The Pickling Trick For The Tangiest Egg Salad Ever

You may only need three ingredients to make the creamiest egg salad, but have you ever considered amping one of them up a notch for an even punchier flavor? While the dish already has a decent amount of acid in it to achieve its signature tang, you should consider pickling your eggs to make it even more pronounced. This will give your meal a delicious boost of flavor that might have you devouring the entire bowl before you can even sit down to lunch.

If you're making your egg salad today, there are quick recipes that have your eggs sitting in the brine for as little as 4 hours, but you'll get better flavor if you allow a few days for the magic to happen. This gives the brine time to fully penetrate the eggs, infusing them with tangy notes that will be dotted throughout your salad. If you want to take things further, consider using some of the spices known to elevate egg salad, like turmeric, celery seed, or saffron. You can also swap out the mayo for cottage cheese if you want to change things up.

One of the best things about pickling your own eggs is that you can play with the flavors to make your egg salad even more enjoyable. For example, you can use different brines to get unique flavors from the liquid itself. Many recipes call for white vinegar, but you can also sub in apple cider vinegar, red wine vinegar, or even balsamic vinegar (or really, any vinegar as long as it's at least 5% acid). You can also reuse brine from items that have already been pickled, like store-bought pepperoncini. The fun part is that your eggs will take on a hint of whatever was originally in the brine — pickling eggs in sauerkraut, for instance, will give them a briny kick.

Additionally, you can add various ingredients to the brine to create different flavors. Beets or red onions will give your eggs a pinkish hue, while chopped jalapeños or other chilies will add heat. Curry powder will turn them into curried pickled eggs with a gorgeous yellow tint. Other great add-ins include peppercorns, bay leaves, garlic, and dill. The choices really are endless.