Perfect Eggs (Hard & Soft Boiled)

PERFECT EGGS (HARD & SOFT BOILED)

4/1/2020

Perfect Eggs (Hard Boiled & Soft Boiled)

Eight Dozen Hard Boiled Eggs. When I say that we love hard boiled eggs, I'm not kidding. Even when I'm making them for deviled eggs, homemade potato salad, or to slice up for a fresh garden salad, my batch always seems to mysteriously get smaller every time I turn around!

The challenge has always been to have the perfect hard boiled egg that is EASY to peel - and I believe that we have found the solution. Eight dozen of these beauties - and EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM peeled like a dream, and every yolk was perfectly cooked and creamy - not dry and crumbly.

We have found the answer, and we will share! You can thank me later!

Steaming Hard Boiled & Soft Boiled Eggs

In the past I have tried every single method out there - starting with cold water, starting with boiling water, baking in the oven in muffin tins, with vinegar, with salt, with baking soda. I think I've tried just about every method - but they never CONSISTENTLY were perfectly cooked and easy to peel.

I'm sure that my kids looked at peeling hard boiled eggs as the ultimate punishment - but they never complained - they love hard boiled eggs, deviled eggs - any way of eating these healthy treats always seemed to be worth the time and painful effort!

Perfect Hard Boiled Eggs - Easy to Peel

There is a science to it - bottom line. And once we had that figured out, the rest is history! We now have proof that this method works - ninety-six times to be exact! Each egg was absolutely perfect in every way - fully cooked with no green tinges, a perfectly golden yolk that was creamy and not dry, each one easy to peel with no pock marks or dimples on the bottom. Perfection!

And you are most welcome! Consider it my Easter gift to you all!

PERFECT EGGS: HARD BOILED & SOFT BOILED (EASY-PEEL)

Perfect hard boiled eggs that peel like a dream – perfect EVERY.SINGLE.TIME and every yolk perfectly cooked and creamy – not dry and crumbly. We have found the answer, and we will share!

INGREDIENTS:
Large Eggs (NOT Extra Large Eggs)
Water

EQUIPMENT:
Heavy Saucepan, Pasta Pot or Dutch Oven
Steamer Insert or Pasta Pot Insert

HOW I MAKE THESE:

HARD BOILED EGGS:

In a heavy saucepan, pasta pot or Dutch oven, bring one inch of water to a rolling boil over high heat.
Be sure to use large eggs that have no cracks and are cold from the refrigerator.
Carefully place your eggs in a single layer into the steamer basket (you can use a spoon or tongs to gently place the eggs in the basket or insert). It does not matter if the eggs are above the water or partially submerged. You can use this method for fewer than six eggs or more than six eggs without altering the timing – but make sure that your steamer basket is large enough to hold the eggs in a single layer.
Cover, reduce heat to medium-low and cook eggs for exactly 14 minutes. The water should maintain a slight simmer.
When the eggs are almost finished cooking, combine 4 cups of ice cubes and 4 cups of cold water in a large bowl. Using tongs or a spoon, transfer the cooked eggs to the ice bath; let sit for 15 minutes.
Peel before using, but you don’t need to peel the eggs right away. They can be stored in their shells and peeled when needed.

SOFT BOILED EGGS:

In a heavy saucepan, bring one inch of water to a gentle simmer over high heat.
Be sure to use large eggs that have no cracks and are cold from the refrigerator.
Carefully place your eggs in a single layer into the steamer basket (you can use a spoon or tongs to gently place the eggs in the basket or insert). It does not matter if the eggs are above the water or partially submerged. You can use this method for fewer than six eggs or more than six eggs without altering the timing – but make sure that your steamer basket is large enough to hold the eggs in a single layer.
Cover, reduce heat to medium-low and cook eggs for exactly 6 minutes. The water should maintain a slight simmer.
Remove eggs from pan with slotted spoon and serve immediately.

EASY PEELING!
Crack the egg shells lightly, and peel under cold running water – you will be AMAZED and how easily the peel comes off!

