The best hard boiled eggs ever...

(sort of)


I've always loved hard boiled eggs. Not the yolk (ick) but I could eat the whites everyday and be happy. One of my biggest problems with hard boiled eggs has been consistency. I've been doing the tedious three-step Julia Child method, and I've done a number of others, all in an attempt to cook an egg that releases from the shell easily, does not crack in the water (and thus get all sucked out and blah), and does not taste grainy or have the membrane attached to the flesh.

Tonight I have solved years of battles when I used my steamer to make hard "boiled" eggs. Every one of the eggs was cooked perfectly and came apart with ease. The flesh of the eggs was also fluffier than ever before. While I am sure most of you don't have the same love for HBE that I do, this is a great tool to use for those Deviled Eggs that you bring to the family 4th BBQ.

I'm happy.

Steamer? Which one Joe? Bob

I use this one by Zojirushi (and never would have thought of it if not for the egg insert), though any kind will work.

http://eggshop.net/bzojgourfood.html


Best!

Joe

Shouldn't this be a solid steamed egg
As for success with hard boiled eggs, surely a great hard boiled egg has to do with the quality of the egg to start with - as all eggs are not equal. I think it has something to do with freshness also. We have chooks at home and the freshly laid eggs are difficult to peel cleanly if they are hard boiled.

Cheers,
Sue

Sue, try steaming them next time (if you've got a steamer or collinder) and let me know what happens.


Best,
Joe

[Jenise]

Joe, how long did you steam them for? I presume longer than the typical 15-17 minutes of an HBE.

20-22 minutes and they were perfect. I also steamed one for 15 which was good too, but the yolk wasn't done for those of you yellow eaters.

One more time: old or newly laid eggs peel easily if hard boiled in a pressure cooker. I've cooked thousands of them that way when I sold pickled eggs.

Place eggs in boiling water (I add a touch of vinegar) in a pressure cooker. The water should reach at least an inch over the eggs. Put on the lid. Bring up to 15lbs pressure. Turn off heat. Wait 5 minutes. Release pressure. Cool off eggs with some running water and you'll be able to peel them faster than you ever have before.

One more time: old or newly laid eggs peel easily if hard boiled in a pressure cooker. I've cooked thousands of them that way when I sold pickled eggs.

Place eggs in boiling water (I add a touch of vinegar) in a pressure cooker. The water should reach at least an inch over the eggs. Put on the lid. Bring up to 15lbs pressure. Turn off heat. Wait 5 minutes. Release pressure. Cool off eggs with some running water and you'll be able to peel them faster than you ever have before.

Larry, try a steamer (if you haven't already) and let me know how you feel it matches up.

Best,
Joe

Joe,

I'm going to try this again, but I have to report that my first attempt made the whites tougher than I like. I usually hard cook eggs arouind 150F, or a bit less. Steam is around 212F at our elevation.

I'm going to try a comparison cooking in a couple of weeks, and will revert. Thanks for the idea, but I'm just not sure.

One question: when you write: "flesh of the eggs was also fluffier", do you mean the white of the egg?

Regards, Bob

Yes, the white of the egg.

How long did you cook them for? Try shortening the cooking time and let me know how it works...

21 minutes. I'll revert in a few days. Thanks, Joe. Bob

Larry, try a steamer (if you haven't already) and let me know how you feel it matches up.

I don't doubt that your method produces great results, but when I'm doing dozens of eggs, five minutes sounds a lot better than twenty-some minutes. And I'd have to experiment with the timing because at my altitude, steam is only 202F. In a pressure cooker at 15lbs, the steam is about 250F.

But I will experiment the next time I do a few eggs.

(sort of)


I've always loved hard boiled eggs. Not the yolk (ick) but I could eat the whites everyday and be happy. One of my biggest problems with hard boiled eggs has been consistency. I've been doing the tedious three-step Julia Child method, and I've done a number of others, all in an attempt to cook an egg that releases from the shell easily, does not crack in the water (and thus get all sucked out and blah), and does not taste grainy or have the membrane attached to the flesh.

