Ina Garten's Ingredient Of Choice For Decadent Deviled Eggs

Leave it to the one and only Ina Garten to take a classic Southern picnic food and transform it into something that is Hamptons-ready. Now, fancy-ing up deviled eggs has been done many times over. From pickles to bacon, and cheeses to herbs, it seems the mighty deviled egg can work with almost any added ingredient. Garten puts her mark on the finger food by adding smoked salmon, among a few other surprising ingredients.

These timeless hors d'oeuvres don't need much to be delicious. In fact, at their most basic, deviled eggs contain little more than mayonnaise, mustard, a touch of vinegar, and usually a sprinkle of paprika for some garnishing color. But adding chopped smoked salmon takes them to a level that makes the eggs appropriate for any champagne reception or holiday table. That said, they're also great for any given day since they come together in a jiff. And how's this for highbrow: in her recipe, Garten forgoes the paprika garnish and opts for caviar instead.

Ina Garten's luxurious deviled eggs start like any other recipe of the same kind in that she hard-boils and peels eggs once they are cooled. She uses her kitchen stand mixer to smash the egg yolks so that there are zero lumps and adds mayo in addition to sour cream, cream cheese, lemon juice, chives, and finely chopped smoked salmon. The filling is silky smooth with soft pieces of smoked fish and a very light crunch from the chives. Right before serving, she tops each egg half with some bright orange salmon roe.

In typical Ina fashion, Garten instructs her readers to use good ingredients, including good smoked salmon, but she doesn't specify whether to use cold-smoked salmon, which looks like lox, or hot-smoked salmon, which is meatier and flakier. Flavor-wise, both options would taste wonderful. After each is opened, they will stay good for about the same amount of time, so if you have leftover salmon after preparing your deviled eggs, consider eggs benedict with salmon, dips, or a salmon-filled frittata. 

Unlike traditional deviled eggs (the ones without all the fancy fillings), Ina Garten's version isn't exactly super budget-friendly. Heck, even with the fluctuating prices of eggs today, not even the classic ones are necessarily cheap anymore. But adding smoked salmon and salmon roe add a hefty boost to the cost of this dish. However, you could add your own spin to Garten's eggs without breaking the bank quite so much. For a flavor that will remind you of your favorite deli's bagel with schmear and lox, make Ina's recipe but leave out the roe. Instead, garnish each egg with some capers and a generous sprinkle of everything-but-the-bagel seasoning.

Another idea is to substitute the smoked salmon with canned salmon, which will easily flake and break apart while whizzing around your kitchen stand mixer. To add smoky flavor, sprinkle some smoked paprika on the top of your eggs. These would also be delicious with some chopped fresh dill and lemon zest added to the yolk mixture, along with the chives.