Hard-boiled eggs, perfect every time

2-04-2008 @4:19AM jeannemarie said... I find that eggs peel much better if, after cooling down in cold water, they are dipped in near-boiling water for about 10 seconds.

I boil my eggs in a pasta cooker, so I can easily pull them out of the hot water, dunk the whole strainer in a bin of ice water, let them cool for a few minutes while keeping the hot water hot....then dunk the whole strainer back in hot water for 10 seconds.

The heat causes the shell to expand and separate from the egg white, so you get less of the shell sticking or pulling off bits of white.
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3-19-2008 @1:35AM Liar said... I burnt my hands Mikey, your frickin A-hole.
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3-24-2008 @8:41PM Harry said... I can't say about the "perfect" way to cook a boiled egg but here is how to get one to peel "perfectly" every time.

1) Put eggs in a pan of cold water, enough to completely cover them.

2) Dump in a little salt, maybe 1/4 teaspoon

3) Add a splash of white vinegar. Doesn't take much, just enough to wet the bottom of a teaspoon should do it. Don't worry about using too much though, won't hurt a thing!

4) Turn heat on medium-high and set a timer for 5 minutes. When it goes off, get a set of kitchen tongs and a table knife and take each egg in turn in the tongs. Hold the table knife by the blade, and whack the side of the egg lengthwise with the handle end of the knife.

This requires a bit of skill, the idea is to crack the egg lengthwise just enough to penetrate the membrane inside the shell but not enough to let the white leak out. If it DOES leak, that's what the vinegar is for, it will stop the white leaking out.

Finally, continue bringing the eggs to a boil, and cook to desired doneness. When done, run cold tap water into the pan while dumping out the hot water, and let sit for about 4 or 5 minutes for the eggs to cool a bit.

Done right, every egg should peel perfectly. The crack you made in the shell allows water to penetrate between the membrane and the egg so the membrane doesn't stick to the white. And the 5 minutes of heating before cracking the egg is to allow the white to firm up a bit to minimize leaks.

Ever since I started doing it this way, no problems peeling the egg at all. The only time there's a problem is if I forget to crack the shell!
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4-16-2008 @6:43PM sourdough girl said... I just tried the original posted recipe by Stephania and it worked BEAUTIFULLY! The yolks were creamy and the whites smooth not rubbery at all! One thing: her recipe does not say whether the eggs should come to a FULL rolling boil or just start to boil... so, since I would rather have them undercooked than overcooked, I put the lid on when they just STARTED to boil, then shut off the heat and moved the pan from the burner (NO, that's NOT removing from heat twice, see #2) and set the timer for 10 minutes. When the 10 min were up, I removed the lid, poured most of the hot water down the drain and quickly added cold tap water, poured it off one more time and then let the water run for a minute or two. Shut off the water, let them soak for a few more minutes. They were cool enough to handle at that point... so I HAD to peel and eat two of them, JUST to test them! PERFECT!!

To make sure you can peel them easily, use older eggs. Poking holes and whacking with a knife don't work if the eggs are fresh and aren't necessary if the eggs are older. Cooking them twice is silly, and a waste of time and energy if you just use older eggs. The shells are more porous than you would think and as they get older, they lose moisture... which causes the membrane to pull away from the egg so they will peel easily.
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11-09-2008 @5:36PM Tiltil said... And here is the easiest way: Put eggs in a pan of cold water, enough to cover the eggs. Set the timer for 15 minutes, turn the burner on high. When the timer dings, take the eggs off, run cold water over them and peel. Works every time!
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6-23-2006 @2:26PM Laurel said... Ten minutes is never enough time for my eggs- maybe because I always use 'large' eggs. 13 minutes is perfect-no runny stuff inside, and nice and tender.
I put them in the pot with (salted)cold water and bring them up to a boil with the water, so the egg doesn't burst.
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1-27-2009 @3:20PM Ella Jo said... Dicey Mikey,

Your recipe is EXACTLY what I needed. Thank you so much!! Beautiful, quick, and perfect for my salad... I did do a cold water bath instead of waiting 20 minutes, because I wanted salad Now. lol...

