Hard Boiled Eggs

SirenSongWoman

SirenSongWoman

Cathlete
I never been successful boiling eggs and need to know how.

Stop laughing. I'm serious.

The few times I've tried it the things have cracked and busted in the pan and my fingers got all cut up trying to... de-shell them. I have about 16 eggs that will expire today. I need help, ladies and gentlemen. Pleeeeeeease?
 
Well - I will try to help. I think you and I may be but a few that are still up at this hour.

I think it's best to let them come to room temp first. Cover them in a pot of water and bring to a boil, then boil for 5 minutes and then turn heat off and let them sit for another 5.

Run them under cool water and pat dry and store in fridge.

That's how I do it anyway. My son loves them and I have been making them a lot these days.

And yes - I was laughing at the title of your post!!!!!!!!!
 
Does the refrigeration help with peeling off the shells?

I knew there was more to this than I thought. You see why I don't cook?

I once went all over the grocery store searching for Cream of Tartar, assuming it was some kind of creamy stuff... When I brought it up at work the next day, assuming nobody had ever heard of cream of tartar (because I hadn't), everyone looked at me like I was a hot mess. When I was informed what it was I exclaimed "It's a POWDER???" No wonder I couldn't find it... I literally don't know what half the ingredients are in most recipes I read. If I could only marry a man who loves to cook and who's good at it.
 
SirenSongWoman said:
Does the refrigeration help with peeling off the shells?

I knew there was more to this than I thought. You see why I don't cook?

I once went all over the grocery store searching for Cream of Tartar, assuming it was some kind of creamy stuff... When I brought it up at work the next day, assuming nobody had ever heard of cream of tartar (because I hadn't), everyone looked at me like I was a hot mess. When I was informed what it was I exclaimed "It's a POWDER???" No wonder I couldn't find it... I literally don't know what half the ingredients are in most recipes I read. If I could only marry a man who loves to cook and who's good at it.
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LOLOLOLOL!!! Yes - one of those little used items in the spice drawer.

I think you are right about the room temp thing. Mine peel easy anyway. Now if I can just get DS to put the shells actually in the insinkerator rather than just in the sink . .
 
Here's what I do -- I don't remember where I got this, but it might have been from Cook's Illustrated:

Use a thumb tack to poke a hole through the eggshell at the large end. Place the eggs in a pan and cover with cold water rising approximately an inch over the eggs. Turn the heat to high and bring to a boil. Once the water is boiling cover the pan and remove from heat. Let stand for 15 minutes then place the eggs in ice water for 5 minutes. To peel, crack the egg then roll between your palm and a hard surface like the kitchen counter. Begin peeling the shell from the large end of the egg. I usually peel them under running water.

This method works pretty good MOST of the time.

ETA this is exactly how I cook and peel hard boiled eggs, except I put them in ice water to cool http://incredibleegg.org/index_v2.php?mcID=4&cID=4&rID=133&offset=
 
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Now, I boil my eggs different and have no problems peeling them. But I was also told that "older" eggs are much easier to peel!

I put my eggs in a pan of cold water, bring to a boil and let them boil for 12-15 min. I drain the hot water and put cold water in the pan for the eggs to cool. I have no problem at all with doing it this way.

:D

Patti
 
Good timing.....I actually have eggs on the stove right this very minute (LOVE my egg whites).

I cook them almost identically to Michele:

layer eggs in bottom of pan
add cold water to cover plus and inch above the eggs
bring to a boil
put lid on and put pan on a cold burner
sit for 15 minutes
poor off all the water and let sit about 15 minutes till they cool off a bit
peel under running cold water

(here's MY theory...things expand when you heat them. The egg white expands as well. As they cool, the whites pull away from the inside of the shell. Same thing with baking a cake or cupcakes....ever notice how it pulls away from the sides of the pan as it cools? Again, my uneducated opinion. lol)

Cheers.....love those egg whites!

Gayle
 
My best friend and her husband got really silly that past Easter. They were competing between the two of them for who could make the best boiled egg. They looked up all sorts of things on line. They both tried 3 different ways (are there actually 6 different ways to boil an egg?)

She is at Disney World right now for the next week but this is what I remember:

Let the eggs get to room temperature - that keeps the yolk in the center of the egg.
Cold water plus one inch over the eggs.
Salt the water - I guess that helps the egg peel easier.
Boil for 5 minutes, remove from heat and cover, let sit covered for 25 minutes, then run under cold water. (Cooking them too long makes the outside of the yolk green).

I don't know if this really makes the perfect egg - I have a habit of turning the eggs on and forgetting to set the timer so I am always guessing and my eggs are usually overdone!!!!
 
Worknprogress said:
My best friend and her husband got really silly that past Easter. They were competing between the two of them for who could make the best boiled egg. They looked up all sorts of things on line. They both tried 3 different ways (are there actually 6 different ways to boil an egg?)

