9 Ingredients That Don't Belong In Egg Salad
If you want a divine, soft egg salad experience rather than a runny, stinky affair, there are ingredients to avoid. Close your eyes and imagine that first bite of the perfect egg salad sandwich — crisp, toasted rye bread gives way to fluffy, slightly sweet and tangy, smooth egg filling.
Some people may not consider egg salads haute cuisine, but plenty of chefs will tell you about it. As he whips up some of the eggy-goodness, Chef Heston Blumenthal says, "I've discovered ... how important food and smell is to trigger our past." Egg mayo reminds him of roaming the windswept beaches of Cornwall as a child even though he's filming from his lavender garden in sunny Province, France. He adds local ingredients like peppery rocket, chives, and cornichons. Then, the chef cuts his sandwich horizontally, wrapping it in tin foil just like his mother used to do.
Chef Kenji Lopez-Alt has boiled and peeled thousands of eggs while preparing breakfasts. Afterward, there were always leftovers, so he'd whip up egg salad for family meal (chef speak for staff meal). While he noted he was not a fan of adding pickle relish to it, he admitted he wouldn't say "no" if offered egg salad with relish mixed into it.
1. Undercooked or overcooked eggs
Egg salad is fundamentally boiled eggs in egg sauce (mayonnaise). Adding properly-cooked eggs will make your salad optimal. If the whites are rubbery and the yolks green, well, any salad you make will be less than delicious. Get the eggs right, please.
Put the eggs in water, boil them, take them out, and peel them — it shouldn't be hard, and, yet, every chef and recipe have different advice for this step. Some say to put eggs in cold water, but Chef Kenji Lopez-Alt swears this makes eggs harder to peel. He, along with Chef Billy Parisi recommend putting them straight into boiling water for 6 minutes, and, then turning off the heat and leaving them there for another 6 minutes. Finally, put them in a cold water bath. Of course, don't take their word for it — you'll have to find the method of boiling eggs that suits you and stick to it.
Watch out for the green ring that forms around the yolk, though. This happens when eggs boil too long. According to the University of Minnesota, "hydrogen in the egg whites combines with sulfur in the yolk." The result is unsightly, stinky, and unappetizing, although edible. It's best to set a timer so you don't forget the pot of boiling eggs on the stove.
2. Anything but eggs, mayonnaise, salt and pepper
Different egg salad recipes call for different ingredients: sweet peppers, horseradish, or even slivered beets. Chef John Politte says you can skip all of these add-ins. "Just egg, mayonnaise, a little salt, and pepper. No crazy mustards," he notes. "No relish. No fancy spices like tarragon or anything like that. Plain and simple. Not that there's anything wrong with any of that, but this is just a plain, simple, easy recipe. If you're a college kid living out of your dorm and you've got a little budget for money for food, buy a dozen eggs. Boil 'em. You can make these every day."
It makes sense: Egg salad should taste like eggs. There is no pressure to make it seem like anything else by adding a long list of fancy ingredients. Despite the cholesterol in the yolk, the American Heart Association says that one or two boiled eggs per day contribute to a healthy diet because of the protein and vitamin D in them. That means that as long as your egg salad sandwich does not include greasy bacon or copious amounts of full-fat mayonnaise, you've found a cheap, easy, and healthy dish that you can mix up quickly and you don't need of have a lot of obscure ingredients in the cupboard.
3. Too much mayonnaise
Too much of a good thing really does exist, especially if it's mayonnaise in egg salad. The ratio is hard to get right because egg salad starts out looking dry and becomes moist as it sets. If you overdo the mayonnaise because you're fooled by the thick texture in the beginning, your egg salad will become runny later on. No one wants a soggy sandwich with runny egg salad on it.
The truth is that yolks also help make the salad creamy, so you don't need to add much mayonnaise at all, says Chef Billy Parisi in a YouTube video. Some people prefer reducing mayonnaise to just a couple tablespoons and make avocado egg salad. That's another way to think about green eggs.
You can replace mayonnaise by substituting in a mixture of plain, low-fat yogurt, mustard, and dill. That's a great option if you're on a low-fat diet or just want to up the protein in your salad.
If mayonnaise is your favorite part of the salad, though, and you have extra time to putter around the kitchen, consider whipping up some homemade mayonnaise. This will boost the flavor and add an especially creamy texture.
4. Sliced white bread
Chef Heston Blumenthal ends his list of ingredients saying, "And, some sliced white bread, although a lot of people around here might turn in their grave if we didn't have a baguette." He puts his egg salad on white bread for nostalgic reasons — it's what his mother used in his childhood. For those of you who don't rely on sliced white bread to bring back misty memories of youth, though, there are many more delicious breads that will make much more delectable egg salad sandwiches.
First of all, egg salad doesn't have to come in the form of a sandwich. No bread is necessary – Chef Geoffrey Zakarian serves his egg salad as *gasp* salad, in radicchio cups.
