Hard Boiled Egg Technique


 
Interesting. But the wife somehow does it quickly and the shell just comes off in a few pieces. I have tried to do it her way and other ways and fail everytime.
 
I do the steaming technique but this guy cooked them WAY too long IMO. I only cook them for 8 to 10 min. I don't like the yoke to turn that hard pale yellow. Doing them a shorter time keeps the yoke in a more "creamy" state, and whites are not hard and rubbery than either. But yes this steaming does work. Another tip I have used with excellent results I saw on Jacque Pepin. He get the water hot and puts in a touch of baking soda. He uses a small tack and puts one tiny hole in the large end of the egg. Then drops them into the gently boiling water. Again cooking for only about 8 min. Ice water bath and voila perfect eggs.
 
Well, it makes sense. But way too much work.

Keep in mind that the older the egg, the easier the shell comes off. I've had real fresh eggs and the shell came off in 1/16" pieces. Eggs that are older (ie maybe 10 days), they slide off like greased lightning.

And I too do my h.b. for no more than 10 minutes. And then in cold water for about 5.
 
LMichaels said:
I do the steaming technique but this guy cooked them WAY too long IMO. I only cook them for 8 to 10 min. I don't like the yoke to turn that hard pale yellow. Doing them a shorter time keeps the yoke in a more "creamy" state, and whites are not hard and rubbery than either. But yes this steaming does work. Another tip I have used with excellent results I saw on Jacque Pepin. He get the water hot and puts in a touch of baking soda. He uses a small tack and puts one tiny hole in the large end of the egg. Then drops them into the gently boiling water. Again cooking for only about 8 min. Ice water bath and voila perfect eggs.
Click to expand...

Maybe I'll pull a couple out at 9 minutes and the rest at 13 to see the difference. I've used the baking soda you mentioned, never the hole in the shell.

Instead of shaking the entire container I've just found a lowball glass & covered it with my hand and rattled each egg individually to break the shell.
 
The last time I made them in the Instant Pot the shells were very easy to remove. Not sure if the IP had anything to do with it.
 
Len Dennis said:
But way too much work.

Keep in mind that the older the egg, the easier the shell comes off.
Click to expand...

Agree with Len on both counts. For years I've used the Julia Child method for perfect hard boiled eggs.

"Place eggs in a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Let eggs boil for 1 minute exactly. After one minute, remove pot from stove and cover it. Let sit for exactly 18 minutes. Place pot in sink, remove lit and let cold water run on eggs for exactly 5 minutes".

Crack and shell your eggs. They will be perfect. No ugly green ring around the yellow yolk. Works for me.
 
Clint said:
Maybe I'll pull a couple out at 9 minutes and the rest at 13 to see the difference. I've used the baking soda you mentioned, never the hole in the shell.

Instead of shaking the entire container I've just found a lowball glass & covered it with my hand and rattled each egg individually to break the shell.
Click to expand...

I like them kinda "creamy" almost "slightly liquid" in the center. When done the way I describe they are much too delicate to shake up. I simply peel them and if I get a stubborn one I do it under cool running water. Not hard but a gentle stream. I tried the Julia method as well but was not happy with it. However I don't think Julia had to put up with sub par quality eggs either.
For the IP did you actually do them under pressure or simply use the IP as a vessel to cook them in? I didn't think they could withstand pressure but if so I may experiment with my Fagor Dual pressure cooker on low
 
We eat a lot of HB eggs, been making them for several years with a West Bend egg cooker.
Same principle, there's a hot plate on the bottom, the eggs sit above it and steam cook.
Always easy to peel.
It comes with a cup to measure the amount of water for the number of eggs being cooked, and it has a pin on the bottom for poking a hole in the egg shell. When the water boils out, it has a buzzer. There are measurements for soft boiled too.
This looks like ours, but I think there's a newer West Bend model.

West-Bend-Egg-Cooker.jpg
 
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To add to the above, there are many different makes of egg cookers now.
Our son loved ours so we gave it to him when he got married, and I bought a different make.
The West Bend will do jumbo eggs, they're all we buy, and the new cooker couldn't fit them, only up to extra large.
So we gave him the new one and got our old West Bend back. :)
 
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