Perfect hard-boiled eggs - every time.

[zwiller]

My wife has one of those, or at least an earlier version. We've had it for 20+ years. That's where I got the idea to steam eggs. It worked great when we first got it, but over time, the egg shells cracked more when piercing the eggs with the device that was included. And the eggs became harder to peel. We stopped using it.

I'll see if I can find it in the cabinet and post a picture.

Do you recall if the yolks were legit centered? That's about the only reason I am looking at one.

 

[KBFlyer]

Speaking of gadgets I tried a sous vide eggs benedict the other day. Egg was done perfectly, my store bought Hollandaise sauce not so much lol but it did fit into my experiment of how eggs are done at different temperatures.

 

[cecil]

After going nuts reading every easy-peel hard-boiled egg solution ever dreamed up by humankind, I came up with this, and it works every time I have tried it, no matter the source, pedigree, or age of the eggs.

I love hard boiled eggs.

Use a large pot (large because you do not want it to take long for the water to come back up to temperature after you add the eggs) of salted water (I just use a 3-finger pinch) that will generously cover the eggs by an inch at least. Heat the water until "right before the boil" and add your eggs with a spoon so they do not crack when they hit the bottom of the pot. Let the water come back to a boil and cook 9-minutes (cook time will vary depending on your altitude). Then remove the eggs to a bowl of water in the sink with cool tap water running over them for at least 15-minutes and then refrigerate.

You will know that you got things just right when you see small streams of bubbles rising up from your eggs right after you add them to the water. Some of the eggs might crack slightly but that is OK - they may not look perfect when finished but will still be cooked perfect and be easy to peel. Once you get your water temperature technique down, you will get very few cracked eggs.

This is an egg from a batch I cooked yesterday for some red potato salad. I always add a few extra to the pot to eat, and this one cracked, so I used it for this photo - about 10-minutes after placing in the bowl of running water in the sink - still warm and perfectly delicious! I peeled it extra careful to demonstrate how easy they are to peel when using this cooking method.

View attachment 671884

This is an egg that sat in the fridge for a few hours - peeled perfect.

View attachment 671885

And this is that same egg cut in half to show the perfectly cooked yolk (no green outside of yolk that is the result of overcooking).

View attachment 671886

A pinch of salt and down the hatch - delicious.

My theory is that placing the eggs in almost boiling water shocks that membrane between the shell and the egg making them peel clean and easy. Eggs added to full boiling water often crack badly and while they may not look perfect, they still peel easy and taste great.

Give the cook technique a try and let me know your results.

After I boil my eggs I pour out the hot water and add cold tap water and ice cubes. let sit a couple of minutes. Works every time

 

[Retired Spook]

In my experience, the cold water bath only serve to stop the eggs from cooking - the longer the eggs cook the more the yolks turn green on the outside making them look nasty, in my opinion.

I remain convinced, after trying every scheme on Google, that the shock of adding the eggs to almost boiling water is what makes the membrane between the shell and egg detach from both the shell and egg, and that is what makes the eggs easy to peel - every time.

In my humble opinion.

 

[chopsaw]

Do you recall if the yolks were legit centered? That's about the only reason I am looking at one.

I've had some people swear by this. Buy your eggs to boil and leave them in the carton . The night before you want to cook them , flip them over 180 . Next day cook as you like . They say it centers the yolk . Never tried it myself .

 

[noboundaries]

Do you recall if the yolks were legit centered? That's about the only reason I am looking at one.

Well, we found it. Pics to post later. At the store now. I'll run a set thru the cooker tomorrow and see if the yolks are centered.

 

[noboundaries]

Here's my wife's egg cooker. Steams 7 large eggs. There's a cup for measuring water. It has a pin for poking the egg shells. Poached egg tray for 3 eggs. And two soft-boiled egg holders. It all fits inside the dome.

 

[DemonPit]

If you need a great hollandaise, just ask. I made enough hollandaise for eggs Benedict and for oyster Rockefeller over the course of 20+yrs.
Melted butter
Egg yolk
lemon juice
Double boiler
Wisk

 

[noboundaries]

Heresa couple I did in a pan today. Yolks definitely off centered. Dusted with a little Chicken Red Seasoning salt and topped with a dollop of creamed horseradish.

Tastes centered to me!

 

[Retired Spook]

Heresa couple I did in a pan today. Yolks definitely off centered. Dusted with a little Chicken Red Seasoning salt and topped with a dollop of creamed horseradish.

Tastes centered to me!

View attachment 672446
View attachment 672447

Looks awesome - now I'm hungry.

 

[zwiller]

Yolks definitely off centered.

