Perfect hard boiled egg

(Full Metal KETO AF) #41

So many egg cooking styles!

I have two methods, both involve room temperature eggs that have slightly runny whites from not being too fresh. When eggs get “aged” like this they have lost some of their water through the porous shell and have a bubble of sulphuric gas starting to build up. This you have likely seen as the fat end of the hard boiled egg having a flat spot on top.

1 sous vide works great. I have a tall Asian noodle strainer like they use in ramen shops, I get my water up to temperature, load the strainer up and put it in the water. This keeps eggs from moving around and bumping into each other and cracking.

2 Bring a pot of water to boiling, lower the eggs in and time for 11 minutes simmering.

Cold tap water run into the pot till it’s cool, I never bother with ice because I don’t have freezer space for it. If you want to crack them right away I agree with the crack and put back in the water for a minute method. Also start at the top of the egg where that bubble lives. I prefer to leave them in the shell and put them back into an egg carton. I think they stay fresh longer in their shell.

(Susan) #42

Personally I’ve just about given up and started buying the Eggland boiled & peeled eggs in a bag…pricey, but they always taste good and I don’t end up throwing them away. Maybe one day I’ll try again, but for now this works for me.

#43

This is how I’ve started doing it and it’s turned out well. Easy to peel, no green and not overcooked. I used about 5/10 setting on the burner to heat the eggs. As soon as I hear the lid popping slightly I turn it off and set it aside.

(Steve) #44

Steamed Eggs
I have tried just about every method for hard boiling eggs, boiling, baking, room temperature, sous vide, instant pot, crockpot, slow cooking, new eggs and old eggs.
Steaming in my opinion is the very best foolproof way.

Setup: Pot with an 1” of water, steaming basket and lid.
Get your steamer basket up to steam.
Add eggs
Set the timer for 9-13 minutes, (13 for hard boiled.)
Rest the hot eggs in ice water for a few minutes.
They will peel easily, yolks will be creamy and the whites won’t be rubbery.

If anyone has a better method than steaming please share.

(Thurston ) #45

Eggs on sale today .77 a dzn. Steam them for 13-14minutes, I put a half cup white vinegar in the water, Then into an ice bath. Comes out perfectly. I roll the eggs before peeling and the shells pop right off.

Then I microwave the shell for a minute so they crush easily and they go in the compost bin with my coffee grounds.

Good luck.

(FRANK) #46

Here is a no-brainer for me: https://www.amazon.com/Dash-Rapid-Egg-Cooker-Scrambled/dp/B00DDXYC6O

Makes perfect easy to peal eggs every time.

#47

We just boil them. I never figured out what’s wrong with the green stuff, they are just the same to me, it’s too bad I don’t like hard boiled eggs very much.
I simply boil my eggs, for about 8, maybe 10 minutes after the water boils (but I put them into the cold water)? It varies, one should figure out what works. As I don’t boil them for very long, they don’t become green but I want soft yolks if possible and that’s tricky. My SO says leaving the eggs in the hot water when they aren’t quite hard makes the yolk hard but not the white, it’s opposite what we prefers. Maybe I give up and just make poached eggs or soft-boiled eggs to get my ideal yolks (and continue eating my lovely rubbery whites with way less yolks and using the hard yolks in recipes).
Peeling is easier if we put the eggs into cold water soon. I don’t bother with ice, normal water from the fridge is enough. I almost never use fresh eggs, I’ve read several times fresh eggs are hard to peel. Sometimes old eggs are hard to peel too but the cold water makes such cases very rare. Rolling, cracking never worked for me, the eggs just broke apart or nothing happened (I believe those are great methods for others but I can’t get the hang of it, it seems). But I don’t need such tricks since I’ve heard about cold/icy water :slight_smile: It changed my life, I eat lots of eggs, boiling 30-40 eggs happens very often in my household. In a cauldron, those are the green eggs, we have not so much control in that case but it doesn’t matter anyway. And such “overcooked” eggs usually are easy to peel even without cold water. My ideal not quite hard boiled eggs are harder to peel even using cold water as the whites aren’t firm enough (okay, it’s not ideal then, only the yolks are ideal).

I never tried to steam eggs, I don’t have tools for it but maybe I should try somehow. Normal hard boiled eggs are boring but easy and I need to eat lots of eggs…

(Jennibc) #48

Bring water to a boil. Using a slotted spoon, gently put each egg in boiling water. boil for time that matches your desired level of firmness - we do 15 minutes. Place eggs in ice bath for a minute. Peel. Perfect every time. Putting the eggs in boiling water contracts that that white film so it doesn’t stick to the egg and the peel off part of the white when you are removing the shell.

#49

I have not read this thread, so apologies if I’ve repeated anything.

Here’s what I do: I steam the eggs starting with room temperature eggs, lowering them in the stainless steel basket over 1" of boiling, distilled water. (Less hard water film build-up) Cover and set a timer.

I steam them for 13 to 15 minutes and plunge them into cold water, sometimes with ice, sometimes just under a cold water stream. (I’m still experimenting with that.)

I shake them gently up and down 40 times, to crack the shells, 6 or 7 at a time in a 7 cup glass Pyrex dish with the included plastic lid. (No Water in the dish) I shake them 10 shakes each time, then rotate the dish 45 degrees between each 10 shaking movements. (In other words, 10 shakes each-- at Noon, 3 O’clock, 6 O’clock and 9 O’clock.) Just to help with cracking evenly and consistently.

