Hello, and welcome to another edition of The Accident Prone Gourmet, the cooking show that slices, dices and stirs in a few mices.
Today we are going to tell you how to make hard boiled eggs.
First, gently place eggs in a small pot. Gently cover with water and bring to a boil. Then gently turn off the stove, put a lid on it, and sit and stare at the pot for 20 minutes. And voila! That’s all there should be to it, right?
No. Apparently, there is more to it than that, because…
Also? Does that look like the Virgin Mary trying to burst out of that egg to you?
Anyway, can someone please tell me how the heck to make a hard boiled egg? If they aren’t bursting at the seams, they’ve got that grey-ish blue-ish ick-ish look outside the yolk. What is that? Is it blue slime? Is it grey slime? Is it poisonous? Can I still eat it when it does that?
I tried giving up and buying already hard-boiled already peeled eggs (Eggland’s Best) at the grocery store which was awesome. Once. Because ever since I made this incredible discovery (actually, my blogger friend Nichole told me about them) they haven’t carried them since.
It’s because the whole world is out to destroy me. Or maybe because the eggs were too yolk-heavy…
Man, that would have been one fat chick.
UPDATE: So of course immediately after I say out loud that I can’t find Eggland’s Best already cooked already peeled eggs, I find them at Raley’s today (like, 2 hours after this post went up). I swear they didn’t have them the last four times I went – I even ASKED them about it. Obviously, they read my blog post, went back in time, ordered some eggs and stocked the shelves. Children, pets, and grocery stores: they make liars out of you every time.
OK, I realize I am way late to the game here, but I thought I’d offer a slightly different idea (just in case you are still having a hard time). Food.com says you can just cook the eggs in the oven, right on the oven racks, and there are several comments about how to make peeling easier too. http://www.food.com/recipe/hard-cooked-eggs-in-the-oven-baked-eggs-61856
It’s never too late to help a fellow girl out! Especially if you bring something NEW to the table. The oven! This I’ve got to check out. THANK YOU!
I know the pain.lols I’ve had more than one episode of egg boiling disaster than I care to count.
I’ve never had pre-packed peeled eggs before. How long is the shelf life for a packet of these?
The package has an expiration date on them. Or eat them within a few days of opening the package.
My method for boiling eggs involves filling the pan with cold water and heating to boil on med high. This gives the egg time to warm up slowly and most cracking is avoided.
Once boiling, turn heat to low so there is just a small amount of boiling. Cook for 10 – 12 minutes from the time the eggs start boiling. Over cooking is what makes the yolks turn green/gray.
For easiest peeling, older eggs peel easier than fresh. And shocking the eggs from boiling to cold helps too. I drain the boiling water and fill with cold. After about 30 seconds, drain and fill again. Repeat until a good portion of the heat is gone. Then fill with ice cubes and a small amount of water and chill. Now your eggs are easier to peel.
I think I”m finally getting the clue that I should at be peeling them right after cooling, as opposed to waiting until I actually eat them. Thanks for the tip, Drew!
Actually, I find no difference in when I peel. The important parts are older eggs (a week or more), the cold “shock”, and then getting under that membrane when peeling. Once under the membrane, it’s easy to peel.
I wrote “A Good Egg” a few years ago.
http://www.roses2rainbows.com/2010/04/good-egg.html
This is the method my mother taught me. I added the part about shaking the eggs to crack the shells. Also, the shells come off easier if you wait a few minutes to peel them.
I’m so egg-stupid, I never think to peel them while they’re still warm. I wait til the next day or whatever just prior to eating them.
I’m reading through the comments and I’m seeing 10+ minutes for hard boiled eggs. I’ve never boiled an egg for more than three minutes.
I’m assuming that’s boiling it the whole time (as opposed to turning the burner off).
Yep. The whole time.
Oh my greatness, I think we might be twins separated at birth! It took me HOURS to boil an egg the first time I tried (and I haven’t tried since).
Visiting via SITS 🙂
Thanks for stopping by! It took you HOURS to boil an egg? hee hee!!!
Hilarious. I’m stopping by from Sits, and a new follower! I look forward to more chuckles. Not sure if my profile has the correct website address but in case you want to find me, I’m at http://parentingisabigdeal.com
Thanks for stopping by, Jessie! And thank you for leaving your blog. For whatever reason, yours didn’t come up with your profile.
Good luck sorting through all those suggestions. Mine was covered, so I won’t add it.
I’m glad you found the all-the-work-done ones you were looking for. I hope this solves all your egg psoblems forever!
Stopping by from SITS. Have a great weekend.
Thank you, Robin! Hey, what’s your website? This silly commenting system isn’t showing it.
I just switched to Tofu…but that’s another post.
Thanks for leaving some comment love on my blog. Have a great breakfast.
Thanks, Aruna! And good luck with the Tofu! 🙂
Gently is the key word! lol And that is one heck of a yolk. My goodness! The Virgin Mary? Totally cracked me up!
Stopping by from the SITS Saturday Share Fest.
Thanks for stopping by, Kristi!
