Œufs Dur Mayonnaise is a classic French bistro dish. Beginning of the 20^th century the instruction was simple: make mayonnaise (egg yolk, white wine vinegar, oil, salt and white pepper), quarter or halve hard boiled eggs and place these on a layer of mayonnaise.
Today’s versions use mayonnaise with mustard. Delia Smith adds garlic to her mayonnaise.
Presentation-wise the eggs are topped with mayonnaise and served with lettuce, cornichons or olives. Another possibility is to serve the halved eggs as a dome, covered with mayonnaise.

Œufs Dur Mayonnaise may look simple, and perhaps you think it’s too simple to be a starter on its own. It’s actually very nice, if you use quality ingredients and make your own mayonnaise. Its simplicity doesn’t allow you to cheat (boil the eggs days in advance, overcook them, use cheap eggs, use ready made mayonnaise etcetera).

Today’s recipes suggest leaving the egg yolk slightly creamy. After having tried a number of cuissons (donenesses if that’s a word!) we think it’s best to use hard boiled eggs. We rely on our Emerio egg cooker to create the perfect egg!

Drink Pairing

The taste of Œufs Dur Mayonnaise is savoury, mineral and rich. The mayonnaise gives a velvety mouthfeel. As this is a classic bistro dish, we suggest a simple white wine, nicely cooled, or a beer, or a glass of cold water.

What You Need

• fresh, organic Eggs
• Mayonnaise
• (optional) Chervil

What You Do

1. Prepare mayonnaise. We suggest adding a bit more mustard and vinegar than usual
2. Prepare hard boiled eggs
3. Peel the eggs and let cool
4. Halve the eggs and add some mayonnaise on top
5. (optional) decorate with chervil

PS

The number of bistro’s in France went down from some 170.000 in the 1960’s to 35.000 in the 2020’s. Œufs Dur Mayonnaise became unpopular: eggs contain a high amount of cholesterol and mayonnaise is high-fat food and calorie-dense. In 2018 L’Association pour la Sauvegarde de l’Œuf Mayonnaise (the association to protect Œuf Mayonnaise) was founded, to promote the dish and bring it back to the table. The Association organises an annual championship. The 2026 winner of the award was restaurant Au Rêve in Paris (Œufs Mayonnaise is on the menu for 4 euro).