With three chickens and four ducks, we have no shortage of eggs at our house. We have friends watch over our flocks when we vacation and usually give them some eggs as a thank you. Aside from those few occasions, we have given hardly any away this season because we have integrated them as a staple into our meals.
There are a few recipes in particular I have been enjoying this summer. The weather has been heating up, so I have been craving cooler things. My two favorites have been the classics: deviled eggs and egg salad.
For deviled eggs, I wing it when I make them. Since you need to hard boil them, I store a carton at a time in the fridge for over a week. Sometimes it takes two weeks for them to be best separated from the shell. When they are too fresh, they stick and you end up peeling away the egg whites – so frustrating.
I boil them all up, peel and carefully slice in half. The cooked yolks go in a boil and I mash them with a dollop of mayo, spoonful of dijon, paprika and whatever else I’m craving. Recently I tried pickle juice, which was okay. But some followers on Twitter gave me great suggestions:
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bungalowranch Cora Potter @hipchickdigs I like using creme fraiche and mustard instead of mayo.
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jknakayama Jason K Nakayama @hipchickdigs Curry powder instead of mustard rocks!
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From my friend Claudia: Rice vinegar to give them a fabulous tang
If you have suggestions, send them my way! I’m still perfecting how I make them, but they are my new favorite summer snack.
I found a fantastic egg salad recipe that I made recently, originally from AllRecipes. I know I reference that site a lot and it’s mostly because you can scan recipes until you see over 300 people gave it five out of a five stars. So here is my slightly-altered version to make enough for eight sandwiches:
- 12 eggs
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 3 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon prepared yellow mustard
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 1/2 cup chopped green onions
- salt and pepper to taste
- Place eggs in saucepan and bring to a boil for ten minutes. Run under cool water immediately to stop them from cooking. Peel and chop.
- Mix eggs with mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, yellow mustard, lemon juice and green onions. Season with sea salt and fresh cracked pepper.
I made these into tea sandwiches on a hot day for a baby shower and they turned out great. They were really bright, bright yellow from the rich homegrown yolks and they were a big hit. I’m planning another batch later this week to enjoy when we’re vacationing in the high desert this month. It’s a cool, lightly filling lunch for those hot-hot-hot days.
Do you have some way to tell when they are old enough for the shell not to stick?? Would love to know any tricks you’ve got for that.
I have not found a trick yet, which is why I basically hide them in the fridge for over a week. It helps me keep straight which eggs are the “old” ones, since I keep our fresh eggs in a bowl on the counter. Honestly, I think a couple weeks in the fridge is actually better to avoid sticking.
Here is a trick to keep the shell from sticking to the egg – cook the eggs in salt water. Add salt to cold water and bring to a boil. When boiling, add the eggs and cook as usual. I usually use 1-2 Tbsp. in 1qt water to cook 6 eggs. Works most of the time.
Thanks for the tip! I have also heard something about baking soda working as well? We are doing some tests for a future post π