My fool-proof method is about the same as all the other fool proof methods:
Put single layer of eggs in pan. Cover with COLD water. Add salt – amount isn’t important. It’s not for flavor. it’s to help in peeling. Bring to a boil. As soon as they boil, cover, remove from heat and let stand 10 minutes. Place them in cold water to cool. A tip for peeling: crack the shell all around and shell them under a slow stream of running water.
Yeah, I definitely need help in the peeling process. I never tried cracking all the way around, I assumed that was worse, not better. And I do it over the trash can instead of under running cold water – also a good tip. I’ll have to try that. Thanks, Jackie!
I really think it is SO funny how everyone has the “perfect” way to create the hard boiled eggs.
I learned from my VERY old Better Homes & Gardens cook book (which is falling apart) to put single layer of eggs in bottom of pan, cover with about an inch of salted cold water, put on high until water boils, then cover and turn down to low and simmer for 20-25 minutes. As soon as done, drain hot water and give eggs an ice bath. This stops the cooking and will make them easier to peel also.
See if that helps. =)
I’m definitely going to have to try the salted method. Otherwise, I’m very close already to your method. As soon as you said Better Homes & Gardens, an old cook book image popped into my head of a book with a sort-of red and white checkered paperback cookbook with 20 year old food stains on it. Is that the same one you have? 🙂
I have that one.
Um…just no on the pre-boiled eggs. Here is my instructions.
1. Get LOCAL EGGS!
2. Put in pot, cover with water completely
3. Bring to a boil
4. Remove from heat, keep cover on, walk away for 20 minutes.
5. Cool and enjoy.
Your way is exactly the way I do it. So you must have some magic touch. I even buy local eggs when I’m at the farmer’s market. But then there are the times that I’m lazy and just want a hard boiled egg NOW and don’t want to wait 20 whole minutes. 🙂
Okay, Sunshine, here’s the real deal. Eggs in pan. Cover with cold water. Put them on the stove. Turn up the flame. Let them boil for 8 minutes. Pull them off the stove and get them into cold water immediately. They will be perfect. No muss. No fuss.
But actually, I kind of like seeing the Virgin Mary pop out of the egg the way you made it. Send the photo to the Enquirer. You might get on the cover.
I know, right??? Only, I’m not sure how I feel about a mile-long line of devoted Catholics waiting to see the Madonna at my house.
I cook them the same way!! I even decorated my kitchen ceiling with an over boiled egg (by a good 45 minutes) once. I had no idea they came in a bag like that. Now I want to find some!
Apparently, you can go to Eggland’s Best website and they have a store locator or something that will tell you where you can find them in your area. http://www.egglandsbest.com/
Margaret.
Eggs that have been in the refrigerator at least one week (just one week if you’re getting them at the grocery store and not directly from the farm). Fresh eggs will not peel. Bring them to room temp. Place them in a pot, and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil then TURN THE POT OFF. Cover the pot, and let them sit for 10 minutes. Remove the lid, drain the eggs and run cold water over them till they’re cool enough to handle. They will peel like a dream and there won’t be any green ring around the yolk.
I got my last ones at the farm, you’ll be pleased to know. Actually it was a farmer’s market. Does that count? So anyway, you say to turn the pot off? It’s only just now occurring to me, that I should peel them right away. I always store them in the frig until I want to eat them, then I peel them. I never thought to peel them right after cooking them and then store them later. I’ll bet they’re much easier to peel then. Oh, my head is swimming with all the advice.
Thank you, Jan!
I put a hardboiled egg into our fridge the other day for safekeeping. It rubbed up against an old bottle of soy sauce, cracked, and the yolk shriveled up completely. Which was bizarre and unexpected. And a sad commentary on my mental state that I was fascinated by such a thing.
I would like to have seen a picture of that. That sounds awesome, although I’m sorry for your loss. Or,…did you eat it anyway?
I don’t often make hard boiled eggs but when I do I use this… http://www.amazon.com/Norpro-Egg-Rite-Timer/dp/B00004UE75 to tell me when to shut off the heat. then I plunge them in cold water to stop the ‘in shell’ cooking. I found mine in a kitchen store.
Holy huevos! How have I never heard of this before??? I guess because they don’t have one of those late night infomercials they play every 10 minutes on the History Channel. Instead I’m bombarded with how low testosterone is “not my fault”.
LOL – I guess I’ve been doing it all wrong. I simmer my eggs for about 7 minutes, but I make sure the heat is low and the cover is off. It’s not foolproof, occasionally I get egg white oozing out if I forget to turn the heat down.
Now I’m in the mood for an egg salad sandwich =)
MMmmmm, egg salad sandwich. I haven’t had one of those in a while. I’m trying to stay off bread.
That does not look like the virgin Mary to me. It looks like a baby chick emerging. All boiled and dead!
Damn it. Just put eggs in cold water with a little salt in it. No, the salt is not for flavouring, it’s to stop the egg from cracking. Bring it to the boil and continue to simmer for a minute for soft boiled, 2 minutes for medium and about five for hard boiled. If you want soft boiled pour out the hot water immediately and submerge the egg in cold water.
