Is there a foolproof way to make hard-boiled eggs?

[Jennifer Murphy]

We like to have a few hard-boiled eggs in the frig for light snacks or just to add a little protein to a mostly-carb meal.

All my life I'd had a hard time getting them to peel easily. A couple of years ago, I purchased this egg steamer:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B076SZPR76/

It works pretty well, but it is difficult to control the doneness. We like our eggs with the whites fully solid and the yolks just barely solid or a little runny.

A few months ago, I checked a few cooking websites about hard-boiled eggs. One site claimed that the perfect method was to get the water boiling and then add the eggs. It provided times for various levels of doneness. I have found that between 8 and 9 minutes is just right for us.

And if I put them in ice water right out of the boiling water, they peel easily most of the time. The only problem is that one or two eggs usually crack when I drop them in the boiling water. I've tried taking them out of the frig an hour or so ahead of time and soaking them in warm water for a few minutes, but some still crack and a few crack badly. The cracked eggs will sometimes leak into the water leaving a lopsided egg when peeled.

The steamer recommended poking a tiny hole on the fat end. That worked well in the steamer, but seem to make matters worse in the boiling water.

I was about to try the alternate method of putting the eggs in cold water, bringing it to a boil, and then removing it from the heat for a period of time.

So, is there a foolproof way to make eggs that peel easily and where I can control the doneness?

Thanks

 

[dragnlaw]

Ahhh, little grasshopper, you have asked the impossible question to answer.

You will get as many answers as responders.

 

[dragnlaw]

I have done many many methods. At the moment my favourite is Chef John's.

how chef john hard boils eggs

But I also puncture a hole in the FAT end (the air pocket end).

Plus another trick that usually works for me but not 100% is from (brain bubble - can't remember her name, British Chef) take your egg carton and turn it on its side the night before you intend to boil.
This really (usually) works - yolks are centred! WOW!

try it

 

[Andy M.]

There are many people who ill offer their fool-proof method. Some will work, some won't.

I will post the method I have been using for several years because when I tried it, it was perfect. it has produced perfect, easy to peel hard boiled eggs every time I make them.

Bring three quarts of water to a boil. Carefully lower the eggs into the pot and continue to boil for 30 seconds. Cover tightly, reduce heat to low (water should maintain a bare simmer), and continue cooking for 11 minutes.

Serve immediately if serving hot.

If serving cold, immediately place eggs in bowl of ice water and allow to cool for at least 15 minutes before peeling.

To peel, first gently tap hard-boiled eggs all over to thoroughly crack the shell, then remove shell under a thin stream of running water. (The water helps get under the shell and lift it off the egg.)



After reading the contributions here you may choose to try one or more of the recipes. I think you should. Make sure you try this one. Because you boil a lot of eggs, it will change your life.

 

[dragnlaw]

PS.... and most important

do NOT and I repeat do NOT try to hard boil farm fresh eggs.

I've raised chickens and sold eggs, as have others here, and I'm sure all of them will agree

Your eggs need to be minimum 2 weeks old and preferably older, which they generally are when you get them from the grocers.

otherwise you will not be able to peel them cleanly.

walk lightly on the rice paper, grasshopper

 

[taxlady]

To keep eggs from cracking when boiling them, I lower them gently and salt the water, a lot. I'm not sure how that works, but it seems to repair the cracks.

I have used various methods in the past that worked fairly well, but my current favourite method is steaming. Here's a short video from Serious Eats, explaining why it works. Here's a link to an article with more info, if the the video piques your interest. How to Make Perfect Hard-Boiled Eggs | The Food Lab

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFgKM2_Hasg

 

[larry_stewart]

PS.... and most important

do NOT and I repeat do NOT try to hard boil farm fresh eggs.

I've raised chickens and sold eggs, as have others here, and I'm sure all of them will agree

Your eggs need to be minimum 2 weeks old and preferably older, which they generally are when you get them from the grocers.

otherwise you will not be able to peel them cleanly.

walk lightly on the rice paper, grasshopper

I also know this 1st hand.
Have had chickens the past 10 + years, and fresh eggs almost always are an issue to peel cleanly .
I remember when we first got chickens, had loads of eggs, and my wife volunteered to make and bring deviled eggs to a pot luck. Boy was she sorry. After having to make 2X the eggs we needed, peeling the, stuffing .... The only one who ate them at the party was her and my mom. She never made them again.

 

[Sir_Loin_of_Beef]

I have been using the Emeril LaGasbag method since I first heard him talk about it on his TV show:

Put eggs in pot and cover with water by 2 inches.
Bring to a boil and allow to boil for 2 minutes.
Remove from heat, cover, and allow to sit for 10 minutes.
Shock in cold water to stop the cooking process.

 

[Kaneohegirlinaz]

Maybe not foolproof, but this is how I do it:
Place Eggs into a pot
Fill with just enough water to cover the Eggs
Cover and bring to a bare boil
Remove from the stove and leave the lid on for 13 minutes
Plunge the Eggs into an Ice Bath

Now, the easy peel part does not allows work out for me,
but as others have mentioned, the Eggs need to be
on the old side for the beautiful reveal.

Well dang it!
Now I want Deviled Eggs .... aahhhhh, Monday is Memorial Day,
the official opening day of Grilling Season!!!!

 

[dragnlaw]

LOL... well if you read over the posts and calculate all the timing (and no, personally did not add or subtract)

Everyone seems to be doing it the same way. Plus or minus a minute or two.

I think every one will agree - pay attention to which ever timing you choose - and don't leave the kitchen ....=

 

[Kaneohegirlinaz]

LOL... well if you read over the posts and calculate all the timing (and no, personally did not add or subtract)

Everyone seems to be doing it the same way. Plus or minus a minute or two.

