The secret to making an Augusta National-grade egg salad sandwich, according to a golf-club chef
You, too, can make an Augusta National-worthy egg salad sandwich at home.
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Welcome to Clubhouse Eats, where we celebrate the game’s most delectable food and drink. Hope you brought your appetites.
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The egg salad sandwich is a staple on the Masters concession menu, but the club would no sooner share its recipe than it would reveal its Stimp readings.
Not to worry. We’ve got a pretty good idea of both.
The greens are wicked fast.
And the egg salad sandwich? It’s beautifully simple, featuring nothing more (as far as we can tell from our taste tests) than eggs, mayonnaise, salt and pepper, spread between two slices of soft, white bread.
Approximating it at home is within your skillset.
Improving on it is realistic, too, so long as you abide by a few fundamentals.
We asked Garret Martindale, executive chef at Sequoyah Country Club, in Oakland, Calif., to walk us through the steps.
A 5-Minute Egg
But soft! What yolk through yonder boiled egg breaks? Pardon the bad Shakespeare, but the point is this: beware of boiling your eggs into oblivion. The key to good egg salad, Martindale says, is the creaminess that comes from yolks that are no more than 80-percent cooked through. So, go mellow on the yellows. How to achieve this? Start with cold water in a saucepan that’s been salted like the sea. Add your eggs, making sure that they are covered by at least an inch of water, and then bring to a boil over high heat. Once the water has reached a roil, cook the eggs for 5 minutes and then remove them to an ice bath to stop the cooking process. Peel and quarter the eggs, or, better yet, Martindale says, use an egg slicer, rotating the egg 90 degrees after each cut.
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Mayo Clinic
Many an egg salad has been ruined by too much mayo. Martindale abides by a 2-to-1 rule: with 6 eggs, he uses 3 tablespoons of mayo. But not just any mayo. To elevate your egg salad beyond the ordinary, Martindale recommends Kewpie, a Japanese mayo that has a higher fat content and creamier texture than ordinary mayo. Talk about a winning spread.
Bread Basics
Every bite of an egg salad sandwich should be neither too bready nor too eggy: you want even amounts of both, so shoot for a ratio of 1-to-1. As for type of bread, Martindale says to go with something that doesn’t “take away from the flavor of the egg salad.” His favorite is milk bread, which is faintly sweet with a feathery texture. But he also likes brioche. And he’s not opposed to old-fashioned white bread, like the kind they use at Augusta. Martindale recommends cutting off the crusts.
Add Ons and Embellishments
Though there’s nothing wrong with a minimalist mixture of eggs, mayo, salt and pepper (the Augusta way), there’s also no reason you do can’t do better. In Martindale’s go-to recipe, he adds a pinch of sugar, a dash of rice wine vinegar, two finely sliced green onions (green parts only) and a teaspoon of Dijon mustard for tang.
Mixing and Assembling
In a blow, whisk together the mayo, mustard, vinegar, sugar and Dijon mustard. Then add the eggs, folding them gently into the mixture, so that the whites and yolks don’t meld entirely into a paste. You want some chunks to give your sandwich texture. Salt and pepper to taste, build your sandwich, and enjoy.
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