Egg Salad

Hard-Boiled Eggs Never Tasted Better

What to do with extra hard-boiled eggs?  That’s a question many of us are asking ourselves this time of the year, when we have loads of leftover dyed eggs from Easter.  Luckily, I have the perfect recipe:  Egg Salad.  Especially in a sandwich.

If you haven’t made Egg Salad for a while, this week might be the perfect time.  What do you have to lose?  Nothing — except all those leftover Easter eggs!

Recipe:  Egg Salad

Egg Salad is simple to make:  Chop up hard-boiled eggs, combine with some sort of binding agent (mayonnaise is traditional and IMO the best), and maybe add some extra flavoring.  And there you go! 

You can adjust ingredient quantities to your own taste — and, of course, to accommodate the number of hard-boiled eggs you have on hand.

This recipe assumes you already have hard-boiled eggs available.  If you want to boil them specifically for this salad, you can find full instructions in my post on Hard-Boiled Eggs. That recipe, BTW, is one of the all-time most popular posts on Kitchen Riffs! Who would have thought? My thanks to all those nice people on Pinterest who pinned it.

This recipe calls for 6 hard-boiled eggs, which will make 3 to 4 overstuffed sandwiches.

Preparation time is no more than 15 minutes, and you can use the Egg Salad right away. But I do recommend chilling it for at least an hour — it will taste better.

Leftover egg salad will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for several days.

Ingredients

• 6 hard-boiled eggs 
• ~½ red bell pepper (or to taste; optional)
• ¼ to ½ cup mayonnaise (or to taste)
• ~½ cup sweet relish (or to taste; optional)
• salt and freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
• ~½ teaspoon cayenne pepper (or to taste; optional)

Procedure

1. Peel the hard-boiled eggs (you can find tips for doing so in my post on hard-boiled eggs).  Cut the eggs into dice of ¼ inch or so.  The easiest way is to use a wire egg slicer.  Slice the eggs through the equator, turn 90 degrees, and slice again lengthwise.  Place in a medium-sized mixing bowl.
2. If using the optional red bell pepper (and I do recommend it — it adds both flavor and color), clean and cut about half a pepper into dice of ¼ inch or so.  Add to the diced eggs.
3. Add about half as much mayonnaise as you think you’ll need, along with sweet relish (if using), salt, freshly ground black pepper, and cayenne pepper (if using).  Mix together. 
4. Add more mayo if needed.  Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.  Serve immediately or (preferably) refrigerate for an hour or so in an airtight container.

Notes

• If you want a zippier Egg Salad, you might try adding a teaspoon or two of Dijon mustard to the mix.
• Or you might want to add some Tabasco or curry powder — in which case you’re taking your salad into the direction of deviled eggs.
• Paprika also is a nice addition.  Basically any spice (or herb) that you think would be good, probably will be.
• Many people like a bit of celery and/or onion in their Egg Salad.  If that’s you, add maybe half a cup or so of either or both (to taste).
• Rather than onion, I sometimes include scallion in my Egg Salad, including some of the green part.
• Speaking of green, I sometimes add 2 or 3 tablespoons of minced fresh parsley.  It adds nice color and excellent flavor.
• Green bell pepper also makes a nice addition; I’d substitute for the red bell pepper.
• Some people like to add a bit of vinegar to Egg Salad — maybe 2 teaspoons or so.  Cider vinegar is especially good.  If you do this, you may decide you don’t want the sweet relish.
• If you’re omitting the sweet relish, consider capers (several tablespoons) — they add a nice briny tang to the dish.
• Everyone knows how to make an egg salad sandwich, right?  Just spoon some Egg Salad onto a piece of bread, spread evenly, then slap another piece of bread on top.
• And that works!  But you might also consider adding lettuce, and maybe a tomato slice or two (assuming you can find decent fresh tomatoes).
• I think heartier bread like whole wheat or multigrain works best for an egg salad sandwich.  Or a great homemade white bread with a sturdy crust works too — like the one featured in my post on No-Knead Bread.

Egg Salad Isn’t Just for Easter Leftovers

“Why do we have Egg Salad only once a year?” Mrs. Kitchen Riffs asked between bites of her sandwich.  “Around Easter?”

“Well, that’s when we have an overload of hard-boiled eggs,” I replied.  “But of course that’s not really what you’re asking.”

“No, I guess I’m suggesting that we should make this more often,” Mrs K R said. 

“Fine with me — we both like it, and it’s easy.”  I chewed thoughtfully.  “You know, this new bread recipe you’re developing is really good.”

“It is,” Mrs K R agreed.  “My recipe for homemade No-Knead Bread is pretty decent. But I found another method that’s even better. And we both like whole wheat bread, so I’m developing this whole wheat version.”

“We should put it up on the blog,” I said as I finished my sandwich.

“It’s not ready for that yet,” Mrs K R replied. “We need to test it a bit more — on egg salad sandwiches!”

Looks like we’ll be keeping the Easter Bunny hopping for a while longer this year.

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Fried Eggs
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Garlic Coleslaw