How to boil eggs

Deadly Sushi

Formerly The Giant Mojito
1. Place the eggs in a saucepan, cover them with COLD tap water (enough to just cover all the eggs).

2. Bring to a rolling boil over high heat. Keep an eye on the eggs, and as soon as the water is at a rolling boil immediately reduce the heat to a low medium boil and cook an additional 10 minutes.

3. Remove from heat and very quickly place the eggs under ice cold water or in a bowl of iced water to chill quickly and keep the yolk a nice yellow color.

4. Chill for a few minutes in the cold water until the egg is completely cooled. Crack each egg on all sides and peel.

 

RNE228

New member
Hell yes! The older eggs are much easier to shell! How about you?

I know, that a fresh egg has little to no air pocket in it. As eggs sit, the shell is gas permeable; the white of the egg will shrink a little, leaving a small air pocket. That makes it harder to get the peel process started.

I'm not sure how it affects the membrane and how easily it breaks.
 

Mith

New member
I'm sorry to drag an old thread up, but its the subject I was about to start.

I'm having bother getting larger eggs to cook in the middle, even with 20 mins in boilding water they are still soft (liquid) in the middle, no good for egg sarnies (unless you eat the yolk first).
Dont know if heating the water first will help, or if they'll just crack. Maybe trying to get the water hotter (adding salt?) will work, or maybe bring them to the boil slower?
 

Ironman

🍺
I'm sorry to drag an old thread up, but its the subject I was about to start.

I'm having bother getting larger eggs to cook in the middle, even with 20 mins in boilding water they are still soft (liquid) in the middle, no good for egg sarnies (unless you eat the yolk first).
Dont know if heating the water first will help, or if they'll just crack. Maybe trying to get the water hotter (adding salt?) will work, or maybe bring them to the boil slower?
Bring the eggs to room temp and put them in the pot with luke warm water in it. Heat to a boil and turn of the heat. Just let them sit for about 15 - 20 minutes (covered) after that. Not sure how big your eggs are...

Just remeber the eggs cook from the outside in - so gently bring everything up to temp and then kill the heat. Never use fresh eggs either - I use eggs that go past the expire date by a few days.

Just don't leave your eggs to boil for 15 minutes. I hate green eggs.

salt will do nothing at all but raise the boiling point.
 
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Doc

Administrator
Staff member
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Good info MJJ. But on adding salt it just might make a difference. Since the water would be hotter than it would ever get otherwise, it might cook Mith's giant eggs all the way through.
My wife brings them to a boil and then sets the timer for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes of boiling she takes them off the heat and runs cold water over them until all the hot water is gone. Seems to work just fine. We just have regular sized (Large Grade A) eggs.
How about a picture of your big eggs Mith so we know what you are dealing with?
 

Ironman

🍺
I see what you are saying Doc, I just think it would overcook the outer edge of the egg - making it rubberish. I actually tried everything from salt to veggy oil. Slow and low IMHO. :wink: Bring to boil, turn off the heat and walk away. Try it with a few eggs once. I kinda like mine soft in the middle...

Oh yeah, after cooking, I also dump them in cold ice water and rattle em' around to break the shell.
 

joec

New member
Gold Site Supporter
I actually do it a little different (Julia Childes' method). I don't use fresh eggs but those I kept in the refrigerator for about 10 days from the time of purchase. Bring them to room temperature and cover with water. Now I bring them to a roll boil and turn off the heat and cover the pot. 12 to 15 minutes later they go into a ice bath. Just can't peal a fresh egg and I love deviled eggs.
 

sattie

Resident Rocker Lady
I almost do what you do Joe, (maybe the room temp thing could help), but I just put eggs in pan and cover with cool water. Put lid on pot and put stove setting on medium. As soon as they come to a boil, turn off heat and let set 15 minutes. Replace warm water with cool, crack and peel.

Now about them fresh eggs... that crud drives me insane! But I have heard that if you take a needle and prick a tiny hole in the top prior to boiling, this will release the seal that fresh eggs have with the shell. I have yet to try it.
 

joec

New member
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I did and had the white seep out into the water kind of like a pouched egg. I caught and Alton Brown show that talked about eggs cooking them every way you could imagine. At any rate his advice was to buy a dozen eggs and put a rubber band around the carton and set the carton on its side.
 

joec

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Yes according to Brown it makes the yokes stay centered from what I gathered. I personally don't I just mark the carton for hard boiled eggs with the date I bought them and leave them in refrigerator for 10 days or so. I rarely have problem pealing them but I do peal them under running water also. Also letting them get to room temperature first will help with the pealing also I've found. If I take them straight from the refrigerator to the pot I will sometimes get one even an old egg that doesn't want to peal.
 
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sattie

Resident Rocker Lady
Yes according to Brown it makes the yokes stay centered from what I gathered. I personally don't I just mark the carton for hard boiled eggs with the date I bought them and leave them in refrigerator for 10 days or so. I rarely have problem pealing them but I do peal them under running water also. Also letting them get to room temperature first will help with the pealing also I've found. If I take them straight from the refrigerator to the pot I will sometimes get one even an old egg that doesn't want to peal.

Good to know... not sure that I will do it either.

After I boil them and cool them off... I crack the shells real good then put back in the water for a bit. Then the shell 'usually' slides right off.

Thanks for the info... I love that show... I learn soooo much!!!
 

joec

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Putting them back in the water after cracked should also work the same as taking off the shells under water. Either way you want to get water between the shell and the egg as that always makes a shell easier to remove without sticking.
 

Mith

New member
Sorry I never came back to this.

Eggs are duck and goose eggs. Give you an idea of the size of the eggs
10-03-07_0812.jpg


I've pretty much given up trying to boil them all the way through, I just eat the yolk with a spoon, then use the rest to make my egg sarnies ;)
 

joec

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Here is an egg timer I picked up with some other things with a gift certificate from amazon.com just before Thanksgiving. I've tried it out and it works perfectly for all levels one would want to boil an egg. Just put it in the pan with the eggs with cold water and room temp. eggs then turn up the heat. Of course hard boiled once done you will want to put into an ice bath to stop the sulfur layer from forming around the cooked yoke. Just simply let the water come to a boil and watch the timer change to black and when it forms a red bubble at the a line that is how done the egg is. Can't be simpler and it is $4 and some change.
 

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joec

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It never crossed my mind and the same holds true for chicken livers. :mrgreen:
 
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