This has to be a joke, right? I mean egg salad for Pete’s sake! First of all, who actually eats egg salad past about eight years old? And second, who needs a step-by-step recipe guide to make it?
As to the first question, I eat egg salad. It’s like deviled eggs, on bread. And I like me some deviled eggs.
So who needs directions for it? Anyone who’s never made it. No matter how easy something is, until you’ve seen it for the first time you don’t know that it’s easy.
More important is that this is what this blog is about, and it’s why I wrote the book. I’ve gotten so many comments from people saying, “I haven’t had that for years. I’m going to go make some.” It’s like we’re all trying so hard to make the foods we should like, foods that look impressive and sound intimidating, that we sometimes forget that the simple things are good, too.
I spent several minutes in the grill accessories aisle yesterday looking at various racks to grill delicate foods in. I’ve already got a grill pan that works great for vegetables, but I thought a removable rack would make it easier to do fish. And with the luck I have with seafood, I need all the help I can get.
Then I realized: I like steak and pork on the grill. No, I loooooove steak and pork on the grill. And I’m pretty good at it. There I was, standing there looking at buying some more stuff, stuff that there’s no room for in my kitchen as it is, to try grilling some fish … which I don’t even like all that much.
Sure, I like shrimp and scallops, but grilled salmon? Grilled whitefish? Eh, they’re okay. But if you told me I’d never have them again I wouldn’t cry. So why was I looking at those racks? Because I thought I should like grilled fish. Everyone else seems to. And it’s hard to get right, so people are impressed when you do it well. I like impressing people, don’t you?
People used to eat food they liked, not food that was impressive or that happened to be fashionable. And an egg salad sandwich is about as unfashionable as you can get. That’s why I did it for my 100th post.
Ingredients
hard boiled eggs, two per person
mayonnaise
mustard
Directions
I’ve tried all the tips for peeling hard boiled eggs, but I always have some that come out ugly. So when I make deviled eggs, I boil a bunch of extras. Sometimes they don’t peel well, sometimes the yolk is too close to the edge, like this one.
They taste fine, but they’re not going to look good. So, egg salad time. Start by dicing all the eggs.
For eight eggs, like I did here, add about three tablespoons of mayonnaise (home made if you can) and one tablespoon of mustard. I like spicy brown, but will take Dijon or plain yellow in a pinch.
Mix it all together, and check if it’s tangy enough. If I’m making it for just me, I’ll go about half-and-half on the mustard and mayo.
The dainty way to serve this is to put a scoop of it on a lettuce leaf. Iceberg, of course.
Or my way, on some sourdough bread with the lettuce leaf. And a slice of white American cheese, if you’ve got it.
And that’s it.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go throw a steak on the grill to celebrate my milestone.
PS: No, I didn’t buy the rack for the fish.
112 Comments
I also love egg salad. And I never get the mayo/mustard ratio right. Now it’s in writing… how could I go wrong? Thanks.
Congratulations on 100! Egg salad is a good choice. If it makes you feel any better, I make it all the time for my husband’s lunch when there’s nothing else in the house. That probably doesn’t make you feel MUCH better though, since I have admitted over and over that I am so not cool.
I love egg salad. I eat egg salad. And there are probably more like us, egg-salad-eaters.
I LOVE me some egg salad! I think I’d have to add a sprinkling of ground pepper. I’ve never tried it with lettuce on the bread, but I will next time.
I just took cherry cobbler out of the oven based on your peach cobbler recipe. I’m having a very hard time waiting until AFTER dinner to try it. It looks fabulous and the smell is making my nose one happy sniffer.
No meadowlark, that’s baking that has right and wrong. That’s why I usually stick to cooking.
This ratio is just what I happened to do this time. Mix it, taste and adjust.
Difference is, Kristin, I make egg salad even when I do have something else in the house.
Eatingclub, I suspect the readers of this blog don’t represent the general population. Just a hunch.
April, you should be through with dinner now, it’s been nearly three hours. So how was it?
The stained fingers (I call it a labor of love) were totally worth it. My mother in law is here and we all enjoyed it SO much. This will be my go to cobbler recipe!
Ooh, I love egg salad! Sometimes I try to get fancy with it, and make curried egg salad, or egg salad with raisins and nuts. These taste good, but the best egg salad is just egg, mayo, and mustard! Good job bringing things back to the simple (and most delicious!) basics.
April, glad to hear it!
Stephanie, raisins? Nuts? Umm, okay, sure. [rolls eyes / shakes head]
Congrats!
And I love egg salad, I may make some tomorrow actually.
Everyone loves egg salad! I like the way you chop up your egg, slightly obsessive maybe but nice and uniform! In my case, I just chuck the eggs, mayo, salt and pepper, and I use mustard seed powder, and mash it all up with a fork, chunky rustic style!
I think I am going to make egg sandwiches for lunch now!
I’m not obsessive. No, really, I’m not.
[Okay, Drew, let it go. But I'm not obsessive! It's okay, I know. But I'm not, really. Stop whining!]
I’m sorry … did I type that out loud? Ahem.
So anyway … I think this is the most comments I’ve had so far saying people were going to go make it. I think for my next milestone I’m going to do PBJ on Wonder bread.
You could throw some Nutella in the PB&J to really shake things up! I'm a recent convert to Nutella-ville. We just tried it recently and I almost wish I hadn't! Tasty stuff.
I think egg salad has more of a hold over us than we realize. I started a thread on a message board once about egg salad and it got the craving going in so many people. Behold, the power of the egg.
wow, I’m glad to have stumbled across your blog! congrats on the 100, and that egg salad looks inviting indeed!:)
Yes, raisins and nuts. You should try it sometime. It’s really fancy and different that way, so you’re supposed to like it.
dt, I’m glad you stumbled across it too. Glad to have you here.
Stephanie …you’re funny. No, I mean that. I’m not being sarcastic at all.
And until you’ve hard boiled eggs, you’ll never know how hard/easy it is too! So, though it seems silly to some that I mention it…My formula for no-fail hard boiled eggs (which is a misnomer, because boiling the eggs is a very small part of it):
Cover a single layer of eggs with cold water in a small pot.
Bring water to a boil.
Bring to a rolling boil for 1 min. and remove from heat. Cover. Leave covered in hot water for 17 minutes. Pour off water and rinse in cold water immediately.
I found this guideline a few years ago and I’ve been a happy person ever since.
Lizzie, that’s exactly what I did. And I even bought the eggs two weeks before I planned to cook them, because fresh ones don’t peel as easily. Still had one out of three didn’t peel right.
I have been craving egg salad for the past couple of weeks so this will definately be a lunch this week-end. I just found your blog through “TasteSpotting” and am adding you to my bloglines so I can catch future posts. I love the simplicity ideas you bring to the blog world – I subscribe to several food blogs and sometimes I just have to roll my eyes at some of the things that pop up. If it has more than 5-7 ingredients I’m usually on to the next recipe…
Trish
Looks yummy. I love egg salad sandwiches too.
Trish, I don’t mind 7 ingredients or more, as long as most of them are things in my pantry. The ones I hate are where you need 7 new things from the store. Bonus suckage points if you have to go to two or more specialty stores.
Jeanine, Thanks for telling me how you found me. I wish Tastespotting would send you an email if/when something gets posted.
That egg salad sandwich looks really good!
For some reason that makes no sense at all I detest egg salad. Love deviled eggs though. Have been known to cut a boiled egg in half, smear it with mayo, and sprinkle it with salt and happily gulp that down. Yet egg salad just makes me cringe. But you go ahead.
I’m with you on the grilled fish. Hubby and I had quite the fried fish fest this evening though. Mmmm, I love when he comes home with a mess of catfish and bass. I fry ‘em up quick as I can and spend all night thinking about eating cold fried fish for breakfast the next morning.
I add dry mustard to my egg salad along with the mayo and eggs also some chopped sweet or dill pickles. I have also been known to add chopped green onions if I have no pickles. Just thought I’d add to the mix.
Kevin, it was.
Genie, that’s so sad. A life without egg salad is only half a life. (Okay, that’s a little bit of an exaggeration.)
Coll, are you from the south? The pickles seem to be a southern thing.
I never thought about the pickles being regional, but I’m from GA and my mother always adds diced sweet pickles. I love it that way, but generally don’t have sweet pickles in the house since my picky better half doesn’t care for them. Thanks for the reminder of that addition Coll..I think I’ll add them to my grocery list.
I found your blog and I love this post! (I was reading your comment on Gretchen’s blog)
I just this week read that the reason some egg yolks are close to the edge after boiling is that they settle while they sit in the carton. The article said that you should turn the carton on its’ side for an hour before taking the eggs out to boil them.
I hadn’t heard that one before. Thanks for the tip, I’ll have to try it.
i love egg salad
You are right it is easy, but until I read this blog it never came out the right way. Thanks!
ha ha. im eating egg salad right now. soo good. although i never heard of putting mustard in it before?? ill have to try that sometime. And you right egg salad is rlly good. I’d prefer it over any other type of sandwhich. TRES DELICIOUS!
The BEST way to boil the eggs is this…Racheal Ray Show taught me this… Bring the eggs to a flowing boil. Shut off the heat and let it be for 10 minutes. Perfect eggs….perfect peel. I made it today as a matter of fact. Which led me to this site….My salad was missing something…..I guess its mustard!
Pickles maybe a southern thang…..my sister who has lived most of her adult life in Florida adds “relish” to her tuna salad. I tried it last week but didn’t have relish so I cut up sweet gherkin pickles. I may need to do the same with my egg salad….I thought of it! and I’m from above the Mason-Dixon line!
Cindy!
Cindy, I’ve always like relish in my tuna salad — and chicken salad — and I’m originally from Philly. Egg salad, though … I don’t know. Maybe I’ll try it sometime.
Sounds delicious, thanks for an awesome blog I’m about to add to my reader, great photos too! Off to make a sandwich!
You were right. It sounded so good I went and had some for lunch.
I also LOVE egg salad. I add a little bit of white vinegar to mine. Also good with some crumbled bacon in there. Yum. I must go make some now.
i am so glad you posted this. it will truly satisfy my craving. and i’ve had this craving for over a week now! thank you, oh wise one of the egg salad sandwich!
Melissa, I usually just put a few slices of bacon on the sandwich. Guess I’m lazy.
I just have to add my two cents worth. I’m from the south, and make my egg salad plain, like Drew, or fancy with pickles, or the best ever, olives and a bit of horseradish. My husband, son and son-in-law love the egg salad this way, I also add this to potatoes for the best potato salad.Love the south, and love to cook!
Oh yes, potato salad with egg. Gotta have the egg.
I add celery seed. And I’m always looking for recipes on how to make egg salad since everyone I’ve ever tasted is always different. Thanks.
Patrice, I think I’d use that with relish, but not by itself.
Can you believe I googled “egg salad.” My mom always made it with miracle whip, but I’m living in a place where they don’t have miracle whip! So, this is great.
Anyway, what I really wanted to say was that I glanced at your “all-time” favorites, and I like the way you think/eat. I’m definitely trying all of those. Potatoes, cheese, onions, chocolate – it’s all I need!
Actually I do believe it. Egg Salad was in my Top 10 for a long time. Surprised me, too.
I love egg salad, also…I put mayo, mustard, sweet chopped relish, crumbled bacon or bacon bits…A lazy man’s lunch.
Hello, I was on your site and seen what you said about eggs not looking so good after you peel them for deviled eggs. Well I’m not a good cook, but I have something that may help. I make deviled eggs a lot! I put cold water in a pan (cold to help keep them from cracking), then put them on the stove on high. When they start to boil, I set the timer for 9-10 minutes. As soon as the timer goes off, I drain the hot water off them and run cold water over the eggs in the pan. Don’t drain the cold water, leave it in the pan. Then I start hitting the eggs on the side of the sink to crack them all up. I then put the egg back in the cold water in the pan with the other eggs, (which is now lukewarm water). By the time I get all the eggs cracked and go to peel them, the shell almost falls off! I have used all kinds of eggs, usually the ones on sale or the cheapest. I hardly ever have any messed-up eggs. Hopefully this will help you. Feel free to post this on your site. Good luck! Elaine
First anon, are you from the south? Ever since someone mentioned sweet relish I’ve been trying to figure out just how widespread that was. It’s definitely a southern thing, from everything I’ve heard so far.
Second anon, that’s actually the first new technique I’ve heard in years. I know the best tip is to buy the eggs at least a week before you plan to boil them. If they dry out just a little bit, there will be less volume inside the shell and it won’t fit so tight. But cracking and putting them back in the water is a new one to me. I’ll definitely give that a try next time.
we just made your eggg salad and it was the bomb diggity!!!!
we put a little mustard and alot of mayo because we arnt a big ffan of mustard.
Mary and Kaylex, I suspect a lot of people made it yesterday. Starting at 11 a.m. (Eastern) there were a ton of people looking for egg salad recipes. I should have seen it coming, but I didn’t think about it at all until I saw the traffic. I’m glad you liked it.
Haha, I used to be so embarrased to have egg salad for lunch when I was in school. No doubt I loved to eat it but everyone always complains about the smell. Oh well, I’ve been inspired to make some right now.