It is a beautiful Spring morning, the birds are singing, the flowers are blooming – and we’re covered in yellow dust here in Atlanta as we are in full-on Pollen Season. This past weekend was a holiday for lots and lots of people. Whether you were celebrating Easter, Passover, Oestra, or just getting in some early park time, you might well have used hard boiled eggs in your celebration. I thought I would share some wonderful things you can do with leftover hard boiled eggs as a timely and hopefully helpful service. Some of these techniques (like making the Fun Shapes) have to be done as the egg is cooking, but most can be done with already boiled and cooled eggs, Most of them won’t even be hurt if the egg has some extra color to it 🙂
Devilled Eggs – After cooling, hard boiled eggs are split and the solidified yolks are removed. Egg yolks are then mashed and mixed with savory ingredients, then re-stuffed back into the egg white halves. Typical American ingredients are mayonnaise, pickle relish and mustard. Other variations can include salmon, dill and other fresh herbs, curry powder, soft cheese, horseradish or hot sauce, etc.
Pickled Eggs – Pickled eggs are essentially peeled hard-boiled eggs that have been preserved in a solution of vinegar, salt and a selection of spices. Beet juice is added sometimes to give a bright pink color. They can be kept for several weeks or even months in a sealed jar and do not have to be stored in the refrigerator.
Scotch Eggs – Hard boiled eggs dunked in egg wash, enclosed in ground pork sausage meat, rolled in more egg wash and then bread crumbs, then fried or baked until the sausage is cooked and the egg is heated through. Served with mustard.
Eggs in Sauce – hard boiled eggs are peeled and added to savory sauces such as curry, sambal, soy sauce, and more.
Hidden Eggs – Hard boiled eggs hidden inside meatloaf, challah, even King Cake!
Eggs Goldenrod – hard boiled egg whites are separated from the yolks, then diced and added to a rich cream sauce. The sauce is spooned over toast, and the finely minced yolks are sprinkled on top.
Salads – sliced or chopped hard boiled eggs are included as ingredients in mixed salads such as Egg, Tuna, Macaroni, and Potato Salads, or as part of a Russian chopped salad with pickles, corn, meats, celery and mayonnaise called the Olivier Salad. .
Garnishes – sliced and chopped eggs are added to green leafy salads such as Spinach and Cobb, as well as topping soups, meats, and baked dishes. Along with onions and capers, chopped hard boiled eggs make a traditional accompaniment to caviar.
Tea Eggs For Chinese Marbled Tea Eggs, take cooled hard boiled eggs and use a back of a teaspoon to gently crack the eggshell all over. Keep the eggshell intact, but the more you crack, the more intricate the design of the marble will be. Steep in a mixture of soy sauce, black tea and spices to create a flavorful and marbled pattern when the egg shell is peeled off.
Fun Shapes – Press warm hard boiled eggs into forms to create fun shapes. Great for lunch boxes.
I hope this gives you lots of ideas for your surplus eggs. As you can see, this is just a starting point. You can get creative with your own dishes and sauce combinations from here. Be careful, you might have so much fun finding new ways to use your hard boiled eggs that you will want to boil some more!
Happy Spring!