She is at Disney World right now for the next week but this is what I remember:

Let the eggs get to room temperature - that keeps the yolk in the center of the egg.
Cold water plus one inch over the eggs.
Salt the water - I guess that helps the egg peel easier.
Boil for 5 minutes, remove from heat and cover, let sit covered for 25 minutes, then run under cold water. (Cooking them too long makes the outside of the yolk green).

I don't know if this really makes the perfect egg - I have a habit of turning the eggs on and forgetting to set the timer so I am always guessing and my eggs are usually overdone!!!!
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Very interesting. I'll have to try this.

I have boiled eggs, walked away, and forgot about them.
So, when the water evaporates, the eggs explode and stick to the ceiling. :eek::eek: What a awful mess!!! Oh, and the smell.....YIKES!:eek::eek::eek:
 
Cynthia - I have done that too!!! And you're right - it makes a terrible mess!!! I think I even had to throw away my pan!!
 
I basically do the same, putting the eggs in water (water covering the eggs) plus I add salt to the water. Then boil and then cool in cold water. I don't know why I put salt, I was just taught to do that. I was told it helps it so they don't crack.
 
fit44 said:
Very interesting. I'll have to try this.

I have boiled eggs, walked away, and forgot about them.
So, when the water evaporates, the eggs explode and stick to the ceiling. :eek::eek: What a awful mess!!! Oh, and the smell.....YIKES!:eek::eek::eek:
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LOL!!! I can't imagine an egg exploding.

Years ago, I put a baby bottle on the stove in about an inch of water to warm it and went and laid down. Big Mistake and not very smart. When I woke the house was full of smoke and the baby bottle completely melted, was like totally gone..really!! I learned never to leave the stove unattended. I was very lucky that day.
 
goldenpath said:
LOL!!! I can't imagine an egg exploding.
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Oh yes, and they are loud too. Cracking, popping. You would think the smell would have given me a clue. I heard the explosion, and wondered what the noise was? I guess you could call that an AHA moment!:eek:
 
Cynthia - omgosh!

I was about 12 or 13 years old and boiling some eggs to color them for Easter. I pulled one out and the yolk was not cooked, so rather than cooking them longer, I threw the whole dozen out and boiled ANOTHER dozen! Boy, was my mother pissed when she saw those eggs in the trash!


***

I like my eggs really, really hard-boiled, so I lay them in a large pot, add water to cover them and a little over, bring to a boil, lower the heat halfway and cook for 15 minutes and then just let it sit until the next morning before peeling.

I didn't realize the yolk turns brownish because of being cooked too long! I never eat it, so it doesn't bother me.
 
I must be really weird. lol. I don't know how I got my method but its always worked for me.
I get a pot of water boiling w/o the eggs. I move the pot off the burner and then I get a big metal or wooden spoon and lower them SLOWLY into the super hot water one at a time. Slow so they don't crack. You get to see all the bubbles come out of the egg shell. fun :) lol. Then put it back on the burner to continue boiling for 11 min or so. Then when done cool in cold water.
Now I want a boiled egg!
 
I can't thank you all enough for revealing your many methods for hard boiling eggs. I honestly thought there was some sort of big secret and I was being excluded from The Club, like some sort of Hard Boiled Loser. Thank you all so much. I have to get those puppies done tonight.
 
SirenSongWoman said:
I can't thank you all enough for revealing your many methods for hard boiling eggs. I honestly thought there was some sort of big secret and I was being excluded from The Club, like some sort of Hard Boiled Loser. Thank you all so much. I have to get those puppies done tonight.
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Hahaha, that cracked me up!! Hard Boiled Loser.

I boil mine a little longer, close to 20 min on a rolling boil just because I've made them before and I do not like them soft at ALL. Then rinse in cold water and put in the fridge.
 
its not an easy job

But somebodies got to do it.

Ok Here goes.

The skinny on boiling eggs.

Small pot with a lid that fits.
Turn up the heat to medium high on your burner.
Put eggs in pot. Carefully.
Fill pot with cold water (tap water.) to about 1 inch below the top of the pot.
Put pod on burner. Put lid on pot.
Wait. When it begins to boil (you will see steam.) wait the desired time (some people like hard or softer 5 to 10 min.) Don't worry about it if they burst. Doesn't matter.
Then drain the eggs in the sink in a collander. Don't burn your self.
You can plunge them into a bowl of ice water. Or do like I do. Drain using the lid to keep the eggs in the pan. Fill with cold tap water a couple of times. Then with the water running. Crack the first egg and shell it by cracking the end on the sink. Then on the other end. The shelling takes practice but don't be discouraged. The running water will help the shell come off. And try to get below the albumin (the little skin like part under the shell on top of the white.) that makes easy peeling.

Let us know how it goes :)
 
Eggs don't really expire on the date on the carton, they are generally good for at least a few weeks beyond the sell by date. I actually looked this up once (I google everything). Here's one article about it:

http://www.georgiaeggs.org/pages/expirationdate.html

I have used eggs weeks past the date, they tasted fine, and I did not get sick. I think they start to lose their quality more so than go bad.
 
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