What sort of condiments go well with a hard boiled egg?

January 18, 2007 1:05 PM

What sort of condiments go well with a hard boiled egg? I'm thinking - if I pre-make a bunch, and bring them to work with me as a quick & easy snack - how many different ways can I sass 'em up?

(BONUS: has anyone tried a "mayon-egg"? You know - the snack that Ann Veal from Arrested Development used to eat?)

posted by Tbola to food & drink (52 comments total)

As a kid, I used to love 'em as deviled eggs with the yolk mixed with mayo & sweet pickle relish...
posted by miss lynnster at 1:07 PM on January 18, 2007

Pickle Relish, Mayo and mustard, mixed with the egg yolk, and placed back inside the boiled egg white. You can call this the "Deviled Egg".
posted by stovenator at 1:08 PM on January 18, 2007

I always liked just plain salt and pepper. Oh, and hummus goes surprisingly well too IMO.
posted by Shecky at 1:13 PM on January 18, 2007

My roommate's entry into our apartment's sandwich making contest is the "Costa Rican" (developed while surfing himself nearly bankrupt in Costa Rica).

1 sliced hard boiled egg with Guacamole and Tabasco sauce on toasted white bread.

Try it, it's a veritable masterpiece.
posted by nathancaswell at 1:15 PM on January 18, 2007

Scotch them?
posted by kmennie at 1:16 PM on January 18, 2007

Invest in those little snap-top condiment cups. Salvage sauces from last night's dinner, carryout, whatever.

Examples: hot sauce, salsa, good mustard, soy sauce, kind of salad dressing, leftover Indian food, tomato sauce, red wine reduction with sauteed shallots, adobo sauce...
posted by desuetude at 1:16 PM on January 18, 2007

ketchup, cheese, pepper!
posted by emptyinside at 1:17 PM on January 18, 2007

Sriracha.
posted by magicbus at 1:21 PM on January 18, 2007

Fresh dill, parsley, chives.
posted by trip and a half at 1:23 PM on January 18, 2007

pesto
posted by nimsey lou at 1:24 PM on January 18, 2007

I like to mix any hot/dijon mustard with mayonnaise and douse liberally. I guess it's sort of like Deviled Eggs, minus the relish, but I think that's key.
posted by sa3z at 1:31 PM on January 18, 2007

Soy sauce.
posted by roomwithaview at 1:32 PM on January 18, 2007

I eat my hard-boiled eggs with pepper and sometimes "that mustard," which i get through heavenly ham--but any kind of good sharp gourmet mustard would work. I need to start doing this for my lunches, too. Yum.

As for mayon-egg... egg salad's always good. Relish, mayo, salt, pepper, good to go.
posted by atayah at 1:32 PM on January 18, 2007

A slice of sharp cheddar cheese and a few drops of honey.
posted by Monkey0nCrack at 1:35 PM on January 18, 2007

OMG, creamy french dressing. I won't put an egg in my salad unless creamy french is available.
posted by lampoil at 1:40 PM on January 18, 2007

I've never myself tried the "mayon-egg" but I wanted to give you "props" for referencing it!! I love Arrested Development!
This sounds like a great idea for a snack, I'm going to use some of these suggestions too. Great question!
posted by slyboots421 at 1:48 PM on January 18, 2007

Is a "mayon-egg" just mayo on hardboiled eggs? In France they call that "oeufs-mayonnaise" and it is delicious. Make sure you use homemade mayo, though...it's not as good with the pre-made stuff. (IMO, if you're going to use straight Best Foods mayo with hardboiled eggs, you may as well spice it up with dijon mustard for a nice egg salad. On a pita. Mmm.)
posted by phatkitten at 1:58 PM on January 18, 2007

Paprika. Or you could do the egg & cress sandwich, especially if you have watercress.
posted by holgate at 1:59 PM on January 18, 2007

Bleu cheese dressing.

Newman's Own Caesar dressing.
posted by tristeza at 2:00 PM on January 18, 2007

Seconding egg salad. If you're in the south, try Duke's Mayonnaise. It's a few steps up from Helmann's.
posted by taliaferro at 2:05 PM on January 18, 2007

Dill
posted by electroboy at 2:08 PM on January 18, 2007

Throw some feta, garlic, and lemon juice nto a blender/robocoup/cuisine art and let it run until it's all smooshed up - add olive oil to loosen up the consistency if you like. Chopped fresh parsley or cilantro mixed in or on top is nice. Yum.
posted by rtha at 2:12 PM on January 18, 2007

Sprinkle on some Old Bay Seasoning.
posted by Huplescat at 2:13 PM on January 18, 2007

Salt and pepper and vinegar.

I've used various kinds of vinegar: plain white, apple cider, rice (which adds a sweetish flavor), and red wine. All good.
posted by Artifice_Eternity at 2:16 PM on January 18, 2007

tarragon mustard.
posted by gaspode at 2:20 PM on January 18, 2007

dijon mustard
honey mustard
paprika
relish
salt and pepper
chili powder
tobasco
sriracha
mole


just about anything with a little acid to it is good on a boiled egg
posted by subtle_squid at 2:21 PM on January 18, 2007

Salt and chili powder.
posted by Kololo at 2:24 PM on January 18, 2007

Russian dressing.