Tonight I have solved years of battles when I used my steamer to make hard "boiled" eggs. Every one of the eggs was cooked perfectly and came apart with ease. The flesh of the eggs was also fluffier than ever before. While I am sure most of you don't have the same love for HBE that I do, this is a great tool to use for those Deviled Eggs that you bring to the family 4th BBQ.

I'm happy.

I'm taking this time to do this because I often see you all here looking for answers that were answered decades ago by professionals.

Never had a single problem with hard-cooked eggs (prefer that expression to "hard-boiled" since it more accurately recounts what we do.)

I also like them a great deal.

Place the eggs in ample cold water. Place the pot on the fire and bring it to a boil. Boil them for THREE minutes! Place a lid on the pot and remove them from the heat. Let them sit - OFF THE HEAT - for 15 minutes.

Drain and chill IMMEDIATELY with ice and cold water. You will be able to tell when the eggs are cool enough by lifting one from the pot and holding it in your hand for 15 seconds. If it doesn't warm at all, they are chilled and ready to peel. If it does warm, put it back in the water and ice for another minute or two.

Now here's the secret to easy, clean peeling: PEEL IMMEDIATELY!

I have a method for cracking the shells that works quite well. Drain all the water from the saucepan and vigorously shake the pan back and forth for a few seconds with your wrist (much as Catholic boys, and I was one, are wont to do.)

The shells will have a network of fine cracks all over them and the peel just slips off to the touch with no effort on your part. Rinse off any remaining bits of shell and chill, covered.

This method results in a cooked egg with the white completely set, membraneless, but still very soft to the mouth - never tough - and a bright yellow, soft but set yolk. And I do love the yolks, too. If you need to "dice" them, press them through a medium-meshed skimmer or the bottom of a fryer basket if you have a large number.

Oh, yeah, this method is designed for the 2-ounce ("Large") egg.

I had set up my new steamer wrong, Bob


Try 12 minutes next time

My method is similar to Chef Carey's except I don't boil the eggs. Start eggs in cold water to cover, bring water to a boil, cover, remove from heat, and let them sit for 17 minutes. Run cold water over them until the water remains cold and then crack & peel. Never have a problem peeling them and never have that nasty gray hue to the outside of the yolks.

Joe Thanks for sharing this technique! A few weeks ago I did a bunch of deviled eggs for a backyard picnic (my son's homecoming from Iraq) and simply boiled the eggs (18 eggs = 36 deviled). It took me almost an hour to peel them as the shells kept sticking to the whites and breaking off on little pieces. However, for the NiagaraCOOL picnic, I used your technique (30 eggs = 60 deviled eggs) and was able to have them all peeled in 15 minutes. I steamed them in the strainer basket in my pasta cooker for 25 minutes, as I wanted the yokes hard. In addition, while loading them in the basket, I was able to arrange the eggs so the fat end of each egg was facing downward, which had the effect of centering the yoke inside the egg, thus making better looking deviled eggs. I mashed up the yokes using a pastry cutter, mixed them with mayo, yellow mustard, mustard powder, salt and white pepper. I then filled them by using a cookie press with a fluted nozzle. These eggs were the only food item at the NiagaraCOOL picnic in which there were no leftovers, as I made enough food for 40, but several people I was expecting didn't show up.

Yep, this is the way I was taught ... more or less à la Chef Carey. The only difference is that I prick a hole in large end of the egg with a push pin.

And, alas, I prefer the yellow to the white. Maybe Mr. Perry and I can work something mutually beneficial out!?

Glad it worked for you, Howie!

Gary, I would be happy to work out a symbiotic egg relationship with you. More than once I've been smacked in the head by my grandmother/mother for scooping out the yellow of deviled eggs into a napkin when I thought no one was looking...

[Robin Garr]

These eggs were the only food item at the NiagaraCOOL picnic in which there were no leftovers

That's probably because I ate about 40 of them, Howie. They were great!

hi joe,

how are you?

happy with you're 2 knifes?

i cook eggs at work always in steamer (well the industrial once this :http://www.rationalusa.com/index.php?WCMSGroup_907_94=11&WCMSGroup_11_94=134

since i like more the eggyolk, we would never altercate

The knives are GREAT!