I’ll begin the peeling process soon after shocking them with the cold water…say…5 minutes or so after steaming. I do a batch of 6 or so while the others are in the cold water bath, then I just grab another batch from the water, til they’re all done.

Stubborn ones get peeled under running water. Sometimes I get one, or two out of a batch of 2 dozen.

I pickle them for several days before using them, and always keep them refrigerated. (The longer the better.) I most often just dump a jar of hot Jalapeno slices WITH the brine as the pickling medium, topping off with White Vinegar as needed to completely cover the eggs. I can get 19 or 20 eggs in a Half-Gallon Mason Jar, with the Jalapeno’s and juice…maybe even 21.

BUT I HAVE A QUESTION about my own process. (Weird, I know.) :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

I’d like to get 2 consecutive batches of pickled eggs out of the same pickling brine. I know I could ummmm…“Pasteurize” the brine and just re-use the brine and hot peppers. But I’m lazy and want to just dump in a new batch of eggs one more time. PLUS if I heat the pickles and brine to a temperature high enough to kill any potential microscopic goobers, it might make the peppers all wierd. Sometimes, I eat some peppers when I pull out a delicious, not to mention cheap, Cackleberry.

(Don B.) #50

I was tempted to buy the egg cooker, something like the one mentioned somewhere in comments above.

Then I came across an article describing how to boil eggs in many different kitchen appliances. Basically, if you have a gadget that produces heat, you can boil (or bake) eggs in it.

Let me see if I can find the article.

EDIT - here is the article https://www.basenjimom.com/make-hard-boiled-eggs/

(Hyperbole- best thing in the universe!) #51

I’ve seen somewhere someone making eggs in an electric kettle. And my korean friend makes tea eggs in her… Instant Pot? It is the Asian version that came first. Basically a pimped out rice cooker that is too complicated for me to learn how to use. Maybe one day.

Any way… I agree that any hot water system can hardboil eggs. But I cannot stress enough how easy the specific egg cookers are. Tiny cup of water in the bottom. eggs in the rack, one tier or two. Push button. No worrying about time or cold water start vs hot water start. Push button. Ding! Perfect eggs. It might be the only truely single use appliance I have. Rice cookers do more than cook rice even, so that doesn’t count as single use. Especially since I only use it to cook rice for guests.

(Marianne) #52

You’re not alone; I have a very hard time peeling eggs in spite of trying different methods. Not many things more frustrating.

(GINA ) #53

I use the 5 minute at pressure, 5 minute release Instant Pot method too. Never a problem with peeling, even very fresh eggs. I keep hens and they can go from the coop to the IP and still no trouble getting the shells off. In fact, sometimes they have half-peeled themselves by the time I take the lid off.

The green ring means you have cooked them too long.

(Marianne) #54

You are living my dream. I would love some chickens. I bet it’s very satisfying to have fresh, organic eggs.

:cry:

(GINA ) #55

It is and I love them, but it really isn’t all sunshine and roses. They poop all the time (even in their sleep) and it has to be cleaned up. If left to their own devices, they will destroy any garden, yard, flower bed or green patch you have. They are low on the food chain and are susceptible to predators (I came home earlier this month after a lovely weekend away to find two hens with their heads chewed off and their guts ripped out by racoons).

They are worth it to me, but it isn’t all tossing lettuce scraps and gathering eggs in the sunshine.

(Brian) #56

I’m not sure the perfect egg recipe in one place will be the perfect egg recipe someplace else.

The reason I say this…

I make hard boiled eggs all the time at home. Elevation about 2,000 ft, Tennessee Cumberland Plateau. Bring water to a boil, place eggs in boiling water, 14 minutes, out into ice water bath. Perfect hard boiled eggs.

Visiting son in Scottsdale, AZ. About 2,000 ft elevation. Exactly the same as above and the eggs aren’t done. Takes more like 16 to 17 minutes here.

Not sure what it is. Elevation is quite close. Water is still water. Time is still time. Electric cooktops at both places. Might be I’m missing something important. But I’ve never quite figured it out.

(Just sharin’.)

(Don B.) #57

So it must be the eggs that make the difference? :thinking:

(Brian) #58

Hmmm… now that one I didn’t think of. Would swamp eggs be of a different makeup than desert eggs? Or would overall humidity in the storage area the eggs are kept in before boiling significantly affect how long an egg takes to cook? Interesting… though I have no idea how I’d nail this one down. :slight_smile:

(PJ) #59

Instant Pot makes absolutely perfect eggs, and you can modify time to make them precisely as done as you want them. Plus you can do a ton at once if you like. Once I discovered this I have never made them any other way. :slight_smile:

PJ

(Paulene ) #60

My brother told us the other day that he boils his eggs in the electric kettle when he is at work (self employed, works alone - maybe this is why😊). Says they come out nice and soft- boiled.
Hubby tries it one morning during the week BUT forgets that he put eggs in the kettle.
3rd child subsequently makes numerous cups of tea without noticing 4 eggs in the kettle.
Hubby discovers very hard boiled eggs in kettle that evening. Eats them anyway. :rofl: