Hard Boiled Eggs

[Rosie]

How do YOU make them? I cover the eggs in cold water.  I bring them to a boil. I put them on simmer and time them 20 minutes. I have been cooking them like this for #$%&**  years. Recently I have found that the inside is about one minute away from being hard boiled. Am I using larger eggs? Do I have a bad timer? Am I using a lower flame? Don't know. So--how do you cook hard boiled eggs. It's time for me to change my cooking method.

[robocoup]

Rosie, that sounds really strange. Eggs started in cold water and brought to a boil, then kept at or near that temperature, should be fully cooked in 10 minutes or less. 20 minutes should yield severely overcooked eggs. Can you go into your procedure in more detail?

[Rosie]

Quote: from robocoup on 6:59 pm on Aug. 9, 2001

Rosie, that sounds really strange. Eggs started in cold water and brought to a boil, then kept at or near that temperature, should be fully cooked in 10 minutes or less. 20 minutes should yield severely overcooked eggs. Can you go into your procedure in more detail?

Not really. But I do know that if I cooked them 10 minutes they certainly wouldn't be hard boiled for egg salad. And I live at sea level if that helps. And the window and door to the porch were closed when I was cooking. The AC was on. And I wasn't drinking.

[Bilmo]

I've got to concur with robocoup.  I cover the eggs with cold water, bring them to a boil over high heat, cover them, remove them from the heat, and let them sit 10 minutes.  Then plunge in cold water.  They come out perfectly, and they do not have the gray layer surrounding the yolk.  20 minutes sounds awfully long.

[Rosie]

Quote: from Bilmo on 11:21 pm on Aug. 9, 2001

I've got to concur with robocoup.  I cover the eggs with cold water, bring them to a boil over high heat, cover them, remove them from the heat, and let them sit 10 minutes.  Then plunge in cold water.  They come out perfectly, and they do not have the gray layer surrounding the yolk.  20 minutes sounds awfully long.

Ahhhh! I don't cover them. I'll try that next time.

[Fat Guy]

Rosie, are you starting with frozen eggs? Maybe that's the problem. :)

[Rosie]

Quote: from Fat Guy on 8:58 am on Aug. 10, 2001

Rosie, are you starting with frozen eggs? Maybe that's the problem. :)

Maybe my refrigerator is too cold!

[Fat Guy]

It's definitely a mystery, Rosie, because I too get good results with a 10-12 minute time frame. I don't cover mine, either.

I start with refrigerator-temperature eggs and put them in enough cold water to cover by an inch, with a tablespoon or so of white vinegar (I hear this discourages them from cracking). I pack the eggs pretty tight in the pot, but I only lay down one layer of them. (I'd be interested to know the size of your pot, how much water you're using, and how many eggs you put in at once -- I think this could have something to do with it.) Sometimes, if I'm making them for presentation to guests, I'll also do a pinprick hole in each egg, which really prevents cracking and makes flawless peeling easier, but I don't bother if they're just for me. I start on the highest heat of my stove and, once they reach a rolling boil, I drop down to a super-low simmer and start the timer for 10 minutes. (You cook at a simmer so the yolks don't develop that greenish coating, which is caused by higher temperatures.) Once I remove them, I put the whole pot in the sink and run it under cold water. As soon as the eggs are cool enough to touch I peel them (the longer you wait at this point, the harder your job becomes).

[Peter B Wolf]

Steven is right in every aspect, only, Steve, you must have a gas stovetop, as one can not drop quickly the temp to a simmer from high boil on electric!. Also, do the pin whole pricking on the fat end of the egg where the airbubble for future chicks is. Once the air is out the eggs won't crack while cooking. 10/12 min. is perfect. The gray/green cover of yolks is sulfur, naturally present in eggs, and will not occur to be present at lower times.

( Should I post my BIO?)

[eGullet Staff]

Please post your bio! We're trying hard to get people to do that, but a few brave souls must blaze the trail.

[Fat Guy]

Yes, I have a gas range (DCS with double-ring burners), so I'm accustomed to near-instantaneous temperature changes. When I cook with electric, if there are extra burners available, I like to keep two going -- one on high and one on low -- and move my pots back and forth, sort of like on a restaurant flat-top. The newer electric burners, however, are pretty speedy.

They also sell plastic egg prickers at most shopping-mall-type kitchen stores (Lechter's, etc.) that are easier to use than needles (they incorporate a short needle with a large plastic grip). Even at just a couple of dollars they're a ripoff, but they last for years.

[Rosie]

MYSTERY SOLVED. I put 5 jumbo eggs into a 1 1/2 quart pan and covered with 1 quart of water. Put it on high heat. When it came to a boil I lowered the heat to as low as it would go and covered the pan. Timed it 10 minutes. Turned off the heat and let the pot stand covered another 10 minutes. PERFECT hard boiled eggs. Now--you have to remember that I make hard boiled eggs maybe once a year and next year I will forget again. I looked in one of my cookbooks--duh-why didn't I do that first. I only have hundreds of cookbooks and this one said to cover the eggs with an inch of water. I didn't do that the first time. It also gave directions for bringing the eggs to a boil and turning off the heat and letting sit for 15 minutes. NOW--I have a bigger problem. If you have any suggestions let me know.  What do I tell Lowell when he finds out that I cooked two days in a row? He will cart me off to the hospital if I don't have a good excuse! ;)

[Fat Guy]

Give him some deviled eggs and he'll forget about everything else.

[Orik]

My nickname is Orik and I have never hard boiled an egg. I hope the group will still accept me :)

[Bux]

Rosie - And I wasn't drinking

As one who learned the basis for all he knows about cooking from watching Julia, I have to suspect this is the root of your problem. ;)

[Rosie]

Well if I was drinking it was red wine and that doesn't count!

[hedgehog]

I wouldn't use the word "boiled" you really are cooking them.

My own method with large eggs is to use them at room temperature. Put them into almost boiling water, cover and turn off the heat. 10 minutes later they are perfect.

[Jinmyo]

hedgehog, exactly. Although I get to a good boil first. But then I use extra large eggs.

[DaveFaris]

Ok. now that we've solved that hard-boiled mystery... what do you do with em once you have them that way? Aside from coloring them?

[Jinmyo]

Dave, let cool, perhaps in cold water. Peel (I use the handle of a spoon). Eat them all.

[Miss J]

Dave, let cool, perhaps in cold water. Peel (I use the handle of a spoon). Eat them all.

Just like that? Straight?

Gah.

[Jinmyo]

Gah?

Eggs?

Eggs are never gah.

When peeling eggs, I usually eat at least one. With a bit of Normandy butter and salt and crushed pepper.

[hedgehog]

" exactly. Although I get to a good boil first. But then I use extra large eggs. "

Jimmyo: I think the thickness of the pan is important to consider. Some pots hold heat better than others. Don't you think?

[Jinmyo]

hedgehog, yes. And I usually do about 3 or 4 dozen, in two pots.

[Adam Balic]

I have read about cooking eggs (pre-hard boiled) for about 16 hours at a low temp (65-70.C) (is a Middle Eastern thing). After this period the eggs develop all sorts of amazingly complex and tasty flavours. Has anybody done this?

Eggs are never "Gah" , although sometime they are "RrrrrHHg", especially when they are quail eggs and you are cracking and frying them.