The Covered Dish - Simple Egg Salad

Macaroni and Cheese, mashed potatoes and gravy with radishes, rice pudding, egg nog, chocolate chip cookies, and egg salad are just a ‘few’ of my favorite comfort foods! This week I was asked about a recipe for egg salad!!! Seriously; I didn’t know there was one!
Every nationality has their version of egg salad, much like hand pies. It’s been around since forever, the first recorded recipes go back to the late 1800’s, appearing in one of the earliest cookbooks. The salads we are discussing today are all referred to as ‘bound’ salads.
We could spend quite a few hours talking about how to boil eggs for egg salad. There are ‘many’ methods. I usually put my eggs in cold water, bringing it to a hard boil. At that point I time it for 10 minutes, and immediately remove them from the heat. I pour off the hot water rattling the eggs to crack them, pour on ice water, and allow to cool.
Sometimes I put vinegar in the boiling water which is supposed to help the shells to release more easily. But if you really want the shells to come off easily use mature eggs, not the dozen you just picked up at the store.
In one of my columns I wrote about deviled eggs and how funny I think it is that grocery stores put eggs on sale the week of Easter. They should be placed on sale a couple weeks before the big event.
You can study about egg cooking methods and what people like to do to render the perfect hard boiled eggs. Even a little research into how various countries prepare their egg salads.
I don’t know about you, but I don’t always know when I’m going to make a bowl of egg salad. Therefore it’s rare that I get to use fresh dill or parsley in my egg salads. Since deli meats prices started increasing a couple of years ago , I started making lots of chicken salad, tuna salad and egg salad. Lots of protein and it doesn’t run 10-12 dollars a pound.
When making a tuna, chicken, beef or egg salad one very important tip is to use quality mayonnaise. The fat content is very important in making creamy meat, egg or pasta salads. It will be extremely creamy and you will be pleased with the bind. Years ago when low fat mayonnaise first came out I didn’t know what was wrong with my tuna salads, they seemed extra runny, with lousy ‘body’. Well; I certainly learned a few things since those days. I.E. with tuna salad I always use albacore tuna. Water or oil based?
They actually say oil based makes a better salad. Mayonnaise, I failed to tell you the 2 tie winners for first place, mayonnaise, it was Duke’s and Hellman’s. My brand came in second place, which is the ‘Kraft mayo’ brand.
A little mustard is a nice addition to an egg salad. Everything from prepared mustard, to Dijon, or stone ground are options. There are times I also use dry mustard. When I made all my own pickles I would chop them by hand for salads, these days I usually reach for dill relish, well drained for the pickle portion. When my dad was alive he always wanted ‘sweet’ relish or pickles in his salads. There will be a few that say leave out the pickle entirely, all good, but don’t forget a little pickle juice or vinegar added to the dressing.
Celery, if I have it on hand it’s going to be in the salad! You will have some family members that won’t care for it in the salad. I seldom use it in tuna or beef salads. I make chicken salads with celery but my favorite chicken salad is with the yogurt based dressing, grapes, celery and nuts added.
Probably the fastest egg salad is made from leftover deviled eggs. This produces a very tight egg salad. Have you ever grilled an egg salad sandwich? I highly recommend toasting at least the inside of the bread, before adding the salad. In my research I even found that folks will use leftover scrambled eggs to make egg salad. Hmmm...I’ll pass on that one. Let’s journey into this easy heart warming salad. 
Simply yours, The Covered Dish.

Simple Egg Salad
Green Onion, 4-6 finely chopped, include the good part of the green tops
Celery, 3 stalks, sliced
12 eggs, hard boiled, peeled
(And easy cut is to use your egg slicer, cut one direction, then switch directions.)
1-2 teaspoons dry mustard or prepared mustard 2-3 teaspoons
1 teaspoon black pepper could use ground white instead-
Drained Dill relish, 1⁄2 cup, if you like the pickles, add a tad more, drain-
1-2 teaspoons dry dill weed
Mayonnaise, 1⁄2 – 3⁄4 cups
Panko to bind should it be runny and not tight.
Years ago I started keeping panko plain and Italian on hand at all times. It can rescue a runny salad, by fixing the bind. No one will ever know, unless you spill the beans