Perfect egg salad is as easy as perfectly cooking the eggs. Hard boiled eggs should be two colors and two colors only, yellow and white….not grey, not green, not black….yellow and white. Sounds elementary enough, but I have to admit that at my first big cooking job after culinary school at The Pump Room in Chicago, I was not so sure of myself.
My chef was running through quite a lengthy list of what he wanted me to get prepped that day, one being a dozen hard boiled eggs for quite an elegant chopped salad. Glaring down at me he says, “you do know how to hard boil an egg don’t you?” Of course, I squeaked out a yes and then escaped to the bathroom to call my mom to get her foolproof method. Perfectly cooked eggs is what he got, here is my mom’s secret…
Place eggs in a pot covering them with cold water by about an inch. Bring to a boil over high heat. Right when they reach a boil, remove the pot from the heat and cover. Let them sit in the hot water for 17 minutes. Run under cold water, crack and peel.
I know there are a lot of methods that work, this is by no means the only one, just don’t start boiling the eggs and guess when they are done, time it!
Recipe: Egg Salad
Ingredients
- 6 eggs
- 1 rib celery, chopped
- 1/4 c red or white onion, chopped
- 1/4 t salt
- 8 cranks freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 t paprika
- 1/8 t cayenne
- 1 t Worcestershire sauce
- 1 t lemon juice
- 1 t dijon
- 1/4 c mayo
Instructions
- Place eggs in a pot covering them with cold water by about an inch. Bring to a boil over high heat. Right when they reach a boil, remove the pot from the heat and cover. Let them sit in the hot water for 17 minutes. Run under cold water, crack and peel.
- Meanwhile, mix all other ingredients in a bowl, roughly chop the eggs, add, mix, and serve.
Preparation time: 15 minute(s)
Cooking time: 20 minute(s)
Number of servings (yield): 4
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