What Memphis restaurant has the best deviled eggs? Here are 5 of our favorites
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Deviled eggs are the classic Southern party snack. They are a requisite for events ranging from cocktail parties to picnic potlucks — and, of course, Easter.
While they are often thought of as a simple dish made at home, chefs across Memphis are raising the bar on a classic deviled egg.
From a traditional deviled egg to ones with creative culinary spins such as additions of wasabi or fried oysters, here are five of our favorite deviled eggs served at Memphis-area restaurants.
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The Farmer: Chef’s Selection
2158 Central Ave.; thefarmer901.com
At The Farmer, deviled eggs are a popular appetizer order. The flavors change often based on which creative twist chef and owner Mac Edwards decides to do that day.
“We make the egg mix in countless ways, you are only limited by your imagination,” Edwards said. “Recently we have made Caper Cream, Roasted Poblano Ranch, Bacon Ranch and Crawfish Remoulade. On special occasions, such as Valentine’s, New Year’s Eve, wine dinners and others, I have incorporated crab or lobster meat.”
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Edwards said the most important deviled egg ingredient is a high-quality, free range egg. He has sourced his from Marmilu Farms for years.
Tsunami: Wasabi Deviled Eggs
928 Cooper St.; tsunamimemphis.com
Chef Ben Smith has been serving his Wasabi Deviled Eggs at Tsunami restaurant for years. His creative twist on the Southern classic has made this appetizer a much-requested popular menu item.
“I’ve always loved deviled eggs, and when I thought about putting them on the menu at Tsunami, I knew we would have to give them our own spin,” Smith said. “We just happened to have some wasabi on hand one day when I was making deviled eggs, and it just kind of fell together.”
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Smith describes the flavor as “a deviled egg that took a detour through a sushi bar where it picked up a fleeting heat from the wasabi along with a splash of soy sauce.”
He garnishes the eggs with a sprinkling of katsuo fumi furikake, a Japanese rice seasoning.
The Gray Canary: Deviled Eggs with Jumbo Lump Crab Meat
301 S. Front St.; thegraycanary.com
At The Gray Canary’s Sunday Brunch, Chef de Cuisine Spencer Coplan serves an elegant version of the classic deviled egg topped with crab meat, canary dust (the restaurant’s signature Creole seasoning) and chives.
“The deviled eggs were one of the first things we put on the brunch menu,” Coplan said. “Being a restaurant in the South, it’s almost a necessity to have them on our brunch menu. We added crab because we are a seafood-centric restaurant and topped them with our canary dust typically used on our delicious french fries.”
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Flight and Southern Social: Deviled Eggs and Crispy Gulf Oysters
Flight is located at 39 S. Main St.; Southern Social is located at 2285 S. Germantown Road, Germantown
Deviled Eggs and Crispy Gulf Oysters is the one item that Flight Restaurant Group serves on menus at two of its restaurants, Flight Restaurant & Wine Bar and Southern Social.
Executive Chef Eduardo Murillo originally created this over-the-top deviled egg topped with crispy cornmeal-dusted oysters and bacon marmalade for Flight. When the group opened its Germantown restaurant Southern Social, Murillo said it was a dish they knew had to be offered at both places. “We knew people in Germantown would like it too,” he said.
Each bite of this deviled egg has what Murillo describes as a “wow factor.” The flavor is both sweet and smoky thanks to the bacon marmalade, and the crispy cornmeal breading of the oyster adds texture to softness of the Gulf oyster and the creaminess of the deviled egg filling.
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The Commissary: Classic Southern Deviled Eggs
Two locations: 2290 S. Germantown Road, Germantown, and 3573 S. Houston Levee Road, Collierville; commissarybbq.com
At most barbecue joints, sides like baked beans and slaw are the standard. But at The Commissary, a traditional deviled egg comes with every plate.
“The recipe was my mother’s, simple because it had to be, she wasn’t much of a cook,” Collierville Commissary owner Walker Taylor said of his classic Southern-style deviled egg made with sweet pickle relish.
“We have always put them on our plates as a garnish, and believe me if we forget to put it on, we definitely hear about it. We have run an egg to many customers that had it left off.”
Jennifer Chandler is the Food & Dining Reporter at The Commercial Appeal. She can be reached at [email protected] and you can follow her on Twitter and Instagram at @cookwjennifer.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: What are the best deviled eggs in Memphis? Five of our favorites