An eggciting way to prepare a popular hors d’oeuvre in record time has gone mega-viral on social media.
On Nov. 16, TikTok user @andrealanev, whose real name is Andrea VanDerwerker, shared a simple food preparation hack that has gotten a lot of attention for how mind-blowingly easy it is to eggsecute (OK, we'll stop with the egg puns now, promise).
“Hey,” VanDerwerker says in her TikTok while gently rolling a hard-boiled egg across her cutting board while slicing it with a chef's knife. “If you guys all knew about cutting hard-boiled eggs like this and you didn’t tell me we’re gonna have some serious beef … OK?”
Apparently, a whole lot of people did not know — to the tune of tens of millions of thrilled deviled-egg-loving folks. VanDerwerker’s clip — paired with the caption “I’m just now figuring this out after almost 30 years on this spinning rock?” — quickly went viral, garnering 25.3 million views, 3.1 million likes and over 15,000 comments lauding the deceptively simple hack.
“So, I made deviled eggs for my friendsgiving,” the North Carolina resident tells TODAY Food. “Honestly, I was cutting my eggs and I just did it for some reason. I’d never seen anyone else do it so I have no idea what possessed me to try it.”
VanDerwerker says she originally posted the video on her Instagram story, then to TikTok before putting down her phone and setting up for a dinner gathering with friends. It was during the meal that she realized she struck a chord with the internet.
“My friends came over, we had dinner and then afterwards, several hours later, a couple of my friends were telling me I should post it on TikTok and I said, ‘Oh, I already did…,’” she says. “I opened the app and saw that it already had over 1 million views and went into absolute SHOCK.”
Also shocked were the many folks across TikTok who tried the hack for themselves and achieved virality in their own right.
“Well son of a nutcracker,” said one user in the caption of her successful attempt video. Another stitch by TikToker @sidneyraz where he tries the hack for himself accrued an astonishing 22.8 million views.
“Oh … my … good … gravy,” he says, holding up a perfect yellow egg yolk sphere in disbelief.
“We just sat on the couch after dinner for the next hour or so watching the views go up almost another million,” VanDerwerker says of her video. “It was totally unexpected.”
Comments on VanDerwerker’s original TikTok video range from joy to shock that the human race has never thought (or at least thought to tell others to do this) when making deviled eggs, especially since versions of deviled eggs have been around since the first century.
“My jaw dropped,” commented one user on VanDerwerker's TikTok.
“$22,000 for culinary school and THEY DIDENT [sic] TEACH ME THST [sic],” said another commenter, clearly too befuddled to register their typos.
“Omg WHAT,” wrote yet another commenter excitedly. “CALLING MY MOTHER RIGHT NOW.”
Many of the commenters appreciated the fact that the hack was shared with them before the Thanksgiving holiday. (And just to say it, even though you’re reading this post-Thanksgiving, the holiday season is far from over.)
“I am so glad i saw this before making deviled eggs next week!!” said one TikTok user.
“And the fact that she told us before thanksgiving. I love you,” wrote another commenter.
“That’s it I’m making deviled eggs for thanksgiving,” proclaimed another user.
As for the origin of this hack, VanDerwerker says it came from her just trying out something in the kitchen and realizing that it worked.
“To be fair, the hack is really only useful for making deviled eggs. Or if you just want to feel like you have cool knife skills,” VanDerwerker says with a laugh. “I feel like that’s kind of what a lot of TikTok has become, learning random things no one taught us in school.”
Still, VanDerwerker is most glad that the hack has taught a little trick to all those deviled-egg makers who have enough to do during the holidays. Now they have a smidge more time thanks to her video.
“My favorite part about the video going viral actually is looking at all of the stitches and duets to my videos of people making their deviled eggs on Thanksgiving,” she says. “It genuinely felt so sweet and special, like people were making me part of their holiday prep! I loved it!”
Craving deviled eggs? Try this recipe:
