It’s Spring! We have a very small flock but they are laying like a big flock. We have more eggs than we know what to do with. You know how your neighbors start avoiding you in the summer when your zucchini comes in? That’s what folks in our neighborhood are doing when they see me coming with an egg carton in my hand.
By Fir002 from Australia (Freerange eggs) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
I love egg salad. I know it’s kind of a pedestrian food, and folks tend to associate it with Easter (a way to use up Easter eggs), but I remember my Granny making it. I confess that I judge diners and cafés by the quality of their egg salad sandwich.
What follows is more a method than a recipe, but it approximates Granny’s, at least as I remember it.
By Biswarup Ganguly from Howrah, India (Unshelled Chicken Eggs) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
Boil about a dozen eggs. You need hard boiled, not soft boiled eggs. Cool them just enough to peel them (run cold water in the pan) – you want the eggs warm. As you peel them, add them to a bowl, using a fork to break them up as you go*. Add about 2 tablespoons butter (this works best if butter is room temperature) and use a fork to continue mashing eggs until fine. Now add 2 tablespoons sour cream or Greek-style yogurt, about that much pickle relish (we used our Squash Relish), and lots of black pepper (do not skimp here!). Keep mashing and mixing until you’re happy with how it looks.
By jill, jellidonut… whatever from Raleigh, NC, USA (Atomic Cafe Egg Salad Love!) [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
Make a sandwich and celebrate Spring!
* If you’d rather not use the fork method, grating them works, too. Granny’s egg salad didn’t have big pieces of egg white!
Save it to your recipe box!
Granny’s Egg Salad
Editor’s Note: See BuckeyeGirl’s Perfect Hard-Boiled Eggs for tips on boiling and peeling fresh eggs.
Mary J blogs at Smashing Dishes.
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Brenda H. says:
I’ve never heard of putting sour cream and butter in egg salad, sound interesting. As a kid my mom always put in onion, mayo, relish, salt & pepper. I’ll have to try your recipe. Thanks for the post.
On March 23, 2012 at 10:24 am
Stephanie says:
i generally use a pastry cutter-upper to chop my eggs. works really good! i’ve always made my egg salad like my momma and gramma did. choppped eggs, mayo and a couple squirts of good yellow mustard. yuuuuuuummmm…
On March 23, 2012 at 10:39 am
Leah's Mom says:
Yes…sour cream and butter is something I’ll have to try too!
On March 23, 2012 at 12:27 pm
Mary J says:
Honestly? Granny didn’t use sour cream – she either used more butter or a little mayo. The sour cream (or yogurt) lightens it up a little, I think.
On March 23, 2012 at 12:32 pm
sunhurteyes says:
The butter sounds interesting. Never tried deviled eggs or egg salad with butter. Maybe I will try it.
On March 23, 2012 at 1:25 pm
Mary J says:
The butter must be SOFT – like leave it out on the counter soft – and the eggs warm, so it blends instead of giving butter chunks (which sounds like a whole different taste sensation!)
On March 23, 2012 at 3:00 pm
murphala says:
Warm mashed up hard-boiled eggs with butter was a favorite breakfast treat. I love the sound of this recipe for egg salad… can I stop by and pick up some of those eggs? 😉
On March 24, 2012 at 12:46 am
lavenderblue says:
Am I the only person in the world (since my grandma died) that has to have green olives sliced into her egg salad? Even my daughter, who is a major egg salad eater, doesn’t like them in it. Of course, she doesn’t like black pepper in it either. What does she know.
Murphala, warm hard boiled eggs with butter…MMMMMmmmm. Breakfast of champions. And while I don’t mix butter directly into the egg salad (but I will from now on, you betcha!) I do have to have about three inches of it slathered on my egg salad sandwich.
Now the question after much egg salad enthusiasm, I thought it was hard to get fresh hen’s eggs to boil. What do you do, MaryJ?
On March 24, 2012 at 8:57 am
murphala says:
OMG, lavenderblue, I adore olives! I never thought to put them into egg salad…I’m swooning right now!
Thanks for that suggestion! I’m thinking egg salad is in my future today…Thanks again MaryJ!
On March 24, 2012 at 9:03 am
lavenderblue says:
And pepper, murphala, Oh, So Much Pepper!
On March 24, 2012 at 9:28 am
lisabetholson says:
When you have fresh eggs to boil, let them sit out for a couple of days so they will peel easily. I crackle them the use a teaspoon to remove the shell. Works like a charm.
I may have to make some egg salad, I sell eggs and have about 95 hens. Yesterday I sold 11 dozen by about noon andw was out of eggs to sell. One of my friends sent me 15 dozen to sell and another regular brought me 3 dozen more to sell. I have eggs now so I may be making lots of eggy things….but I still have shingles (week 4).
On March 24, 2012 at 9:45 am
Mary J says:
Ooooh, lavenderblue olives, mmmm. Living this close to New Orleans, we get jarred olive salad – I’m thinking some of that instead of relish might be something to try this afternoon…
I can boil fresh eggs no problem – it’s the peeling where I mess up! Buckeye Girl’s link in my original post is a trick I’ll be trying, also lisabetholson’s technique (thanks!)
On March 24, 2012 at 10:48 am
Ross says:
I add all manner of flavors to eggs. Capers especially, stuffed olives and calamata olives, chopped onion. Deviled eggs will never go begging if you make a plate full. Six 6 ounce baked custards will use four eggs.
My son used to scramble an egg and finish it with a handful of shredded cheese for an after school sandwich.
On March 24, 2012 at 11:52 pm
whaledancer says:
This whole butter and boiled eggs thing is a new idea to me, but it sounds good. For those of you who eat hard boiled eggs with butter for breakfast, how do you do it? I mean, do you slice the eggs, or mash them up together, or what?
On March 25, 2012 at 12:06 am
Mary J says:
I ate boiled eggs like that for breakfast as a child (no I don’t know which came first – eggs for breakfast or egg salad!) – and we always got the boiled egg as soon as it was cool enough to peel, mashed the peeled egg with a fork and put butter, salt & lots of pepper. And ate it with toast, of course, to help you get every last crumb on your fork…
Hmmm, I know what I’m having for breakfast!
On March 25, 2012 at 12:17 am
murphala says:
Yup, mash them up while still warmish-hot, butter, salt, a lot of pepper… yum! I liked stephanie’s idea above of the pastry cutter. That makes so much sense!
On March 25, 2012 at 8:53 am
rileysmom says:
We have smeared a little butter on a halved hard boiled egg, also salt and for me lots of pepper! Eggs and a slice ot two of toast is a quick breakfast or light lunch.
Mary J, I’m glad your chickens are laying. My friend felt bad cause hers are “on vacation” and I had to buy eggs!
On March 25, 2012 at 5:59 pm
Ruthmarie says:
I have a slightly Martha Stewart approach to cutting up slithery hard-boiled eggs. Best done cold so better for chopped eggs for potato or macaroni salad: using an egg slicer, cut three times, twice length-wise for “sticks”, then once cross-wise for lovely little “cubes”. Takes a little practice to cut, gently tip the sliced egg into hand and turn to new position but great presentation in a salad.
Love the idea of butter in the egg salad … I grew up with chopped black olives in egg salad with sweet onion-pepper relish, a little mayo, dusted with paprika. DH utterly adores egg salad but NO olives, puh-lease. I do miss the olives.
On March 28, 2012 at 11:28 am