ve never had deviled eggs with cheese, and the idea intrigued me. Besides pimento cheese what other cheeses would be good in deviled eggs? That brings us here, to the blue cheese deviled egg. Some updates needed to be made to the traditional recipe, such as using Dijon mustard instead of yellow to better complement the blue cheese, and using less mustard overall. Smoky, salty additions like hickory smoked salt or crispy bacon bits enhance the blue cheese flavor as well.
Which Blue Cheese Should I Use?
There are so many different kids of blue cheese, including the plainly labeled “crumbled blue cheese” in the grocery store. Let’s try to avoid those at all costs, and instead go for one that is more specific and better suited for this application. The most important thing here is to only use a blue cheese you like as a cheese on its own — similar to how you shouldn’t cook with wine you wouldn’t drink on its own merits. This article on Serious Eats about the different types of blue cheese says to look for one that tastes like a cheese first, and a blue second.
If you or the people enjoying these eggs aren’t serious blue cheese lovers, go for a milder blue cheese. You can tell it’s milder because it has less blue veining, and is often a softer, creamier texture. Bluer, drier blue cheeses often has more intense flavors.
However, I chose to use one of the best blues in the state, Clemson Blue Cheese, which is a medium-strength blue cheese with a storied history.
Natural Blue Dye For Blue Eggs
And because I can’t leave well enough alone and just make blue cheese deviled eggs, I decided to use natural blue food coloring to make the exterior of the egg whites blue too. It’s not only fun, but it’s a visual cue of what’s to come. Plus, you can use the blue dyed eggs to let people know what kind of filling is in the deviled egg if you have different kinds!
Grab a purple cabbage and some baking soda for some science-y fun. You can skip this part of course, but it’s pretty simple and inexpensive to add a little amusement to your eggs.
Blue Cheese Deviled Eggs
Equipment
- Instant Pot not necessary but highly recommended
- piping bag and large star tip (optional)
Ingredients
Natural Blue Egg Dye
- 2 cups purple cabbage leaves roughly chopped
- 2 cups water
- 1 teaspoon white vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
Deviled Eggs
- 12 whole eggs
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise (plus a little extra if needed for a smoother filling)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1/4 cup blue cheese
- 2-3 chives finely diced (optional)
- 1 pinch hickory smoked salt optional but highly recommended
Instructions
Make the Natural Blue Dye
- Place the chopped cabbage leaves and 2 cups of water into a medium sized pot. Bring the water up to a simmer and cover. Let the leaves simmer for 20 minutes.
- After 20 minutes, use a slotted spoon to remove the leaves and discard.
- Add in the vinegar and salt and stir.
- Then add the baking soda and watch it fizz and change from purple to blue!
- Set aside while you make the eggs.
Make the Deviled Eggs
- These instructions are for making hardboiled eggs with the Instant Pot. If you do not have an Instant Pot, please see note below.
- Place the 1 cup of water in the metal bowl of the Instant Pot. Use the metal rack and place the eggs on top. The water should not touch the eggs at this point.
- Put the lid on and turn the valve to Sealing. Press the Manual button and set for 5 minutes.
- Once the 5 minutes timer goes off (it will take more than 5 minutes for it to get to hot, then begin to count down), set another timer for 5 minutes (not on the Instant Pot, on your stove or phone or watch) and let the eggs sit in the Instant Pot, still sealing, but with no new heat going to it.
- Prepare a mixing bowl large enough to hold your eggs with ice and water.
- After those 5 minutes are up, carefully open the sealing valve to release the remaining steam and heat. Use rubber tongs to bring the eggs from the Instant Pot chamber into the bowl of cold water. Let the eggs cool in the water for 5 more minutes.
- Once cooled, place the eggs on a kitchen towel and gently roll to crack. Peel the shells from the eggs and discard the shells.
- IF YOU'RE DYEING THE EGGS: place the whole, peeled eggs into the blue dye bath for up to an hour. The longer they are in the dye, the more vibrant they become. Once they are the desired color, remove from the dye bath and set aside to dry for a few minutes then proceed.
- Use a sharp knife to slice each egg longwise. Clean your knife in between each egg for clean cuts.
- Gently scoop out the yolks into a separate bowl. Add the mayo, mustard, and blue cheese and mash together with a spoon until very smooth.
- If you're going to be piping the filling, add a little more mayo as needed to make the mixture smoother. You want it to be as lump-free as possible for piping. You can be a bit more rustic if you're spooning in the filling.
- If you're using a spoon, fill each egg half with the yolk-mayo filling. If you're piping, place a large star tip in the narrow end of the piping bag. Fill the piping bag with the yolk-mayo mixture and carefully pipe the filling into the egg whites.
- Top with hickory smoked salt and chives, and serve immediately.
Why You Should Be Piping Deviled Egg Filling
Because it looks cool and is much easier than spooning the filling in! If you need more convincing, check out this Silicone Piping Bags Review and then buy yourself some of these silicone piping bags and a tip kit.
But seriously, it is much easier to pop a tip into the bag, then fill the bag once and easily control the flow of filling into the egg whites. And again, it looks very cool and fancy, with minimal effort. I’m not saying anything about how easy it is after the eggs are filled to then pipe a little filling directly into your mouth, but that’s also a big bonus of piping your deviled egg filling.
Other Deviled Egg Recipes
Blue and Purple Deviled Eggs (the blue in the recipe above is a little better than the blue from the butterfly pea flowers, but the purple in the recipe in the link is better!)
