Deviled Eggs with Candied Bacon: These are filled with incredible ingredients such as liquid smoke, dijon mustard, and even a little smoked paprika for the best deviled eggs!
First, make hard boiled eggs. The process of how you do that is totally up to you. If you have one, you may like to cook the eggs in the Instant Pot. If you don't, another easy way is to make boil them on the stove top.How to cook the eggs on the stove-top: Place eggs in a sauce pan and cover with water, just enough to make sure there are about 2 inches of water above the eggs.Turn the burner to "high" and bring the water to a rolling boil and then shut off the burner and allow it to sit for about 10-12 minutes.
After eggs have cooked, drain the water and place eggs in an ice bath. (Meaning, allow eggs to sit in cold water and ice.) Allow the eggs to sit in the cold for at least 5 minutes.Drain, and carefully peel the shells off of the eggs. You'll want them to peel as clean and even as possible, not to mess up the "whites" of the eggs.
Cooking Bacon
While the eggs cook, you can cook the bacon: You can also cook the bacon how you prefer, whether that's in the microwave, in the oven, or how I do it, in the air fryer.
Before cooking the bacon, place the uncooked bacon on the cooking surface (air fryer basket, plate, baking sheet, etc.) and drizzle maple syrup on top of each slice. Then, sprinkle brown sugar on top. If you have a silicone brush, or BBQ brush, gently spread the sugar and syrup evenly across each slice.
Assembling Deviled Eggs
Slice eggs in half: Using a knife, starting at the most narrow end of the egg, begin slicing the egg in half. Grab a small bowl, and carefully remove the yellow yolks and place the yolks in the bowl and set the empty whites of the egg, aside, on a plate/platter that you plan to serve or store the deviled eggs when finished.
Add mayo to yellow yolk and stire with a fork to really mash the yolks down, trying to remove any large clumps.
Add in the dijion mustard, salt, and liquid smoke. Stir until evenly combined.
Optional: You can get a wet paper towel and gently wipe the egg whites if they're messy, but this is optional.
Place yolk mixture in to a plastic, ziptop bag (or piping bag). (See image in post.) Then, cut the bottom corner of the bag, to create an easy way to fill the egg whites with the yolk mixture. This acts as a piping bag or you can use an actual piping bag if desired.
Fill egg white cavities with yolk mixture.
Take the cooked bacon and cut it to about 1-in pieces. Top each egg half with a piece of candied bacon.
Sprinkle with a bit of smoked paprika, if desired. Serve! (Or keep refrigerated until ready to serve.)
Notes
If you have leftover deviled eggs, refrigerate for up to 3 days. You can place them in an airtight container or cover with plastic wrap.See blog post for more tips to make the best deviled eggs!