Irish Egg Salad Sandwich

Take this Irish Egg Salad Sandwich to work with you for lunch this St. Patrick’s Day! It’s the most delicious and interesting egg salad sandwich you’ll ever eat! It is super flavourful and filled with freshness too. Get your favourite sandwich bread and overfill it with this egg salad mixture; if it’s not messy, you’re not doing it right!

How many of you have heard of an Irish Egg Salad Sandwich? What about an Irish Egg and Onion Sandwich? Or an Irish Egg and Tomato Sandwich? In essence, they are all the same thing, but people have different names for it. If you have heard of any of those, and if you have been fortunate enough to eat one, then consider yourself lucky, because this just might be the best egg salad sandwich I have ever eaten!

Do you prepare sandwiches at home – for yourself or for your family? Are they just a quick and easy, no-brainer, lunch item – you know, something to get you through the work or school day? How about for dinner? Do you ever prepare sandwiches for dinner? We do! Actually, we do it once a week!

I’m sure it’s no surprise to you that a food blogger cooks and bakes a lot! And, even though I love it, there are times when I need a wee break from it. So, in our home, we have two nights every week which gives me the night off from cooking. Wednesday nights are for what we call College Dinner. It’s just scrambled eggs, beans, and toast. Sometimes there’s bacon for me and vegan sausages for John.e.

On another night, which is not always the same like Wednesday’s College Dinner, we make sandwiches. I am, and always have been, a lover of sandwiches. And, luckily, so is John.e. So we make deli-style sandwiches, or tuna sandwiches, and sometimes, egg salad sandwiches. Oh, and without fail, there’s always a pickle on the side and a big handful of kettle chips. Sounds good, right?

SANDWICHES ARE COMFORT FOOD

I read that Irish Egg Salad Sandwiches have been made in almost every Irish kitchen over the years. I’m guessing they would be quite a quick and easy meal for a family. That’s most certainly how we ate them. I mentioned that they would be great for a workday lunch, but I would serve these to my most picky of friends. They really are that good!

Also, I read that they are very popular at times of sorrow, like a funeral, for instance. So, much as we do here in North America, platters of sandwiches are often carted off to neighbouring homes where a friendly gesture or a helping hand is needed. Sandwiches just might be the most humble of foods, but at the same time, they are the most comforting too.

The ease of making a sandwich cannot be topped. Anyone who can smear some mayo or mustard onto two slices of store-bought bread and layer them with pre-sliced deli meats, cheese, and lettuce and tomato, can find nourishment and sustenance. Plus, sandwiches are a great way to keep food in your belly if you’re on a budget!

IT’S ALL ABOUT THE BREAD

My love of sandwiches started early. My mom would buy a loaf of sandwich bread every Friday morning when she did her grocery shopping. That was the only time we ate store-bought bread. Throughout the rest of the week, we only ate her homemade bread. I guess she thought that sandwiches were just better on store-bought white bread!

We lived in a small town, so my siblings and I were able to come home from school for lunch. Every Friday’s lunch was a ham and cheese sandwich with a can of Cott Cola or, if we were really lucky, a lime Pop Shoppe Soda! I have such fond memories of those lunches!

From time to time, I still buy a loaf of white sandwich bread. If I’m making grilled cheese, that cheap white bread is the best! However, if I’m making a sandwich, I want something better. Now, I use nice firm bread. A regular loaf of white bread will just not do. I used a very seedy and grainy rye bread. A hearty bread will hold up well to the mound of Irish Egg Salad you’ll stuff into it.

INGREDIENTS NEEDED TO PREPARE THIS RECIPE

The following is a list of the ingredients needed to prepare this Irish Egg Salad Sandwich. For exact amounts and measurements, refer to the printable recipe card located near the bottom of this post.

