How to make the perfect egg sandwich

A finely chopped spring onion and salt and vinegar crisps are welcome additions to an egg sandwich – Clara Molden for The Daily Telegraph

The beloved egg sandwich has long been a staple of desk lunches, afternoon tea and picnic baskets and it’s one of the easiest (and cheapest) sandwiches to make at home.

No wonder, then, the recent outrage on social media about a Posh Egg Mayo & Watercress Sandwich being sold by M&S for £6.

While we may be comfortable spending over a fiver on a handmade deli ensemble, a factory-made sarnie (not least an egg mayo one, however ‘posh’ it may be), can never be worth such a hefty price tag – can it?

Certainly, boiled eggs star in a great many superior sandwiches. And whether you’re knocking up a classic egg and cress, an American-inspired chopped egg salad sub or even a sweet and fluffy Japanese-style ‘tamago sando’, there are certain rules one must follow.

Rest assured, none of them will set you back as much as six quid…

Skip to the quick recipe

The eggs

While any hen’s egg can be used for your sandwich, those with a golden yolk will give the most attractive results and, arguably, the best flavour. Fortnum & Mason goes as far as name-checking Cotswold Legbar eggs in the finger sandwiches on its afternoon tea menu, but while I’m also a fan of the beautiful blue eggs produced by this smart, speckled-feathered breed, I’m not so keen on their £3.50 per box price tag.

Consider your choice of egg carefully when assembling your ingredients – Clara Molden for The Daily Telegraph

For premium flavour and deep orange yolks, I favour the Longstock Gold from Waitrose which cost £2.75 for six. A pair of eggs will do nicely for a generously filled sandwich.

The boil

Crucial for determining the texture of your filling. In his book Good Eggs, Ed Smith explains that using eggs at room temperature “ensures cooking times are consistent, and the egg shell is less likely to split”, so that’s a good place to start.

And while there’s much debate on whether the eggs should go into cold or boiling water, Smith advises lowering them into gently boiling water and to start the timer the moment the eggs go in.

What time you set depends on how you like your eggs; I simmer mine for nine minutes so the yolks are set but still a little “fudgy”, rather than firm and dry or too runny.

For more info on timings and how to cook the perfect breakfast egg, read our guide here.

The mash

M&S’s Posh Egg sandwich stars slices of whole boiled eggs, but a true egg-mayo filling must surely be mashed. “Once boiled, separate the eggs and mash the yolks with the mayonnaise to form a paste before stirring in the chopped whites,” advises the food writer Helen Graves.

She’s right; this approach (compared to pummelling the whole egg), delivers the best overall texture. When it comes to chopping the whites, I find a wire whisk far more efficient than the thick tines of a table fork or attempting to cut with a knife.

Place the cooked whites in a small bowl and use a whisk like a potato masher to break them into small, irregular pieces.

The mayo

It’s hard to beat the flavour and freshness of homemade mayonnaise, but a basic recipe using a single yolk makes around 300ml which is more than you’ll need for one sandwich.

It’s not the most practical choice for a speedy lunchtime butty, then, and with the rising price of olive oil it’s not the best-value option either.

Mayonnaise is a crucial means to achieve the desired texture – Clara Molden for The Daily Telegraph

Instead, grab the Hellman’s from the fridge; one tablespoon is about right for two fudgy eggs. If you like your eggs firmer, you may need a little more mayonnaise to achieve a soft and creamy texture.

The greens

A scattering of salad cress over the top of the egg mayonnaise just before closing the sandwich is mandatory in my book.

But what of other herbs? The Telegraph’s recipe columnist Mark Hix loves “a good, well-seasoned filling made with some chopped, peppery watercress”.

Salad cress is a ‘mandatory’ component of a good egg sandwich – but do try out other herbs – Clara Molden for The Daily Telegraph

Graves advocates snipped chives, which work undeniably well with the creamy eggs, while the food writer Rosie Birkett suggests using a mix of herbs including parsley, dill and tarragon.

Any fresh herbs I might add I do so sparingly, and a spring onion, when very finely chopped, also makes a good addition.

The bread

According to Graves, “the egg sandwich is unusual in that it doesn’t need any contrasting textures to make it work. Every part of it should be soft and comforting”.

So, much as I love a grainy wholemeal loaf, soft white bread is the undisputed first choice. Hix agrees: “No sourdough or anything too crusty [should be used] as it’s all about the filling.”

The entirety of an egg sandwich should be ‘soft and comforting’ – Clara Molden for The Daily Telegraph

I like a thin layer of salted butter on my slices, but as the filling is already rich and creamy, it’s not compulsory.

The twist

While it’s true that the simplicity of an egg sandwich is part of its appeal, most of us can’t resist adding a little extra twist to our creation. Graves likes a drop or two of malt vinegar in her egg mixture while Birkett recommends a little heat from Tabasco or cayenne, or some finely chopped cornichons.

Other popular additions include crumbled crispy bacon, anchovies, finely chopped celery or grated mature cheddar. Like Hix, who says the secret is a good mustardy mayonnaise, I like to add a touch of Dijon to the mash.

And at the opposite of posh, a few salt and vinegar crisps thrown in at the last moment, to deliver both sharpness and crunch, turns a good egg sandwich into a brilliant one.

The recipe

What’s your perfect formula? Tell us in the comments below

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