I think every one will agree - pay attention to which ever timing you choose - and don't leave the kitchen ....=

+1

In the past, I put the pot on the stovetop, forgot about it until I heard the water boiling violently ... grabbed it off the fire and just left it there to cool on it's own.

WRONG!

I had the ugliest looking innards. That horrible green ring around the yolks and it was just a dry as the Sahara Desert! Not appealing at all.

 

[Cooking Goddess]

...It works pretty well, but it is difficult to control the doneness. We like our eggs with the whites fully solid and the yolks just barely solid or a little runny.

A few months ago, I checked a few cooking websites about hard-boiled eggs. One site claimed that the perfect method was to get the water boiling and then add the eggs. It provided times for various levels of doneness. I have found that between 8 and 9 minutes is just right for us.

And if I put them in ice water right out of the boiling water, they peel easily most of the time. The only problem is that one or two eggs usually crack when I drop them in the boiling water....So, is there a foolproof way to make eggs that peel easily and where I can control the doneness?

Thanks

Hi Jennifer! Welcome to DC. I have to say I love your profile pic. Snoopy rules!

As dragnlaw said, there are as many answers as there will be posts. Or almost as many. If you have lots of time to waste, I believe this was the most recent discussion of hard cooked eggs before your query. The first post has links to a few previous discussions. So much reading! However, the method I found successful, and verified that it wasn't a fluke by Andy also having good luck with it, is the article I linked to the Serious Eats article detailing the "cold eggs into boiling water" method. I've found that I lessen the chance for an egg cracking when hitting the hot water by 1) examining the shell carefully for small weak spots or surface "cracks" and 2) using a kitchen spider/bamboo strainer to lower the eggs gently into the pan. If one slips past inspection and cracks, it does as soon as it hits the water. I'll remove that egg quickly, pop it shell and all into Tupperware, and make sure I use it within a day for something that needs liquid egg - baking something or making scrambled eggs. I make sure I have extra raw eggs on deck to replace any cracked egg.

In the event a shell is being difficult and refuses to come off easily, dragnlaw once made a suggestion that I find works. Get a tiny bit of shell off the egg, then slip the bowl of a small spoon between the shell and the egg. Gently glide the spoon bowl along the egg, lifting the shell. I usually do this while holding the egg underwater in the cooling bowl. Fingers get pretty chilly, but the egg looks nice. Priorities!

 

[taxlady]

Am I the only person who prefers to steam the eggs? No fancy machine, just a leaf style steamer in a pot with a bit of water, on the stove top.

 

[pepperhead212]

I still steam them, in the Instant Pot, but before I discovered that method (my favorite, creating very easily peeled eggs), steaming was my favorite way, and I used to do it in my bamboo steamers - the best way I found for steaming, especially a large number of eggs.

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

For extra large eggs from the supermarket, at upper Peninsula MI. elevation, this method produces the eggs you describe every time for me. And they are east to peel.

Remove eggs from the fridge and gently place in sauce pot. Completely cover with water. Turn stove to medium-high setting. Bring to a light boil. Just when the water stats boiling, set timer for 4 minutes. For perfect soft boiled eggs, with no runny egg whites, I time for 2 minutes, thirty seven seconds. I really time it that closely.When your timer goes off, pour water from the pan, and shake to crack egg shells. Fill pan with cold water and let sit for 5 minutes. The shells normally peel easily.
For perfect, crack-free eggs every time (as for Easter eggs), fill pot with eggs. Cover in cold water. Heat over medium-high heat until the water begins to boil. Reduce heat until the water no longer boils. Cook for 8 minutes.

Boiling water can jostle the eggs around, cracking the occasional shell,. Water doesn't boil until 212' F. The egg whites begin setting at 166' or so. The yoks set soon after.

Give this method a try. It works every time for me.

If you have the opportunity, try hard, or runny yolk eggs cooked in an egg poaching pan - https://www.amazon.com/Egg-Poacher-Pan-Stainless-Induction/dp/B07ZPGX65H. I spread salted butter on the inside of the poaching cups, and season the tops with S & P. The eggs sit in melted butter and steam to perfection. They are also prime for making into Eggs Benedict, or deviled eggs.

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North

 

[GotGarlic]

The best method I've found is using the Instant Pot. Set on pressure cook for four minutes, let them rest for four more minutes, then remove to a bowl of ice water until cool. Pour the water out and shake the bowl to crack the eggs. The shells practically fall off.

 

[Just Cooking]

GG. I agree. My IP works better than any method I'd tried, over the years.

Ross

 

[Cooking Goddess]

But when you don't have (and don't intend to buy) an Instant Pot, this method works pretty darned good.

 

[Roll_Bones]

I made deviled eggs last night. Put cold eggs into cold water and then turned the heat to high. Once water was at a full boil I shut off the burner covered and waited 15 minutes. Then directly into cold water until I could easily handle them.
One of the worst boiled egg attempts ever. I was making deviled eggs so I wanted perfection. My boiled eggs were far from perfection.
They came out good in the end as the whites were not to visible with the fillings and parsley sprinkled on top.
To be honest. I never expect perfect as it evades me every single time.
Don't get me wrong. I get lucky sometimes and have an easy time peeling all I boiled. And I have found my wife is much more patient than I am when it comes to peeling them.

 

[Sir_Loin_of_Beef]

You want easy to peel eggs? Check the Best Buy date on the end of the carton. The closer they are to that date, the easier they are to peel. And remember, the USDA says that eggs are still usable 9 weeks, yes weeks, after their best by date.