Here endeth my lesson in how to hard boil eggs 🙂
A baby chick? Eeeeeeee!
OK, I’m going to have to try the salt thing. Thanks, Babs!
So, can you keep a secret?
I found a new hard boiled egg supplier for those times when Raley’s fails me. Trader Joes. 😉
Sweet! I won’t tell a soul. This is just between you, me and the virtual fence post.
My recipe for cooking hard boiled eggs is to place eggs in pan with water, get the water to boil, then go watch live soccer game on TV, lose track of time, hear an almighty explosion 30 minutes later, run to kitchen and scrape egg bits from the ceiling, walls and floor.
Sounds like a party. I’m coming over to your place.
See, you’re famous. The Egg Lady reached out to you. Now THAT is a claim to fame! Wow.
I can’t boil an egg either without one cracking or the rest turning gray. But I’m not sure how I feel about pre-peeled eggs in a bag. I’m imagining the smell when the bag is opened. Hmmm. I have to get a bag and check this out.
xoxo jj
You know, I have to say, I don’t notice any smell. Unlike when I cook them myself and throw them in the fridge uncovered. Someone else commented that I should keep them in a covered container to take care of the smell and that never even occurred to me. Duh.
Hi Margaret 🙂 I found this method online and have found it to be foolproof in making eggs. Tip: If you want hard boiled eggs that
are easy to peel, make sure they are several days old.
1 Put
the eggs in a single layer in a saucepan, covered by at least an inch or two of cold water. Put the
burner on high and bring the eggs to a boil. As soon as the water starts to
boil, remove the pan from the heat for a few seconds.
2 Reduce
the heat to low, return the pan to the burner. Let simmer for one minute. (If
you are using an electric stove with a coil element, you can just turn off the
heat. There is enough residual heat in the coil to keep the eggs simmering for
a minute.)
3 After
a minute, remove the pan from the heat, cover, and let sit for 12 minutes. The eggs should be done
perfectly at 10 minutes, but sometimes it can take a few minutes more. I find
that it is very hard to overcook eggs using this method. I can let the eggs
sit, covered, for up to 15-20 minutes without the eggs getting overcooked.
4 Strain
out the water from the pan, fill the pan with cold water, strain again, fill
again, until the eggs cool down a bit. Once cooled, strain the water from the
eggs. Store the eggs in a covered container (eggs can release odors) in the
refrigerator. They should be eaten within 5 days.
Hope this helps!! 🙂
This totally helps, Karen – thank you!!!
I am disappointed in your readers. I clicked through to the post to see what tomes of wisdom they shared with you in the comments, and this is all you got?!
Fine. I will tell you how I do it. Place eggs in pot. Cover with water. Start heat and boil. Once the water is boiling set timer for 7 minutes. When time is up, turn off stove, dump out boiling water and cover eggs with cold water. Crack eggs ever so slightly – this will help make them easier to peel. Let them sit in the cold water for a few-ish minutes and then enjoy.
Seven minutes? That’s it? Why do I keep hearing 15 or 20 minutes? And when I do 15 minutes, they are still not done. Ugh, see? This is why I just want to buy them already made for me. Nice tip about the cracking them early for easy peeling.
Yeah, Kim’s got it here. I do pretty much the same thing. Once the water starts boiling I set the timer for up to 10 minutes. Then when it goes off, remove from heat and cover for another 10 minutes. Then run under cold water for a couple minutes. I learned this from Alton Brown on Food Network a while back and it works every time. Oh,and starting with water from the tap is the way to go, not hot water. And yeah, fresh eggs are a bitch to peel.
It’s interesting that some people continue to boil them for a while instead of immediately taking off the stove. I’m going to have to try them all and see which one works best, I guess.
If you put a bit of white vinegar in the water it will keep the egg white from migrating out like that. It also helps if you use older eggs for hard boiling eggs. Fresher eggs do not make such good ones.
This is good to know… THANKS!
I make my hard boiled eggs in my rice cooker/steamer. It works every time.
What? … WHAT????? I just got a rice cooker. How do you make them in a rice cooker?
I’ve heard of steaming them, but never tried it.
This steaming thing is mystifying me. Now I must know.
Margaret, I am DYING laughing right now. DYING.
I had a very similar situation with hard-boiled eggs. In fact I wrote about it here: http://mommamiameaculpa.com/gramma-ev-and-cooking/
🙂
I just read your post and I don’t blame you for wondering when the eggs go into the water. Believe me, I was on the internet researching it myself before I tried it. And still it doesn’t work for me.
Honestly, I’ve gotten about 100 different answers about making hard-boiled eggs.
And I *still * don’t know the RIGHT way.
I am still laughing at your exploded egg.
Margaret, we’re sorry to hear you’re having issues finding Eggland’s Best Hard-Cooked & Peeled eggs in your local stores! Can you please reach out to me at eparks@eggland.com so we can help you out? Thanks! Elena Parks, Eggland’s Best
Yes you can because I search every store I go into now. I’ll write you soon, Elena – thank you!