HOW TO COOK THE PERFECT HARD BOILED EGG + EGG SALAD TWO WAYS

I love me a hardboiled egg, but I hate the grey ring that can sometimes occur around the yolk. Actually when I grew up I believed that the grey ring was inevitable and since I didn’t know any better, it didn’t bother me.  Now I know that a boiled egg can have a pretty sunny yellow yolk; I want a pretty, sunny, yellow yolk every time! 

 

That grey ring happens when eggs are over cooked causing a reaction between sulfur and iron that occurs naturally in eggs.  The remedy is very simple one and once you know it you will have perfect sunny yellow yolks every time.

And what will you do with your eggs that now have perfectly sunny yellow yolks?

Well egg salad is a fave at our house, that’s for sure; and it can be made in sooo many different ways. Here is a couple that I made recently.

Start by boiling the perfect egg.

Place the eggs in a sauce pan and cover with cold water by 1 inch and cook over medium high heat until the water comes to a boil.

When the water comes to a boil, turn the heat off and place the lid on the pan.

 

Set the time for 12 minutes!!!!!

Sorry for yelling, but this is important…12 minutes yields the perfect egg.

When the 12 minutes are up, run the eggs under cold water and as soon as you are able to handle the eggs, go ahead and peel them.  The shells come off sooo much easier when the eggs are still warm.

Notice, that there is no grey ring on the lovely yellow yolks.

I save the pickle juice from the dill pickles.

One of my favorite things to do with hard boiled eggs is to toss them into the jar of pickle juice and let them pickle overnight or for a few days.

Please know that I only use the pickle juice for one batch of eggs and then I discard the juice.

I add the pickled eggs to green salads, I snack on them or....

...Or I make Pickled Egg Salad with them!

I use a knife and fork to cut and then mash the cooked eggs.

In a small bowl mix together some Greek yogurt, mayonnaise, dill pickle juice and black pepper; there is no need to add salt as the pickle juice is salty.

 

To the eggs; add the dressing along with some chopped celery and scallions, mix gently.

Cold crisp cucumbers are a nice accompaniment to this egg salad.

A while back I made this colorful Sweet and Spicy Pepper Vinegar and one of the ways I used it was to make an egg salad.

Strain out most of the vinegar and use the peppers for the egg salad. 

Mix the peppers that have been strained into some mashed hard cooked eggs along with a little mayo, salt and black pepper.

This Oatmeal Flax Honey Wheat Bread is the perfect vehicle upon which to serve egg salad!

 

Serve with some tomatoes and spinach for a healthy lunch.

 

HOW TO COOK THE PERFECT HARD BOILED EGG + EGG SALAD TWO WAYS

Perfect Hard Boiled Eggs

   1.       Place uncooked eggs into a pan; be sure there is a little space between the eggs.  Cover the eggs with cold water, the water should be about 1 inch over the eggs.

   2.       Put the pan on medium high heat.  When the water comes up to a boil turn the heat off, cover the pan with a lid, and set the timer to allow the eggs to sit for 12 minutes.

   3.       After 12 minutes run the eggs under cold water, and as soon as the eggs are cool enough to handle go ahead and peel them.

Pickled Egg Salad

Serves 4

6                              Hard boiled eggs, peeled

                               Juice of your favorite jar of dill pickles (optional)

1                              Scallion, finely chopped

1              stalk          Celery, finely chopped

3              Tbsp.          Greek yogurt

2              Tbsp.          Mayonnaise

1 ½           tsp.           Dill pickle juice

¼             tsp.           Black pepper

   1.       Place the hard boiled eggs into the jar of pickle juice and replace the lid.  Allow them to pickle overnight up to 3 days.

   2.       Mash the pickled eggs in a medium bowl.

   3.       In a small bowl, stir together the Greek yogurt, Mayonnaise, dill pickle juice and black pepper.

   4.       Add the yogurt mixture, scallion and celery to the eggs and gently stir to combine.

 

Sweet and Spicy Pepper Vinegar Egg Salad

6                             Hard boiled eggs, peeled

2              Tbsp.         Mayonnaise

¼             cup           Peppers strained from Sweet and Spicy Pepper Vinegar               

                               Salt and pepper to taste

   1.       Mash the hard boiled eggs in a medium bowl.

   2.       Stir the remaining ingredients into the mashed eggs.

Serve egg salad on bread, in hollowed out tomatoes, or in lettuce cups.