That was the first thing that popped into my mind when I read the question, but the strange thing is, I can't recall ever having had a hard-boiled egg with Russian dressing, and yet I'm certain that they would go well together.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 2:44 PM on January 18, 2007

Yellow mustard. Nothing else works. Nothing I say!
posted by o2b at 3:09 PM on January 18, 2007

Dry mustard, curry powder, onion powder, celery seed and Tabasco mixed into mayo.
posted by Opposite George at 3:15 PM on January 18, 2007

Lowery's season salt. Or Penzey's spices has all kind of cheesy/salty mixes.
posted by printchick at 3:24 PM on January 18, 2007

mayo & curry powder. mmm.
posted by belladonna at 3:36 PM on January 18, 2007

I love eggs with Maggi Seasoning. I saw really small one-serving type bottles at the store the other day if you're into that. I'd rather just buy the giant bottle and squirt it into a small container.

As long as you're pre-making it, you might want to try making Chinese Tea Eggs and you won't need to pack in separate condiments.

There's a recipe here for tea eggs. I usually just use tea, soy sauce, and star anise to make them and they taste pretty good. Oh yeah, when it says to crack the shells after hard-boiling them, don't crack them so that they fall off the egg. Just crack them slightly to get a nice marble effect when soaked in the sauce.
posted by nakedsushi at 4:15 PM on January 18, 2007

Sassed up, eh? What you want is pickled eggs. Hard boil them, shell them, and marinate them in something vinegary and flavorful. The juice from pickled beets is traditional, with black peppercorns added for extra zing. The juice from canned jalapenos is totally untraditional but very good. Anything else sweet-sour-flavorful will probably work. Experiment.
posted by nebulawindphone at 4:24 PM on January 18, 2007

(FWIW, nakedsushi's "marble effect" trick also works on these, and gives a pretty stunning effect if you're pickling in bright magenta beet juice.)
posted by nebulawindphone at 4:25 PM on January 18, 2007

Save the juice from a can of pickled beets and toss in a few HBE's - pretty and tasty.
posted by jvilter at 4:26 PM on January 18, 2007

Make up a batch of onion jam. For an egg, a version without lots of sugar might be better.
posted by MonkeySaltedNuts at 4:39 PM on January 18, 2007

nthing hot sauce of any kind: sriracha, Louisiana hot sauce, Tabasco. Worcestershire sauce is good on them too.
posted by cog_nate at 4:53 PM on January 18, 2007

spicy Thai peanut sauce
Durkee sauce
and of course, the ultimate indulgence: hollandaise
posted by acorncup at 5:32 PM on January 18, 2007

Caviar.
posted by Wet Spot at 5:40 PM on January 18, 2007

This is a story I don't tell a lot, for reasons that will become apparent.

When I was a kid, I would cut hard-boiled eggs in two (the goal was to bisect the yolk), and then I'd remove the yolk. After I filled the yolk's space with kernels of corn, I'd try to eat each half-egg in two bites.

Strange, you say, but not bizarre? Well, each half of an egg was a boat, and each kernel of corn was a person. I played the role of the sea serpent. And they were delicious.
posted by booksandlibretti at 6:42 PM on January 18, 2007 [4 favorites]

Chutney! Try spicy mango, green tomato, onion & chilli, plum, Major Gray et al. Corn relish, Picalilli, tomato & raisin relish, onion relish, mustard fruits etc Pickles! Huge array of gherkins, tiny cocktail onions, pickled beets and all the fantastic wonderful things lurking in vats in your nearby deli.

MmMmmMMmmMmmmmm....
posted by ninazer0 at 7:02 PM on January 18, 2007

I can't believe no one has said horseradish. Fresh is preferred, but the jarred stuff is fine, as is the variety with beets in it. half a teaspoon on each half, plus a pinch of salt & pepper, and i guarantee your life will improve.
posted by raconteur at 7:27 PM on January 18, 2007

A little bit of mayo, some salt, and freshly ground pepper.
posted by benign at 8:05 PM on January 18, 2007

I like kalamata olives or dill pickles with hard boiled eggs.
posted by oneirodynia at 8:20 PM on January 18, 2007

mayonaise and lots of paprika is my favorite topping for a hard boiled egg.
posted by rubberkey at 9:47 PM on January 18, 2007

1. Shell hard boiled egg.
2. Wrap in nori.
3. Profit!! Devour!!
posted by eritain at 9:49 PM on January 18, 2007

Peanut butter. Don't laugh.
posted by snowjoe at 3:13 PM on January 19, 2007

Thanks for all the wonderful answers/ideas!
I look forward to globbing some of these substances onto my eggs in the near future!
posted by Tbola at 6:00 AM on January 20, 2007

Italian salsa verde, a chopped-up mixture of:

Capers, pickles, olive oil, vinegar, shallots/red onions, and parsley. Traditionally, this has chopped-up eggs in it, but if you leave the eggs out, it becomes a great sauce for eggs. The crunch matches very well with the soft eggy texture.
posted by rxrfrx at 9:35 AM on January 20, 2007

Worcestershire sauce has always been my family's default flavoring. It absorbs right into the yolk and if you put enough in there's a nice pool by the time you get to the bottom of the yolk.
posted by DonnieSticks at 4:32 PM on January 20, 2007

Wet Spot.
posted by Caviar at 9:43 PM on January 20, 2007