EVEN EASIER PEELING!
If you are feeling brave, this is another novel approach to peeling that is so efficient that the shells slip right off! You can easily peel six eggs in less than a minute! Instead of preparing the ice bath in a bowl, use a hard plastic container with a tight-fitting lid. Once the eggs are chilled, pour off half the water. Reseal the lid, and shake the container vigorously using a vertical motion (the eggs will hit the top of the container) until the shells are cracked all over, about 20 shakes. Peel, rinse, and use as desired!

BUT WHY DOES THIS WORK?
THE SCIENCE BEHIND IT ALL

BLAME THE MEMBRANE.
Conventional wisdom is that fresh eggs are harder to peel than older eggs – but that really is not the case unless you are using eggs that you just plucked out from under a laying hen – and let’s face it, how many of us are doing that?

Most cooks have also assumed that when an egg is difficult to peel, it’s because the shell is sticking to the egg white. But it’s the membrane between the shell and the egg white that really is the problem. When an egg is very fresh or when it’s cooked slowly, the proteins in the egg white bond to the membrane, and the membrane cements itself to the egg white and is impossible to peel away. The solution: plunge the eggs directly into hot steam, which causes the egg white proteins to shrink, reducing their ability to bond with the membrane. In rapidly boiling water or steam, the exterior of an egg will cook much faster than the center.

STEAMING IS THE ANSWER.
Starting eggs in cold water GREATLY increases the chances that the shell will stick to the egg and create divots when you try to peel. Steaming is the better method than boiling, because adding eggs to a pot of boiling water lowers the temperature of the water, making it hard to nail down a precise cooking time that will give you dependable results time after time. Eggs that steam in a steamer basket don’t touch the water, which means they don’t lower the water temperature, so the same cooking time produces consistently perfect results. AND steaming is faster because there’s less water to bring to a boil!

Steaming eggs cooks them more gently than boiling, making them less likely to crack or explode, and less likely to turn rubbery.

With steam, there's no need to lower the heat—steam's relatively lower density means that steamed eggs actually cook a little more gently than boiled eggs. The gentleness of steam and the ability to load up a steamer insert and lower it gently into a pot also has the advantage of reducing your chances of shells cracking and whites leaking out.

Finally, steaming your eggs has the advantage of being the fastest method around: instead of waiting for a pot of water to come to a boil, all you need to do it boil a half inch of water. Throw your steamer insert in, cover the pot, set your timer, and you've got perfectly cooked eggs.

OLD vs. YOUNG EGGS
The age of an egg does make a difference, but only when the eggs are super fresh: freshly laid eggs are more likely to stick to the shell. In the U.S., eggs can sit for up to 30 days before being packaged, and the sell-by date can be a further 30 days after that, which means that most likely, the eggs you're getting at the supermarket are old enough that no further aging at home should be necessary. Still, it certainly doesn't hurt to look for a package with the closest expiration date.

If you're buying your eggs direct from the farmer or you keep a couple hens out back, then you may want to let your eggs sit around for a couple of weeks before using them for boiling.

SHOCK THOSE EGGS!
Shocking in ice water can help remove the divot in a boiled egg. Eggs that are immediately shocked in ice water after cooking come out full-figured and smooth – those that are allowed to cool naturally will usually have dimples.

My theory? When you pull the hot egg out from the pot, the yolk and white have yet to firm up completely (you can feel this when you try to peel a hot-from-the-pot egg compared to an egg that has rested or cooled a bit – they feel a bit “jiggily” until they cool). By shocking it, you very rapidly cause the steam that has built up inside that air pocket to convert to a few drops of water. The still-malleable boiled egg moves in to fill its place.

Let the egg cool slowly, on the other hand, and by the time that steam has cooled sufficiently, the egg is already basically set in its shape. Instead of the egg moving in to fill that space, air is drawn in through the egg shell

Originally posted March 2016, revised and reposted April 2020.

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