Making hard-boiled eggs seems easy, but cooking them exactly right is a bit of an art. Cook them too long, and you’ve got dry, rubbery, army-green yolks. Err on the side of cooking them not long enough, and you’ve just got a bit of a sad mess.
It took me awhile – way too long, actually – to master hard-boiled eggs. Now that I’ve finally got the process down pat, I thought I’d share.
I used to just throw the pan over high heat, boil the eggs for awhile, and hope for the best. Then, over time, I learned a few secrets of the hard-boiled trade.
- Older eggs will be easier to peel.
- Start with cold water, not lukewarm or hot.
- Bring the water to a boil over medium heat – not high!
- It’s best to remove the pan from the heat – and let the eggs sit in the hot water – for the majority of the cooking process.
- Dunk the eggs in an ice bath once the time is up to prevent over-cooking. This also helps make them easier to peel.
- When adding the eggs to the ice bath, give them a bit of a rough treatment to crack them just a little. This apparently helps the gasses from the egg escape and also helps make them easier to peel later on.
So are you ready? Grab your timers and let’s do this!
Oh, and maybe try these deviled eggs after you make them. Yum!
How to Make Perfect Hard-Boiled Eggs (My Favorite Method)
Ingredients
- Eggs
- Water
- Ice cubes
- Equipment
- Large saucepan or pot
- Large bowl
- Large slotted spoon
Instructions
- Very carefully place eggs in a single layer in a large saucepan or pot. Fill pan with cold water to about two inches above the eggs.
- Place pot over medium heat and bring to a boil, uncovered. This should take about 10-15 minutes.
- As soon as the water comes to a full boil (with large bubbles), set the timer for two minutes. Let boil uncovered.
- Once the timer goes off, remove the eggs from heat and cover at once. Let sit for exactly 10 minutes (12 minutes if you’re using extra-large eggs).
- Fill a large bowl with cold water and ice. When the 10 minutes is up, use a slotted spoon to remove the eggs from the hot water and add to the bowl of ice water. Up until now, you’ve been very gentle, but now’s the time to get a little aggression out and let the eggs drop from a couple of inches up, or shake the bowl a bit to give them a small crack or two. This helps to make them easier to peel.
- Allow eggs to sit in the ice bath for about 5 minutes until completely cool. Peel immediately or refrigerate. I find that peeling the eggs under lukewarm water helps release the shell a bit easer.
Great method!
I do something pretty similar, but only 1 minute of boiling time, plus 12 minutes of covered time. Then I just rinse with cold water and drain (and repeat until the eggs are cooled).
I add a little oil to the water. Some how it makes the eggs peel easier. 🙂 I too use the cold water method as well. 🙂
That’s a great idea – I will have to try that next time! Anything to make the peeling easier.
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I’m recommending this method in a recipe I’m posting on a diet website, is it okay to reference you and your method?
Thanks!
Shayna
Hi Shayna, certainly, that is just fine! Thanks. 🙂