We Americans love our deviled eggs. They are the perfect compliment to summertime foods like hamburgers or hot dogs, baked beans and potato salad. Unfortunately, we've been led to believe that they are bad for you. People call deviled eggs “cholesterol bombs” or a “heart attack on a plate”.
Nothing could be further than the truth. It's actually the complete opposite. Pastured egg yolks are rich in vitamin K2, or what Dr. Weston Price called “Activator X”, which actually helps to prevent heart disease:
Vitamin K2 appears to protect against the inflammation and accumulation of lipids and white blood cells that characterize atherosclerosis. Source
Please note: it is critical that you use pastured eggs. Factory farm eggs do not contain high amounts of vitamin K2. Nor do “free-range” or “cage-free” eggs. Click here to learn the difference between pastured eggs and free-range eggs.
I've added salmon roe (fish eggs) to these deviled eggs to boost the vitamin K2. Fish eggs are also rich in K2, and are a sacred food in many traditional cultures, reserved for parents prior to conception, pregnant and nursing women and children.
Not only is Vitamin K2 important for heart health, it is also the essential nutrient for healthy bones and teeth:
A number of Japanese trials have shown that vitamin K2 completely reverses bone loss and in some cases even increases bone mass in populations with osteoporosis. Source
If you're planning to conceive, are pregnant or nursing, or you are feeding kids, this is a meal that will help those little ones build strong bones, develop wide faces (and reduce or even eliminate the need for braces) and prevent and even reverse cavities. If you are older, these foods will help prevent bone loss which can lead to fractures and osteoporosis.
You can find salmon roe at health food stores, some Japanese markets or buy it online. You'll see it more often in the spring and early summer when salmon is in season. Make sure the roe is wild, never farmed. It's a good idea to stock up on salmon roe when it's in season and freeze it for use throughout the year.
Deviled Eggs with Salmon Roe
Ingredients:
Pastured eggs (6)
Homemade mayonnaise (1/4 cup) (click for recipe) — don't use storebought mayo — canola and soybean oils are unhealthy
Pickle relish,preferably lacto-fermented (2-3 tsp) — click here for my recipe
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste — where to buy sea salt; where to buy black pepper
Salmon roe, wild not farmed (2 ounces or 4 TBS)
Optional: Mustard to taste
Equipment:
SaucepanDirections:
1. Put 6 eggs in a medium saucepan and fill half way with water. Set on high heat, cover and bring to a boil.
2. When boiling, remove from heat. Let sit, covered, for 12-15 minutes.
3. Take the eggs out of the pot and run cold water over them until they are cool to the touch.
4. Peel the eggs and carefully slice in half. Remove the hard boiled yolks and transfer to a bowl.
5. Mix together with homemade mayonnaise, pickle relish, mustard and sea salt and pepper to taste.
6. Set the egg white halves on plates and spoon the yolk mixture into the egg whites.
7. Spoon salmon roe on top of the deviled eggs and serve.
AM, where did you buy your salmon roe?
I found it at our Santa Monica farmer’s market. The lady who sold it to me said they have it for sale only during salmon season.
I love deviled eggs! They’re also one of the few things I can eat in good conscience at social gatherings (aside the fact that they’re unlikely to be pastured eggs).
The picture reminds me of deviled eggs that I recently had at restaurant. They were topped with little balls of guacamole that looked just like the salmon roe but in green. They were quite good too! :)
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I just tasted some natto. It’s good! It doesn’t taste gross at all like people say. Going to try feeding it to Kate tonight for dinner.
Perfect! I was just thinking that I wanted to start adding in some salmon roe into my diet. (I just wish it was a little cheaper! Oh well, it’s worth it!).
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Love deviled eggs! Thanks for the recipe.
Do you have a source for good healthy & organic dill pickles and pickle relish? Every jar I’ve looked at in the market has chemicals and yucky stuff on the ingredient list. I’m not sure I’m quite up for making homemade relish yet!
AM, I am glad to hear you say Natto does not taste gross. I have placed an order for some and was hoping it would be palatable. Let us all know if Kate likes it!
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Your timing is amazing considering that I just bought salmon roe and am looking for a good way to serve it. (My husband didn’t like it plain or tossed with salad.)
Thanks for the inspiration!
