ISO help/tips with hard-boiled eggs

[SEEING-TO-BELIEVE]

hello
i followed a recipe so that.. the eggs are taken out of the fridge and i wait 20 minutes until they are not cold..
then i bring with water to a vigorous boiling point and turn off the heat.. then i close the lit and wait 8-10 minutes...

then i strain and put in cold water......

my questions are..
1.. if i put the eggs in water from the tap.. will that shorten the amount of time before starting to heat the water? can i put in in tap water for 5 minutes instead of 20 minutes outside the fridge?
2.. another recipe says that i need to leave in the hhot water 17 minutes instead 8-10 minutes.. what do you think is the best way? the short or long time?

thanks for helping me and others understand it better..

 

[pepperhead212]

Ever since I found the method for making hard boiled eggs in the Instant Pot, I've been doing that, and a lot of others here have also - steam 5 min, rest 5 min, before releasing the pressure, then transfer to an ice water bath. Whatever method you settle on, this is something you should end it with - it helps get the shell separate from the egg white.

 

[Andy M.]

The method I use is to boil the water then add the eggs to the boiling water. Bring the water back to a boil then simmer for 12 minutes. Remove to ice water for at least 15 minutes.

 

[SEEING-TO-BELIEVE]

Ever since I found the method for making hard boiled eggs in the Instant Pot, I've been doing that, and a lot of others here have also - steam 5 min, rest 5 min, before releasing the pressure, then transfer to an ice water bath. Whatever method you settle on, this is something you should end it with - it helps get the shell separate from the egg white.

people don't usually have pressure cooker over here or the space needed for it.. i'm asking you because i want to fix the blog post that i wrote as needed....

 

[SEEING-TO-BELIEVE]

thanks,
i'm still interested to know how to make it without putting the eggs in boiling water but gradually heating them..

 

[Sir_Loin_of_Beef]

I've been told that you can "hard boil" an egg in the mitcrowave if you put a pin hole in the end of the sheel first, but I have never tried it, and if I did I woul make sure that the entire egg was covered because it still might explode.

I use Emeril Lagasbag's recipe; Put egg in water in a pan, bring to a boil. boil 3 minutes, remove from heat and cover pan. Wait 10 minutes. I have heard a multitude of variations of this method, and every one of them worked.

 

[medtran49]

I start the eggs cold from the refrigerator in a pan just big enough to hold them, cover with cool tap water, cover pan, bring to a boil over high heat, pull off heat when water comes to a full boil, wait anywhere from 8-12 minutes depending on how you want eggs cooked i.e. soft to hard. Drain hot water, fill pan with cool water, drain, shake the pan just enough to crack shells lightly fill with cool tap water and allow to cool. This is for large eggs.

There is no green rim and no bad smell ever doing it this way. They usually peel pretty well too, though I do gently tap the shells all around on the side of the sink, then either peel them in the pan full of water or under a slow running stream as the water will help separate the shell from the egg.

This method is from Sara Moulton who adapted it from her former mentor's (Julia Child) method.

 

[dcSaute]

there is a long long long list of "parameters" that affect 'how to boil an egg'
there is one method that eliminates all the unknowns, but one.
(actually at the second level,,,, two - the size of the egg...)

get water to boiling.
remove egg from refrigerator.
poke hole in big end.
lower into boiling water - use a pot size/heat that rapidly i.e. less than 60 seconds - gets the pot at a boil again.
time the boil.

remove from boiling water.
for hard boiled / cooked eggs you want to peel, _immediately_ plunge into ice water - lots of ice!
for peeling, allow to cool in ice water for minimum 40 minutes.

since water boils at the same temperature (+/- for altitude...)
the only variable left is the starting temperature of the egg (...and the boil recovery time...)
being in a more food advanced nation, it's likely you do not keep eggs in the refrigerator . . . so timing must be adjusted.

for us, eggs - starting stored at 40'F/4.5'C
... soft boiled on toast. . . 4 mins 45 seconds
... hard boiled into ice water... 14 minutes
and yadda yadda yadda extraordinaire . . .
depends on personal preference to the definition of each . . .

' . . . poke a hole . . .' in the big end . . .
there is an air sac at the big end of an egg.
poking a hole in the big end allows the expanding air (when plunked into boiling water) to escape -
thus not causing any preexisting crack/weakness in the egg shell to burst -
allowing egg white to escape and foam up the water.
no, poking a hole does not do any of the other internet "idiot ideas" to "happen"

not sure why the fixation on starting cold/warm - it is unpredictably - parameter include the pot material, the heat source, the amount of water, the surface area to volume ratio . . . on and on and uncontrollably on. it is the same issue with 'put into boiling water for x minutes, turn off and wait y minutes' - that works _only_ if you have the same pot, same size, same amount of water, etc etc etc.

you cannot fool Mother Nature or the laws of thermodynamics.

 

[taxlady]

@dcSaute, one less variable is one of the reasons I like to steam eggs. The temperature of the water does not drop when you put the eggs into the steamer.

 

[Texmex]

I finally found what is the best method to boil eggs for me so that they can be peeled easily. And that is to steam them. I generally use extra large eggs and I steam them for 18 minutes and then put the pot in the sink and fill it with ice. Easiest to peel that way.

 

[taxlady]

I steam large eggs for about 12 minutes for hard cooked.

 

[dragnlaw]

my questions are..
1.. if i put the eggs in water from the tap.. will that shorten the amount of time before starting to heat the water?

Are you talking about using hot water or cold water?

can i put in in tap water for 5 minutes instead of 20 minutes outside the fridge?

It depends on the temperature of your room. and why you are doing this - to bring the eggs to room temperature?

2.. another recipe says that i need to leave in the hhot water 17 minutes instead 8-10 minutes.. what do you think is the best way? the short or long time?

As you can see from the answers before this, everyone has a different method.

I use an egg cooker to hard boil my eggs. But when I use a pot & water I have also done them various ways.

a) Eggs directly into pot, covered by about 1 inch of tap water.
b) Lowering eggs into boiling water.

With either method the results are exactly the same... a hard boiled egg.
I think you will notice that many say the same thing in that once the water is boiling, turn it down to a simmer; and cooling in cold water.
Honestly, the only way your are going to be able to find your own perfect way is to try them all and see which one works for you.

LOL but I would not go running out to buy an Instant Pot just to do eggs! LOL