• Eggs – You will need two hard-boiled eggs for each sandwich. In this case, I made three sandwiches, so I used six hard-boiled eggs.
• Tomatoes – Use meatier tomatoes like vine tomatoes or Roma tomatoes. Be sure to remove the pulp and seeds, otherwise, your egg salad mixture will be too wet.
• Lettuce – Use leafy green lettuce that has been washed and dried well. Pile the leaves onto each other and roll them up. Slice across in one-centimeter slices.
• Green Onions – Wash and dry the green onions well. Slice thinly.
• Mayonnaise – Please use mayonnaise and not salad dressing. Mayo is thick and salty, while salad dressing is thinner and tangy.
• Mustard – Good old-fashioned yellow mustard is great in this recipe!
• Salt & Ground Black Pepper
• Bread

PERFECT HARD-BOILED EGGS

We love hard-boiled eggs. Many times, John.e will prepare a bunch on Sunday afternoon so that we have them ready to go over the next few days. Hard-boiled eggs will last up to 5-7 days in the fridge. The eggs you see in the photographs are the eggs he prepared.

See how perfectly yellow that egg yolk looks? Those eggs were boiled two days before I used them in this egg salad recipe. Usually, when I hard boil eggs, the yolk tends to get a bit gray on the outside. John.e swears that a little splash of white vinegar in the water is what keeps the yolks vibrant.

Here’s how he does it. He places the eggs in a pot in a single layer. Add enough cold water to the pot so that there is one inch of water over the top of the eggs. Add a good splash of white vinegar. Place a lid on the pot and bring to a full boil. Once boiling, turn off the heat and leave the pot to sit on the burner to cool for one hour. Peel the eggs and place in a food-safe container. Refrigerate and eat as needed.

HOW TO MAKE AN IRISH EGG SALAD SANDWICH

Once the eggs have been hard-boiled and cooled, remove the shell and discard them. Cut the egg in half, lengthwise, and remove the yolk. Set the yolks aside. Do not be tempted to mash the egg whites. Instead, cut the egg white into long strips and then cut across the strips to make an even dice. Diced egg whites create more texture and look better than mashed egg when the sandwich is assembled. Transfer the diced egg white to a mixing bowl.

When it comes to the yolks, you can use them all or you can use only half. I like to use only half of the yolk because I don’t want the egg salad to be too yellow. Also, you can cut the fat a bit by cutting back on the yolk. To prepare the yolks, I like to crumble them into the bowl with the diced egg whites. Again, this is all about texture and presentation. It’s a preference. If you want to mash the white and the yolk, by all means, go right ahead and do it.

Next, add the diced tomatoes, chopped lettuce, and sliced green onions. Add in the mayonnaise and the yellow mustard. Next, add in the black pepper, but do not add the salt. Depending on the type of mayo you’re using, you may not need the salt. Toss everything together well until thoroughly mixed. Taste and season with additional salt if needed. Cover and refrigerate for one hour.

ASSEMBLING THE SANDWICH

Refrigerating the egg salad mixture if optional, but the mixture tastes much better when the ingredients are blended and allowed to rest for a while. Also, the mixture sets up and becomes a little more firm, which will allow you to pile more of it onto the bread!

Do you spread butter onto your sandwich bread? If you do, you can prepare the bread by spreading on a thin layer of butter. I do not like to add butter to sandwiches, but if you do, you can do that. I prefer to smear both slices of bread with a little bit of mayonnaise.

Once that’s done, pile the egg salad mixture onto one slice of the prepared bread. I like to use a large ice cream scoop to mound it up. Place the second slice of bread on top and press down gently to seal. The sandwich is now ready to enjoy!

HOW TO SERVE A SANDWICH

I dearly love sandwiches; I really do! I’m that one person who loves to bake and cook, but can be easily satisfied with a sandwich. In fact, before I started to work from home, a few times a week, I would bring a sandwich to work for lunch. My favourite quick lunch is ham and cheese on good grainy bread with a hot cup of coffee. I love sandwiches with hot coffee!

But, on the occasion that I make sandwiches for dinner, I go all out. I love to serve sandwiches with kettle chips and a pickle on the side. Sometimes, I serve them with coleslaw and potato salad. A good, well-made sandwich can be quite impressive. Look at my White Bean Salad Sandwich and my Smashed Lentil Salad Sandwich. I would totally serve one of these, or this Dill Pickle Tuna Salad Sandwich, to any guest! Wouldn’t you?