If you do want yours in between two slice of bread, there are more options out there than just the basic white variety. Chef Kenji Lopez-Alt puts his on brioche; Chef Billy Parisi says he likes whole grain, wheat or sour dough. Opt for breads with seeds and whole grains to add a nice contrast of textures. Egg salad on a bagel or stuffed in a pita is mouthwatering as well. There's nothing inherently wrong with sliced white bread — it's just that there so many other options to explore.
5. Onions
Shrek says, "Onions are like ogres." He's referring to the fact that ogres and onions both have layers, but they're also alike in that neither ogres nor onions should go in egg salad.
You're probably thinking that most egg salad recipes include onion, and it's true, but you can be a rebel. There are better, similar, ingredients that won't give you dragon breath or overpower the flavor of the salad. In a YouTube video, Adam Rapport, editor-in-chief of Bon Appetit, says onions and shallots have too strong a flavor for this dish. Instead, opt for chives. This vegetable has the pungent flavor characteristic of alliums, but far softer than its onion cousins. Scallions, or green onions, are another fantastic egg salad ingredient.
If you insist on putting onions in your egg salad, just remember that not all onions are made equal. There are red, white, and yellow onions, as well as shallots. Shallots and red onions have the softest flavors and are the best for salads. Yellow and white onions are much stronger and better for cooked recipes.
6. Eggs chopped the wrong way
Before filming, Chef Billy Parisi has all his ingredients for egg salad set out. It's only after the camera's rolling and he's boiled his eggs that he discovers he left his egg slicer at home. Rather than improvise with a knife, he calls his wife and asks her to bring it in. Chef Parisi says, "I don't know if I'm getting old or I'm really just so focused on those procedures. I'm stuck when it comes to slicing eggs. I have to use this thing." Then, he uses the apparatus to cut his eggs three ways, leaving them in tiny quarter-inch cubes. His salad looks beautiful.
Chefs never agree with each other though. Chef Ceoffry Zakarian prefers using scissors. Snip — he cuts them in half. Snip — now, they're in quarters. Snip — finally, he's ready to add egg chunks (about an eighth of an egg each) to his salad.
Chef Kenji Lopez-Alt has no qualms about simply reaching into the bowl and mashing the eggs into a paste with his hands. Try each method and see which texture you prefer, and, then, stick to it.
7. Sugar
Egg salad can be tangy and sweet if you add the right ingredients. For example, you might like stirring in a little pickle relish or a squirt of lemon juice. Other people add a spoonful of sugar, but that's a mistake if you're health-conscious.
Today, people consume far more added sugar than just one or two generations ago, according to Harvard. Added sugar is different from what naturally occurs in fruits, vegetables, and dairy products. It is processed sugar that people and food processing plants add to make recipes sweeter and it's an issue because added sugar can contribute to people's risk of developing cardiovascular disease. Lowing the amount of added sugar in your diet is one way to conserve your health. One simple step is to avoid adding sugar to savory foods that don't need it, like egg salad.
Use alternative ways to achieve the sweet flavor you crave. Try mixing in chopped sweet peppers, slivered beets, or even grated carrots. In addition, you might find you like the extra crunch.
8. Bread crumbs, bacon, or cheese
Egg salad is a friendly food — most people can eat it (except people with egg allergies). As long as you follow a simple recipe, egg salad is safe for vegetarians who eat eggs, people who are lactose intolerant, and individuals on a gluten-free diet. That makes it perfect to serve at a dinner with friends or take to a potluck.
Of course, there's always someone who knows how to ruin a good thing. They'll tell you to add bacon flakes or provolone cheese; others may suggest mixing in a spoonful of bread or cracker crumbs to thicken up runny egg salad. Don't do it, though, because these ingredients will exclude some of your friends.
Bacon is delicious, so fry some up and leave it to the side. Then, if people want bacon on their egg salad, they can add it. Your vegetarian guests will be happy, too. Leave out some slices of provolone on the same platter, but don't mix it in. Finally, if you've added too much mayonnaise and your salad is runny, you could add crumbs, but adding a few more eggs or veggies is more effective.
9. Dried parsley and dill
Adding herbs to egg salad makes it flavorful. Dill and parsley are two classics, and there's a good reason for it: They taste fresh, light, and green.
Unfortunately, it's midwinter and there's no fresh parsley or dill to be found. You grab your McCormick's jars from your spice rack and sprinkle in some parsley flakes and a sprig of dried dill. This is a mistake, as dried herbs lose some of the flavors that define them as fresh herbs. Rather than add something special to your salad, you'll detract from its flavor and texture. These dried herbs will show up as grainy, brownish-green dust.
Adding chopped dill pickles could add the dill flavor you were hoping for. Celery leaves aren't the same as parsley, but they're tastier than dried flakes. Remember, simple egg salad with just salt, pepper, and mayonnaise tastes amazing, so you may not even need to add anything else at all.