Here is a video that shows how to fill a piping bag but it also works for a metal tube. Lay out a piece of plastic wrap. Dollop about the amount of filling you need that will fit. Roll it up lengthwise and swing it from the ends to twist them tightly. Put this into the metal tube, work one end down through the tip and through, then cut off the twisted plastic. Filling a Pastry Bag

It's easier to watch than it is to explain no matter the cutesy voice.

I use the same pastry bag in the video that Nancy linked:

but the method of filling one is new to me. Thanks, Nancy! I will definitely try this.

I'm terrible with pastry bags. i have small hands and the wrong kinds of dexterity. My father used to help us decorate cakes. He called it "caulking". :)

I got the purple Wilton press like Bossyvossy posted for filling devilled eggs at the last moment, and have used it for all my piping since. "Dessert Decorator Plus" It's easy to load because the press takes care of trapped air, which is a big problem with poorly loaded bags/cones. I just use a spoon. I don't hold it like the hand on the box. I use one finger under the top hook and thumb on the plunger and have ever so much more control.

But I doubt it's easier to load than the other press... I just haven't had issues.

I can't wait to try that saran wrap trick to fill my press the next time I make deviled eggs! Thanks so much for posting it.

The Saran Wrap trick is pure genius. I'll have to try it also. Thanks

I've been decorating cakes for family for about forty years. Don't like paper icing bags and always disliked cleaning the messy plastic icing bags. How I wish I knew about the simple plastic wrap trick about thirty-nine years ago! Thanks for that tip!

I'm a klutz and I've never been able to get the saran wrap trick to work for me, I don't know if I leave too much twisted at the ends or what. The worst mess was trying one of those three colored swirls of frosting. It looked so easy on YouTube, LOL, but it just didn't work for me, more frosting leaked out the top and nothing could come out the tip because the ends of the wrap got in the way and plugged up the tip.

Of course, I can't get the hang of the Russian tips I bought either, although I've tried them 7 or 8 times now and nothing I do looks anything like YouTube or even the packaging. (sigh) Yeah, mine are like this, not like any flower seen by mankind:

Ziplock bags are the least messy, but anything that's thick or getting pressed through a small tip will break the seams on the bag.

I use pastry bags and put them upright into a drinking glass, fold the edges over the sides of the glass and fill the bag with a spoon. It's less messy, but the bags are horrible to clean up and the disposable ones have the aforementioned problem with splitting seams.

I've never found a good way. Good luck.

Annie

Annie, I use a drinking glass, too. Getting everything in works great, it's cleanup that awful, right? Don't be so hard on yourself. I see a couple of flowers there that look just like they're supposed to. My daughter and I plan on getting together very soon to give our Russian tips a try and I have high hopes.

Ok, so I used the Saran Wrap trick and gadget was so much

But my deviled eggs look like cr@p. Thank goodness they're just for me and hubs

This is tip I used. Out came a blob, ha. Which should I have used?

That looks like it could be a recipe issue, perhaps too much mayonnaise? Or dry yolks? Or both?

for deviled eggs, I use the large round tip or large star tip. I put relish in my eggs and they get caught if the tip is too small. Not pretty.

I have two stars, i used the largest but I wouldn't actually call it large. Your tips look more heavy duty/pro than mine.

Sammy, consistency was very similar to icing, shouldn't have been a problem. I think it was "operator" issue, ha

My devilled egg filling is much stiffer than icing and holds nice star creases. I too think it might have been too wet. It's not the consistency that matters so much as the body. Icing gets body from sugar and fat, but the egg filling just has the fat from the yolks and a little glue from the mayo. It can be a thick paste and still pipe fine. The tip looks fine.

In my limited (one time only) experience I found a Ziplock bag and a Wilton 1M star tip worked fine. Not a work of art, but they tasted great! I don't know why I haven't tried again, but after reading this thread think I will.

Mascarpone stuffed berries...

So pretty!

The Saran trick is absolutely genius and I used it last week to decorate my grandson's Yankee birthday cake. Even though I've used the disposable deco bags, the Saran trick made it much easier to clean the adapter. I think it also helped reduce air bubble splats in the icing.