COOK: Deviled Eggs with Dill, Preserved Lemon, and Capers
- Lemon Dill Deviled Egg Ingredients
- Kitchen Equipment Needed to Make & Fill Deviled Eggs
- How to Make Lemon Dill Deviled Eggs
- Storage & Make-Ahead Tips
- Deviled Eggs with Dill, Preserved Lemon, and Capers
I love deviled eggs. LOVE them. You can take a girl out of the south but you can’t take the south out of the girl, I guess… And while the classic deviled egg recipe with pickle relish & mustard is always welcome, I like to mix it up and find new flavor combinations and offer a variety at parties.
This lemon dill deviled egg recipe is one of my favorites! It has such a bright, herbal and citrus flavor that contrasts so well with the richness of the egg and mayo, and accented with the briny tang of a caper garnish… perfection.
If you don’t have any salted lemon pickles in your pantry, don’t fret… just check out the ingredients section below for substitutions! And then go start a batch of preserved lemons for next time (seriously, they’re so good and so easy to make, everyone should have a jar in their fridge or pantry!).
Make more of these deviled eggs than you think you’ll need… they go fast! They’re flavorful enough to stand on their own as an appetizer, or pair them with some smoked trout dip or smoked salmon and rye crackers, a relish tray with crudites, or cucumber tea sandwiches. They will pair with the clean flavors of Scandinavian fare but are equally at home with smoky BBQ and burgers or holiday comfort food favorites.
These are elegant passed appetizers, holiday party snacks while you wait for the main course, or on a smorgasbord banquet or brunch platter. They’re also a great a way to use up all those hard-boiled Easter eggs! Just make sure that if you use leftover Easter eggs, that they have not been left out for more than two hours, and consume them quickly.
Lemon Dill Deviled Egg Ingredients
Eggs:
This is one recipe where you want to use your LESS fresh eggs. If you’re using store-bought eggs (which are usually a few weeks old already), this doesn’t really matter, but if you have farm-fresh ones, use your older eggs. Very fresh eggs are harder to peel neatly.
You can use your favorite method for cooking the eggs, but don’t over-cook them. Of all the methods I’ve tried, steaming is my favorite. It’s easy, and gives excellent (eggcellent?) and consistent results, with less broken eggs, since they don’t bang around in the pot like boiled eggs. They’re also easier to peel.
Ten to eleven minutes in a covered steamer pot or basket above boiling water should do it… don’t overcook them or the yolks will turn green and sulpherous, blech. I like to pull them after 10 minutes, shock and peel one egg under cool running water and cut it in half. If they’re a little soft in the center, give the rest another minute. They’ll continue cooking for a bit until you shock them with cold water.
Mayo:
Use a good quality commercial mayonnaise or thick homemade mayo. I like Hellman’s or Duke’s if I’m not making my own (with farm fresh or pasteurized eggs and a light neutrally flavored oil).
Dill:
You can use dried dill leaves here in a pinch, but you’ll get the brightest flavor and color with fresh dill. Use half to a third as much dried dill as fresh dill, and adjust amounts to taste, remembering that the flavor of dried dill will become more pronounced as it re-hydrates with the moisture in the filling, so if you’re making these in advance, go easy on the amounts if you don’t have fresh dill so you don’t overdo it.
Lemon:
This recipe showcases homemade salt preserved lemon pickle which are incredibly easy to make, but do take a few weeks to soften up and develop their distinctive flavor.
If you don’t have any made, don’t despair! You can still make these lemon dill deviled eggs with substitutions, though the flavor profile will be a little different (but still delicious!).
Use the finely grated zest of one lemon (preferably organic or unwaxed), along with a tablespoon or two of lemon juice to get the sharp lemon aroma and flavor, and a bit of minced capers to approximate the salty tang of the pickled lemon (2-3 teaspoons, or to taste).
Dijon:
Mustard adds the “devil” to your deviled eggs, so don’t skip it. It provides flavor and acidity that, along with the lemon, balances the richness of the eggs and mayo.
I use a mellow homemade dijon mustard which is flavorful but not incredibly hot. I’ll share a recipe for that next time I can a batch (which will be soon, since I just opened my last jar). If you are using Maille or another very hot mustard, you may want to adjust the quantities to taste.
Capers:
These briny little pops of flavor are the pickled buds of a Mediterranean shrub. They have a distinctive and I think quite addictive tang that pairs perfectly with eggs. They come in different grades and sizes, from the tiny and delicate nonpareil capers to some almost as large as a chickpea.
Use what you prefer or have available. The small ones are dainty and you may want to top each egg with two or three, whereas one of the larger ones is more than sufficient.
If possible, you want to use brined capers in this recipe, not salted. If you can only get the salted ones, rinse the excess salt from them before using and soak them in a spritz or two of fresh lemon juice for a bit to freshen them up.
Kitchen Equipment Needed to Make & Fill Deviled Eggs
Pot and steamer basket or Instant Pot:
- You can use your favorite method to cook the hard-boiled eggs. I prefer steaming them, either in a steamer basket above boiling water, or in an instant pot. Steaming is the easiest, and most accurate way to cook your eggs for making deviled eggs or egg salad, and makes the eggs easier to peel.