Stephanie
Stephafriendly’s last blog post..Nettle Chai Tea
omg, that looks so good.
to the pp, you might want to pick up bubbies brand dill pickles at your local healthfood store or whole foods. they are lactofermented and only have salt, water, and cukes. delish!
I found the part on building strong bones and developing wide faces fascinating! What does salmon roe taste like? I’ve only eaten (enjoy) caviar and never had salmon roe. I love caviar on crackers with crumbled egg and goat cheese for an appetizer. I still buy Egglands Best as I haven’t found a local source for pastured eggs – yet, but I hope to find one soon.
Thank you for this wonderful, informative and yummy post.
Kimi, it’s a lot cheaper than caviar! :-)
If my family would eat beef liver I would feed them that since it’s only $3/pound. But it just won’t fly. (DH likes liver pate but that’s more expensive).
However they will eat this — and happily, so I don’t mind.
Catherine – I’m so excited to try the natto tonight! Gonna whip up some miso soup right now and make some BBQ sauce for the natto. Will serve w/ steamed rice, and some shrimp (in case Kate won’t eat the natto).
Leesie –
Salmon roe is delicious! If you like caviar, I think you will like salmon roe (it’s a form of caviar really — but a LOT less expensive).
We often get salmon roe on sushi — it’s called ikura. You can order it on sushi rolls in Japanese restaurants (unfort. most of it is farmed and they often add food coloring).
I also love caviar on buckwheat or potato pancakes pancakes with a dollop of creme fraiche. Yum – maybe I’ll do that recipe next!
What does salmon roe (or caviar for that matter lol) taste like?
Tamara –
It’s kind of salty. The texture is really neat — like tiny bubbles that pop in your mouth.
Thanks for reminding/informing people about the wonderful nutritional value of eggs. They are truly one of nature’s amazing foods – packed with a great combination of nutritional items which work together to keep us healthy!
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I probably eat this for breakfast more than anything else. I live in Norway though and we have a larger selection of roe and caviar year around. Another way I eat the roe is to halve an avocado and fill the hole with roe or caviar. Add a dollop of creme fraiche and some scallions, chives or red onion and eat it with a spoon right out of the avocado shell. Amazing!
Whoa Jaly that sounds SO yummy! You are lucky to be able to get so much roe and caviar. Do you get many avocados there?
This looks fantastic. I am getting over a childhood trauma involving eggs (I don’t know what the trauma is, but I can’t imagine any other reason for my serious dislike for eggs and almost no other food on earth :) and can only do deviled eggs about once a year. The sulfury smell of the boiled eggs makes me gag! I was thinking about deviled eggs recently and came across some recipes for including sardines in the mashed up yolk. Sounded good enough to try!
For Jane with the pickle question – make your own!! Get a copy of Wild Fermentation by Sandor Katz and make some yourself. Delicious!
Thanks again Anne Marie!
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Oh AM I can taste them already! Delicious :) My mum always did this when we were kids (without the roe) and we loved them. There’s nothing like a good recipe from the 70’s.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
I lived in Japan for 5 years in the 80s and Ikura came to be my favorite sushi and still is. But with the rice…
Since learning of K2 (MK4), I’ve been mulling over how to serve salmon roe in a conventional, appealing way, and you have come to my rescue. I have a Japanese market in walking distance…
I’m going to make this, instanter!
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Hi Mom’s Cafe Home Cooking,
Where are you located in Ontario? I live in Cambridge, and I am the WAPF Chapter Leader for K-W and Cambridge.
Has anyone ordered salmon caviar from Seattle Seafoods? They even have Ikura caviar that is not too expensive.
http://www.seattleseafoods.com/
Is salmon roe OK for a 15 month old? Where do you get it fresh?
I wanted to tell someone who is looking for salmon caviar, if you live in a big city, most of them have Russian stores or it might be called Eastern European, all of them have salmon caviar. It cost about $30 a pound, but it varies. I suggest you buy that you can see how it looks, because they have little cans that you buy and open and it might be not very good quality. The eggs should be whole and not watery.
nice, we usually use caviar/fish eggs instead of salt when we eat boiled eggs
whoaza. Those look good. I LOVE deviled eggs but I don’t think I’ve had salmon roe. I want to try it!
Salmon Roe sounds like an awesome addition to these eggs. Thank you for the interesting and different recipe. I am taking vitamins with K2 since I am mid aged and working on bone density. Wow, I did not know that free range eggs have less K2; thank you for the info!