Hard-boiling eggs

[Jaymes]

I put room-temp eggs into a saucepan of cold water. I don't add vinegar or anything else. I bring the thing to a boil and then turn off the heat and allow the eggs to set for 5-10 minutes.

Then, I lift the eggs out of the hot water one by one and peel them under cold running water so that their shells come off smoothly.

Am I doing this "correctly"? What do others do?

[torakris]

I follow the Cook's Illustrated way and get perfect eggs everytime.

Place the eggs (straight from the fridge is fine) into a pan just large enough to hold them in single layer and cover by one inch with cold water.

Bring to a boil over high heat, remove from heat, put a lid on it and let it sit for 10 minutes. Transfer the eggs to an ice bath and let sit for 5 minutes. Then tap it on the counter and roll it gently back and forth to loosen the shell and then peel.

[clb]

That's the method I use but I find that six minutes with the lid on is perfect. The yolk is cooked but still bright orange and a little moist. Never used an ice water bath.

clb

[Jaymes]

I follow the Cook's Illustrated way and get perfect eggs everytime.

Place the eggs (straight from the fridge is fine) into a pan just large enough to hold them in single layer and cover by one inch with cold water.

Bring to a boil over high heat, remove from heat, put a lid on it and let it sit for 10 minutes. Transfer the eggs to an ice bath and let sit for 5 minutes. Then tap it on the counter and roll it gently back and forth to loosen the shell and then peel.

T - do you ever get eggs that won't peel smoothly that way?

It seems to me that unless I'm peeling the hot egg directly under cool running water, sometimes the shell won't come off smoothly.

[clb]

I've read (and experience confirms this) that ease of peeling has to do with the freshness of the eggs. The fresher the egg, the harder it is to peel.

clb

[Fat Guy]

The American Egg Board has an extensive tip sheet on hard-cooked eggs:

http://www.aeb.org/recipes/basics/hard-coo...ed_Egg_Tips.htm

The basic procedure recommended by the board is here:

http://www.aeb.org/recipes/basics/hard-cooked_eggs.htm

The statements made by the Egg Board seem to represent the consensus of the most credible sources.

[torakris]

I follow the Cook's Illustrated way and get perfect eggs everytime.

Place the eggs (straight from the fridge is fine) into a pan just large enough to hold them in single layer and cover by one inch with cold water.

Bring to a boil over high heat, remove from heat, put a lid on it and let it sit for 10 minutes. Transfer the eggs to an ice bath and let sit for 5 minutes. Then tap it on the counter and roll it gently back and forth to loosen the shell and then peel.

T - do you ever get eggs that won't peel smoothly that way?

It seems to me that unless I'm peeling the hot egg directly under cool running water, sometimes the shell won't come off smoothly.

I have found this to be the most consistently reliable method, I do occasionally get hard to remove shells, but like others have said it has more to do with the freshness of the egg.

If I am having a hard time I peel it under cold running water, if I can get a stream of water just under that membrane it seems to help.

[KarenS]

I bring cold water to a boil with a splash of vinegar. I add the egss to the pot and turn the heat down. I let the eggs simmer for 14 minutes, then I remove them and cool them in an ice bath (I crack them in the water while they cool).

[Suzanne F]

I combine different elements of what most people already posted, and I always get good eggs -- tender, slightly moist yolks, no green or grey tinge:

• put eggs in pot straight from fridge
  cover eggs with cold water
  place on burner; turn heat on to medium-high (depends on size of pot)
  let come to boil
  when water boils, turn off flame and cover pot (if I cooked on electric, I'd move pot off stove completely)
  let eggs sit in water anywhere from about 7 to 10 minutes (more if I forget about them )
  pour water out of pot
  lightly tap each egg in pot to crack shell slightly
  place pot under cold-water tap
  run cold water over eggs until the eggs are cold (if I have ice, I add that and don't run the water as long)
  peel eggs as they still sit in the water; if not using eggs right away, put away unpeeled in closed container
  

[lelenovy]

Alice Waters gives instructions that work for me every time:

Bring water to a full boil. Lower the eggs into the water , reduce heat to simmer and cook for exactly 8 minutes.

Remove the eggs from the water and plunge into an ice-bath.

When cool enough to handle, crack them all over and return them to the ice bath for another 5 minutes.

Peel.

[Suvir Saran]

I combine different elements of what most people already posted, and I always get good eggs -- tender, slightly moist yolks, no green or grey tinge:

• put eggs in pot straight from fridge
  cover eggs with cold water
  place on burner; turn heat on to medium-high (depends on size of pot)
  let come to boil
  when water boils, turn off flame and cover pot (if I cooked on electric, I'd move pot off stove completely)
  let eggs sit in water anywhere from about 7 to 10 minutes (more if I forget about them  )
  pour water out of pot
  lightly tap each egg in pot to crack shell slightly
  place pot under cold-water tap
  run cold water over eggs until the eggs are cold (if I have ice, I add that and don't run the water as long)
  peel eggs as they still sit in the water; if not using eggs right away, put away unpeeled in closed container
  

I pretty much do what Suzanne does. And depending on how much time and how busy I am, it changes ever so slightly.

[Dave the Cook]

Just in case this is some sort of expertiment in democracy, and the method with the most votes wins, I do the same as lelenovym though I'm not sure where i learned it; I've never read an Alice Waters cookbook.

The reason for the ice water bath is to create an air space between the shell and the egg. If you let the eggs sit in the water too long, the air space dissipates--egg shells are porous. Two to five minutes works. Less and the shells are too hot to handle; more and the air leaks out and you've lost the edge.

[Jaymes]

Two to five minutes [in the hot water] works. Less and the shells are too hot to handle;

I pick them up with a spoon, one by one, directly from the hot water, and then hold the hot egg under cold running water while I peel it.

The egg WOULD be too hot to handle if I were not holding it directly under the cold water.

[Suvir Saran]

I pick them up with a spoon, one by one, directly from the hot water, and then hold the hot egg under cold running water while I peel it.

The egg WOULD be too hot to handle if I were not holding it directly under the cold water.

I end up using this same method when in a rush.. which is most of the times... And I do the same with boiled potatoes.