Deviled Eggs with Toasted Pecans and Bacon

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 Deviled eggs with toasted pecans and sugar cured bacon bits have a creamy texture with bits of crunch from diced jicama and pecans, a little sweetness and some zip from the mustard and green onion. As a result, they're a flavor explosion in a tiny package. These scrumptious deviled eggs make the perfect Easter brunch dish.

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The inspiration

They're also good picnic fare. This dish was inspired by a trip we took to Washington, D.C. last summer. We ate at a trio of our favorite restaurants from The Great American Restaurants group in Northern, Virginia. On the recommendation of our friend Linda Nielson, we ordered the "Deviled Eggs with pecans and sugar cured bacon" at Carlyle Grand Cafe in Arlington. We were swept away into flavor heaven.

Striking combination of pecans, bacon and jicama

Although we don't remember exactly what those dreamy eggs tasted like, we do remember they had the striking combination of toasted pecans, sugar cured bacon and chopped jicama, and we remember we loved them! By using those same ingredients and our traditional mayo-mustard mix, plus adding a little pickle juice and chopped green onion, we feel we created something as tasty as those delicious Virginia Deviled Eggs. (In Northern Virginia, try the Deviled Eggs at Carlyle Grand Cafe, Arlington; Coastal Flats, Tyson's Corner; or Jackson's in Reston.)

Easy to prepare!

Our deviled egg recipe is easy to prepare, therefore, while the eggs are cooking you can prepare the rest of the ingredients.

How to Hard Boil Eggs:

First, place a dozen eggs in a large sauce pan or medium-sized pot. Then fill the pan with cold water to cover the eggs by one inch. Add a teaspoon of salt and a couple tablespoons white vinegar to make your eggs easier to peel. Next, bring the pot to a boil. Boil one minute, then turn off heat and cover pot with lid. Let the pot sit covered for 15 minutes.

Quickly drain off hot water and put eggs in cold water with ice. Peel eggs once they are cooled but not cold.

It's easiest to peel the eggs before they get too cold. To peel: Crack bottom (large end) of egg and peel it under running water. (The shell should come off fairly easily.)

How to Make Sugared, Toasted Pecans:

Next come the toasted sugared pecans: Chop a half cup of pecans fairly small.

Heat a small skillet to medium high. Add chopped pecans and sugar and stir constantly just until sugar melts, then pour out onto greased piece of foil. The sugary toasted flavor of these pecans is a winner in our Deviled Eggs!

How to Cook Bacon in the Oven:

We like the thick sliced sugar cured bacon best. Four slices is enough for this recipe. Kroger has a great version of this with peppered edges for additional flavor. If you don't have thick sliced bacon, you should use six slices of regular bacon.

We like to cook our bacon in the oven (cooking on the stove top works well too) either way, just make sure it's crisp. Drain on paper towel. Chop into small pieces. (A wire rack set inside a rimmed baking sheet in the oven at 350 degrees for 20 minutes is a great way to cook bacon because the air can circulate around the bacon making it crisp.)

The jicama crunch!

Jicama is a Mexican white sweet potato. It has a mild flavor and is great in recipes due to it's crunch. Although it's tough on the outside, you can peel it with a paring knife or peeler. Peel and chop jicama into very small pieces.

Prepping the filling

Cut eggs in half lengthwise, after that, put the yolks in a medium mixing bowl and smash with a fork. Add jicama, bacon and pecans to egg yolks. In addition, add mayonnaise, mustard, pickle juice salt, pepper and green onions to the egg mixture and stir to combine.

Fill the eggs

Fill hard boiled egg halves with yolk mixture. You can use a spoon or a pastry bag fitted with an open tip. The yolk mixture should over-fill the egg whites.

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Garnish

I was excited to garnish these eggs because I used fresh parsley from my tiny raised garden box! These deviled eggs with toasted pecans and sugar cured bacon are ready to become your favorites! Chill the eggs until ready to serve, then watch them disappear!