Hardboiled Eggs for Passover

[Jambalyle]

Between seders on Saturday night and Sunday afternoon, I need to hardboil 48 eggs. Is this a multiple batch process or is there a reasonable way I can do them all at once?

Any recommended methods?

Thanks!

[johnder]

I would think if you had a large enough pot you can probably do them all at once.

My usual method (for when I do 6-8) is put them in a pot with cold water, turn heat on high, uncovered until it comes to a boil. Turn off heat, cover and let sit for 10 minutes.

Then immediately dump out the water and leave under running cold water for 5-7 minutes. It is important to get them from the warm stage to the cold stage as quickly as possible to avoid the green ring around the yolk.

john

[Lucylu]

I don't recommend putting a lot of eggs in a pot if it means that the eggs will rest in layers. Having boiled hundreds of eggs on several occassions, I found that by the time it takes to get the water up to a boil, the eggs on the bottom are quite done while the eggs on the top are just getting done. Plus it's hard to stir a pot jammed full of eggs. So...in my opinion it's better to cook fewer eggs at a time in several pots than it is to put do them all at once. Also, the most important thing is that if you screw up, you haven't ruined all the eggs.

No matter what I do, while on the subject, I can never count on getting the shells off easily all the time. I think it really matters how old the eggs are. My worst experience was buying a case of eggs at Cosco and cooking them the next day. Not one shell came off cleanly.

[culinary bear]

Agreed - very fresh eggs are a pain in the backside to peel.

[scordelia]

My favorite method is the rule of thirteen which gives you a yolk that is not completely hard.

Bring water to boil

Add eggs and boil for 2 min

Turn off heat and cover for 11 min

Run under cold water to stop cooking

I also find with this method that they always peel perfectly.

[Jambalyle]

Thanks everyone!

1) The eggs were cooked perfectly - 2 batches - bring to boil, then set for 10-minutes-ish, then into cold water to stop cooking. No green yolks... in fact the yolks were so orange-yellow that the guests commented that they'd never seen yolks that color before! And they tasted wonderful.

2) Unfortunately, not one egg peeled easily. Like Culinary Bear, I think it has a lot to do with the freshness (and source) of the eggs. The eggs were fresh - pulled from under my neighbor's hens within the past day or two. I've noticed that these fresh eggs have harder shells with a very tough lining (and that the yolks are orange-yellow, not the pale yellow that you find in the store). Once we got the shell off, we still had to deal with the lining on some which was quite stubborn and hard to remove.

-Lyle

PS: Best part... there are leftovers for egg salad!

[Catherine Iino]

Does anyone know the origin of the tradition of having hard-boiled eggs as part of the seder? Every year we puzzle over this, since they're not mentioned in the Haggadah (at least the ones we use).

[Gifted Gourmet]

Does anyone know the origin of the tradition of having hard-boiled eggs as part of the seder? Every year we puzzle over this, since they're not mentioned in the Haggadah (at least the ones we use).

←

excellent reference for symbols on the seder plate

A hard-boiled egg is placed on the Seder Plate, to represent the Holiday Sacrifice offered when there was a Holy Temple. It is forbidden to offer any sacrifices except on the Holy Altar in the Holy Temple, which will be rebuilt when our Final Redemption from Exile takes place. If you have no hard-boiled eggs, any cooked item will suffice, but an egg is best, because it symbolizes protected growth. This is a reference to the protected growth of the Israelites in Egypt, and to the "incubation" of holiness within us from Passover until Shavous, fifty days later.

My husband referred to the egg as well as a symbol of the cyclical nature of life ... and that, like life, things are not always perfectly round and smooth but more oblong ...

[NancyH]

Just tried two methods suggested by Alton Brown, and they both worked wonderfully! The method we liked better was to steam the eggs for about 12 minutes on a steamer basket over about 1" of water. We also tried baking them, right on the oven racks (with a cookie sheet below just in case) at about 325 degrees for (I think - I'd have to check the book) 20 minutes.

[ronnie_suburban]

I vaguely recall a method where the eggs are slow-roasted for hours in the oven (maybe 12) at a very low temperature but I can't remember the specifics. I do remember the eggs tasting very good when done that way.

Anyone know what I'm talking about?

=R=

[JFLinLA]

I vaguely recall a method where the eggs are slow-roasted for hours in the oven (maybe 12) at a very low temperature but I can't remember the specifics.  I do remember the eggs tasting very good when done that way.

Anyone know what I'm talking about? 

=R=

←

Yes, it was just talked about in the most recent issue of Los Angeles' Jewish Journal. Here it is from the article:

Baked Eggs

Oven-baked eggs become brown and flavorful, with a creamy texture.

Just cover eggs in water at room temperature. Add salt to minimize cracking. Cover and cook in your oven at low heat (250 F) overnight or at least 12 hours. Serve hot or cold.

It actually sounded really interesting and I thought I might try it but I'm not in charge of the eggs.

If you want to access the whole article, here's the link:

PASSOVER: Yemenite Flavor at the Seder

Enjoy.

[ronnie_suburban]

Thank you, JFLinLA, for the most timely link. It's very much appreciated.

=R=