 How To Make Perfect Boiled
Eggs
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- Introduction:
 Plain eggs have just 70 calories
each and are full of nature’s perfect form of protein. Most
of us became used to the news that eggs are full of cholesterol
in the egg yolks. As with most things in science, they spoke
before they completed their research. Today research has found
that eggs also raise the good cholesterol that bodies need to
maintain a healthy blood flow. Hmm, imagine that.
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- Making boiled eggs is a lot easier than you may think, if
you can follow a few simple steps. Most people make their mistake
with placing cold eggs in hot water. That's a sure fire way to
break the shell and ruin a good egg.
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- According to the American Egg Board, the terms “hard-”
and “soft-boiled” eggs are really misnomers, because
boiling eggs makes them tough and rubbery. Some people assign
these labels to an egg to describe the consistency of the yoke
inside. Completely cooked would be hard, runny would be soft,
and some where in between medium. But these differences in consistency
are achieved through cooking time, and not how you process the
egg to boil it.
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- Another thing to know is that fresh eggs are virtually impossible
to peel once they're cooked. The shell is tightly sealed to the
egg and this makes it a lot harder to cleanly peel the egg. If
you're making Deviled Eggs, or some other dish where you want
the shell intact and clean, it's best to use eggs that are at
least 1 to 2 weeks old. And yes that means stored in the fridge
for 2 weeks. Eggs you purchase at the grocery store are generally
relatively fresh, about 1 week old. So unless you have your own
chicken coup and pick your own eggs off your farm, you should
place your store bought eggs in the fridge a week before you're
ready to make your egg dish.
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- Just think if the ways we use boiled eggs. They're the start
of good deviled eggs, for Easter, right out of the shell or adding
to a variety of dishes such as a salad, adding to tuna or chicken
salad or just plain egg salad. They are a great addition to many
different kinds of meals.
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- Gather Together:
- · Eggs
- · Large sauce pan
- · Water
- · Salt
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- Step 1:
- Place eggs in a single layer in the sauce pan. If you're
making a large number of eggs for a party, you should use a very
large pan to keep as many eggs on a single layer as possible.
Cover eggs with water, at least 1 inch above the top of the eggs.
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- Stacking the eggs can create an unevenly cooked egg, it can
also create broken shells as the eggs roll around in the water.
So single layering is the first big tip.
-
 Step 2:
- Place the eggs in COLD water. Even if you have taken the
eggs out of the fridge and let them sit to room temperature,
it's important to place them in cold water for cooking. This
helps to ease the eggs into higher internal temperatures as they
cook, helping to maintain a perfect shell.
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- Place about 1 tblspn of salt into the water. This will help
your eggs float and move in the water as they cook. Which helps
to promote an evenly cooked egg white and yoke in the center.
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- Step 3:
- Over high heat, bring the eggs to a boil. You want a good
rolling boil that will help move your eggs around for about 30seconds.
No longer! Or you'll have over cooked eggs. You want the rolling
to help the yokes form in the center of the whites. You can help
this along by gently stirring your eggs as they come to a boil.
But be careful you don't stir too hard or you'll cause a break
in the shell.
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- Use a spoon to gently lift one egg at a time up and then
turn it in the water. The water and egg will do the rest.
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- Step 4:
- Immediately reduce heat to medium and cook for an additional
10 minutes for hard boiled eggs. If you want medium boil (lightly
cooked yoke), reduce cooking time by 3 minutes. If you want soft
boiled (runny yoke) reduce cooking time by 5 minutes.
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- Step 5:
- At the end of the desired cooking time, drain hot water from
the sauce pan and run cold water over the eggs. Some experts
suggest removing the eggs from the hot water and placing them
directly into cold water with ice. This quickly stops the cooking
and keeps the dark green color from forming around your egg yokes.
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- Our family drains the water from the sauce pan, places it
under running cold water for about 1 minute. Then turn off the
tap water and drop a few ice cubes in. Letting the eggs sit in
cool water for about 5 minutes.
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- Step 6:
- If you're going to peel the eggs, after the 5 minute cooling
time, break the shells around the entire egg. Use a small fork
to poke a whole in one of the ends of the shell. Be careful not
to poke the egg. The idea here is to create a break in the thin
fibrous skin around the egg that will allow cold water to seep
in. This helps to separate the shell from the egg.
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- Place the egg back into the cold water for at least another
5 to 10 minutes. You might add a few ice cubes to ensure the
water has remained cold.
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- Step 7:
- When you're ready, gently peel the egg from the smaller end.
Some experts suggest using a small spoon to remove the shell.
By slipping the spoon between the shell and the egg, you can
avoid breaking the whites. This has never really worked for me,
but no reason not to give it a try now and then.
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- Wash your peeled egg in cool water to ensure you have removed
all the shell fragments and serve as desired.
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- For More Information:
- If you're making Deviled
Eggs, check out our family recipe.
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- Additional Tips:
- · Refrigeration is necessary for hard boiled eggs
if the eggs are not to be consumed within a few hours.
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- · Refrigerated boiled eggs, kept in the shell, can
be kept for up to 1 week.
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