Deviled eggs disappear first at every tailgate, and the only hard part is the drive. The fix: the whites ride in a mini muffin pan and the filling in a zip-top bag, so nothing slides, and you pipe them once you're parked.
At the lot: Pipe the filling into the whites once you're parked and serve them from the pan on a tray of ice. Homegating: Fill them at home, chill them and set them out at kickoff.
Home gear: a 24-cup mini muffin pan, plastic wrap, a gallon zip-top bag and a large bowl of ice water
1 HR
At home, the day before
10 MIN
At the lot
12
Serves
Ingredients
Eggs
- 12 large eggs, ideally a week old (they peel easier)
Filling
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 2 tsp yellow mustard
- 1 tsp white vinegar or dill pickle juice
- ¼ tsp salt
- ⅛ tsp black pepper
Top
- ½ tsp smoked paprika
- 2 tbsp finely chopped chives
Steps
At home
- Set the eggs in a pot in one layer and cover them with cold water by 1 inch. Bring it to a full boil, cover the pot, turn off the heat and let it stand 12 minutes.
- Move the eggs to the ice water for 15 minutes. Crack them all over and peel them under cool running water.
- Halve the eggs lengthwise and pop the yolks into a bowl. Set each white, cut side up, in a cup of the mini muffin pan. Cover the pan tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate.
- Mash the yolks very fine with a fork, then stir in the mayonnaise, mustard, vinegar, salt and pepper until smooth. Spoon it into the zip-top bag, press out the air, seal it and refrigerate. Both keep up to 2 days.
At the lot
- Keep everything in the cooler until you're ready to eat. Snip ½ inch off one corner of the bag and pipe the filling into the whites right in the muffin pan.
- Dust them with paprika and chives. Set the muffin pan on the tray of ice, in the shade, and serve straight from it.
Pack for the lot
Lot notes
- The no-slide trick: each half sits in its own muffin cup, so they can't tip on the drive. If you'd rather fill them at home, cover the pan with plastic wrap held up by toothpicks so it doesn't touch the filling.
Can you make deviled eggs ahead of time?
Yes. Boil, peel and halve the eggs and make the filling up to 2 days ahead, stored separately in the fridge. Pipe them at the lot so the whites stay firm and the filling stays fresh.
How do you keep deviled eggs cold at a tailgate?
Keep them in the cooler until you eat, then serve them from a pan set on a tray of ice, in the shade. Eggs and mayo don't like the sun. Here's how to pack a cooler so they stay cold until then.
How many deviled eggs do you need for 20 people?
Plan on 2 or 3 halves each, so 40 to 60. Double the recipe: 24 eggs, 1 cup of mayonnaise, 4 tsp of mustard and 2 tsp of vinegar makes 48 halves, in 2 mini muffin pans.
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