They look pretty good to me. Centered might be the wrong word but looking to get the side portion a little more thicker. When we eat wife's deviled eggs it's a 2 handed affair as it's ready to fall apart before you can eat it. In fact, we often lose 1 or 2 as the wall is just gone.

BTW I went through a SERIOUS deviled eggs phase. Not into the amish or what I call grandma style with relish. My best to date was mayo, melted butter, salt and quite a bit of white pepper topped with NM red chili powder. Melted butter firms them up. Ok that's 2 guys rocking the horseradish now so gonna try that chopsaw sawhorseray

 

[chopsaw]

guys rocking the horseradish

I mix it right in the yolk mixture . A couple shakes of the Red hot Riplet seasoning on top .
Gonna need to make me some eggs today .

 

[KBFlyer]

Did you know not all eggs are created equal? Not me.

What Chickens Lay The Best Tasting Eggs

... Read more

chipperbirds.com

 

[gmc2003]

I like to substitute anchovies for the salt in deviled eggs. Makes them a little healthier.

Chris

 

[Retired Spook]

Did you know not all eggs are created equal? Not me.

What Chickens Lay The Best Tasting Eggs

... Read more

chipperbirds.com

If you want great tasting eggs, the chickens must eat lots of bugs, and superior quality feed - certainly not the cheapest feed a person can find at Walmart...

Great article!

 

[noboundaries]

Cuisinart hard boiled eggs. Steamed. No salt in the water. The directions say use distilled water, but our tap water tastes good and does not leave a scale buildup, so I used tap water.

They peeled very easily. Not a single stuck shell to the membrane. These eggs were store-bought yesterday.

I'm now convinced that the 12+ minutes of cooling under running tap water is the key. Our cold tap water is running at 73°-74°F this morning. It runs in the 50s in the winter.

Centered? Sidewalls thick enough? You decide if an egg cooker is worth it. Below are the 7 I cooked this morning in the Cuisinart egg cooker.

When these are gone, I'm gonna try steaming a dozen in the shrimp steamer, then cooling them in running water instead of ice water.

 

[Retired Spook]

Cuisinart hard boiled eggs. Steamed. No salt in the water. The directions say use distilled water, but our tap water tastes good and does not leave a scale buildup, so I used tap water.

They peeled very easily. Not a single stuck shell to the membrane. These eggs were store-bought yesterday.

I'm now convinced that the 12+ minutes of cooling under running tap water is the key. Our cold tap water is running at 73°-74°F this morning. It runs in the 50s in the winter.

Centered? Sidewalls thick enough? You decide if an egg cooker is worth it. Below are the 7 I cooked this morning in the Cuisinart egg cooker.

When these are gone, I'm gonna try steaming a dozen in the shrimp steamer, then cooling them in running water instead of ice water.


View attachment 672476

View attachment 672477

They actually look pretty good! Buy I am not running out to buy one

 

[noboundaries]

They actually look pretty good! Buy I am not running out to buy one

Yeah. The new version can handle 10 eggs, but that's still not enough for me. If I'm gonna peel eggs, I want to peel enough to last me and my wife all week. That's usually 18. If I can get 18 eggs to peel easily, I'll be in hard-boiled egg heaven. The egg cooker is going back in the cabinet.

Here's the 40+ year-old shrimp steamer I've used quite often in the past for 18-24 eggs. I place 1" water in the bottom in a hard boil, add the basket with the eggs, remove after 12-14 minutes, cool, peel. Now I'll dump the hot water and fill with running tap. I used to put the eggs in ice water.

If you lean the basket about 30° when filling with uncooked eggs, you can get the eggs to stand upright like the egg cooker.

 

[Retired Spook]

Yeah. The new version can handle 10 eggs, but that's still not enough for me. If I'm gonna peel eggs, I want to peel enough to last me and my wife all week. That's usually 18. If I can get 18 eggs to peel easily, I'll be in hard-boiled egg heaven. The egg cooker is going back in the cabinet.

Here's the 40+ year-old shrimp steamer I've used quite often in the past for 18-24 eggs. I place 1" water in the bottom in a hard boil, add the basket with the eggs, remove after 12-14 minutes, cool, peel. Now I'll dump the hot water and fill with running tap. I used to put the eggs in ice water.

If you lean the basket about 30° when filling with uncooked eggs, you can get the eggs to stand upright like the egg cooker.


View attachment 672486

I am looking forward to your results.

 

[Retired Spook]

Gourmet egg salad by RS

1-dozen perfect hard boiled eggs (it's a deep container) - yolks separated and crumbled / whites diced - with chopped celery, mayonnaise, kosher salt and ground black pepper.

Deeeelicious...