Thanks,
Ella
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2-05-2009 @11:28AM Joanne said... About 30 years ago as a new bride who was helpless in the kitchen, I found directions in a cookbook for hard-boiled eggs and it has never failed. Put eggs into cold water in a pan. The water should be 1-2 inches over the eggs, as always. Bring to a rolling (strong) boil. Immediately take off the burner and cover with a tight fitting lid for 26 minutes. (I would use a large can of Crisco to hold the lid on tight.) At 26 minutes, pour out the hot water and immerse the eggs in cold water--I do that right in the same pan. If you peel the shells off within ten minutes, (I usually do it under running cold water) the egg shells will come off smoothly, and the eggs will be evenly cooked and perfect. Waiting longer than ten minutes causes the shells to gradually stick harder to the eggs. I am looking for a way to hardboil eggs in water in the microwave. Anybody have any luck?
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7-19-2006 @12:27AM Dicey Mikey said... Hello. I can appreciate these great ways to boil an egg, they are very good!! I usually use my method tho because it's faster and less mess. Believe it or not, in the microwave!

I cook only three at a time.

Take a pin a poke a small hole in the larger end of the eggs to to depressurise the egg. This keeps them from becoming little egg bombs. Set eggs on a folded paper towel in the microwave, to keep from rolling around.

Cook on high for EXACTLY 2 and 1/2 minutes. When the timer stops take the eggs out and let stand for about 15-20 minutes at room temp.

Peel, add a bit 'o salt and fresh pepper, ENJOY!

Mikey.


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3-18-2009 @11:38AM Kaila said... I have a Microwave Pasta Maker.. and I boil my eggs in that and it's worked fine for me so far. My eggs havent "exploded". I still have yet to find out how long, currently I do 10 minutes.
You'd be surprised what a Microwave can do when there is no stove to do it in!
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4-07-2009 @8:43PM Don said... Hi All,
Cold eggs will crack and leak out of their shells if put into boiling water.

If you want a FAST hard cooked egg...crack one into a lightly buttered egg cup or small dish and microwave for about 10 seconds. Let it rest for 10 seconds and repeat until done (about 30 seconds of cooking time. The egg will expand quite a bit, but it will deflate while cooling. Tastes just like a hard cooked egg, but doesn't look like one.

I'm making Easter eggs, but I'm coloring them after the shell has been removed. The colors will represent different flavor themes...beets, paprika, smoke etc.

After cooking 5 dozen eggs and becoming frustrated with the poor looking eggs, I tried something different.

About 5 minutes into the boil, I used tongs to remove one egg at a time. I then gently cracked the eggs and returned them to the boil. after about another 5 minutes, the eggs were submerged (6 at a time) into a bowl of cold water. The shell was the easiest to remove I've ever seen. Every egg was perfect.

All the best
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4-10-2009 @3:32PM purplemoon2008 said... Hi! There are so many comments to this thread! Amazing...just to boil an egg! My preferred method is the cold water method. I've never had luck adding eggs to boiling water (at least ONE would always crack). Even if the eggs were brought to room temperature first. I need to say that the cooking time WILL vary (no matter which method is used) depending on the size of the egg (if only adjusting by a minute or two). It's trial and error ~ until you find the right time for the particular size egg you're cooking.
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11-15-2006 @6:33AM Alex said... #8, I've used this method for years and it works fine with fridged eggs.

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11-15-2006 @7:35AM Alex said... #8, I've used this method for years and it works fine with fridged eggs.

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4-04-2010 @11:22PM Ron said... I use the same method. For those of you who may be confused, the boiling time I use is 10 minutes after the water starts to boil. I refer to this as a "hard boil".
I also use an ice bath after the boiling process. The eggs are perfectly cooked and do not stink nor are they green.
The ice bath stops the cooking process, I believe chefs call this "shocking". I have seen this used on vegetables.
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6-04-2007 @6:50PM sharol mallard said... How do you tell a hard boiled egg from a fresh egg?
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8-06-2007 @6:43PM patricia said... don't use the recipe in post 12 it doesn't work.
the eggs will explode. and could cause injury.
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9-01-2007 @11:23PM april said... number 12 DOES NOT WORK
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