- See ingredient info above for egg steaming instructions (tl;dr – start them in a covered steamer pot over cold water, steam for 9-10 minutes once the water boils, shock them in cold water and peel under warm running water).
Pastry bag & tip, Ziploc bag, or spoon:
- You can make these lemon dill deviled eggs fancy or keep it simple. For the nicest presentation, pipe the filling from a pastry bag with a star or smooth tip.
- I use an Ateco 828 open star tip or a large smooth tip in a washable pastry bag to pipe these. Don’t use a closed star tip, or the lemon bits and any larger pieces of dill or yolk will get stuck and clog the tip.
- You can also snip the corner off of a baggie, or just use a spoon to place some filling in each egg.
How to Make Lemon Dill Deviled Eggs
one: prep the eggs
- Boil or steam and then shock your eggs in cold water to stop the cooking.
- Peel the eggs. Warm running water can help loosen stubborn bits of shell, or rinse the eggs when you’re done peeling them.
- Slice the eggs in half along the long axis, so that you get two equal halves.
two: prep herbs & lemon
- Wash, dry and pick the dill fronds from the coarse stems. Chop these finely.
- Remove the pulp and seeds from your preserved lemon peel, and mince it finely.
- If you don’t have preserved lemon, you can substitute the finely grated zest of one lemon, a teaspoon of lemon juice, and a teaspoon of minced capers.
three: mix lemon dill deviled egg filling
- For batches of a dozen eggs or less, scoop the yolks into a small bowl and smash them with a whisk or study wide spoon.
- If you are doing a big batch, use a larger bowl, or you can use a food processor to make the filling even easier to mix up. You could also use a stand mixer and paddle attachment, or a handheld mixer. For small batches, this is usually more trouble than it’s worth.
- Mix the dill, preserved lemon, mayonnaise, mustard, and pepper with the egg yolks, using a whisk or fork to smash the yolks and any lumps until you have a smooth mixture.
- Taste the filling and adjust seasoning if necessary.
four: fill & garnish the deviled eggs
- Spoon or pipe the filling into the egg white halves (see equipment notes section if you are piping them).
- Garnish with a single caper, and if you want to make them extra fancy, add a tiny sprig of fresh dill just before serving.
Storage & Make-Ahead Tips
You can make and assemble your lemon dill deviled eggs a day or two ahead of your party, if you refrigerate them carefully in a covered tray so they don’t dry out. I love these inexpensive plastic deviled egg trays for prepping these in advance, and especially for bringing them to parties, holiday dinners, or church potlucks.
You can add the capers when you assemble the eggs. If you are garnishing with a dill sprig, try to do that closer to serving as it may wilt otherwise.
Or, you can boil and peel the eggs several days in advance, or even slice them and prepare the filling but assemble them just before serving so they look fresh and perfect!
If you are using decorated boiled Easter eggs for these, make sure they haven’t been left out too long. The official guidance is no more than two hours un-refrigerated for food safety.
(Note: I’ve eaten many boiled eggs that have been out longer than that, or taken them on short camping trips in cool weather without giving myself food poisoning, but better safe than sorry, especially if you are serving kids, the elderly, or anyone else with a less robust immune system or who isn’t also a trash panda, or especially if you are using store-bought eggs. Stick to the guidelines if you are serving these to anyone else or especially to people who might be immunocompromised, and keep these cold if you’re bringing them to a party to share).
Do not freeze these lemon-dill deviled eggs. The texture of the eggs will change and the filling may separate slightly. If you made too many, find some friends to share them with… but in most cases, we agree with Ron… there’s no such thing as too many deviled eggs!
Deviled Eggs with Dill, Preserved Lemon, and Capers
Ingredients
- 12 large eggs
- ⅔ cup mayonnaise
- 3 tbsp minced fresh dill sprigs to taste- use less for a subtle hint of dill, or more for very intense dill flavor
- 1 tbsp dijon or smooth brown mustard to taste, 1-2 tbsp (less for very spicy mustard or to make milder eggs)
- 2 tbsp minced preserved lemon peel (salted lemon pickle) see post for substitutions
- ¼ tsp salt to taste
- ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper to taste
Garnish
- 2 tbsp capers (approx) 24 large or 48-52 small capers
- 24 tiny sprigs of fresh dill (optional)
Instructions
- Wash and steam the eggs over a pot of boiling water for 9 minutes, then shock them with cold water to stop the cooking.
- Peel the eggs under warm running water to remove any loose or tricky bits of shell. They're easiest to peel while they're still warm.
- Slice the eggs in half along the long axis. Place the whites on a platter or tray, and the yolks into a small bowl or your food processor.
- Smash the yolks with a whisk or wooden spoon (or pulse the food processor to break them up).
- Add the minced dill and preserved lemon, mustard, and mayo, along with the salt and pepper to taste. Mix well until the mixture is smooth and has no large lumps remaining. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.
- Transfer the filling into a pastry bag with a large open star or smooth tip, or use a tablespoon, and fill the holes in the egg whites, dividing the mixture evenly among the eggs.
- Garnish each egg yolk with one large or several small capers. If you like, you can also add a tiny sprig of dill. Chill or serve immediately.
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