Sunday, April 17, 2011

Confession: I Can't Boil an Egg

You read it right - I can't do it. I've tried all the methods. Start with cold water, bring it to a boil, turn off the heat, cover it, let it sit for 15 minutes... Then there's adding some vinegar to the water. I've boiled the eggs forever. I've used cold eggs and room temperature eggs. I just can't do it. I always get one of two (and sometimes BOTH) results: The peel sticks to the whites, leaving a yolk with a thin layer of chunky, misshapen white around it. Or, the yolk is still gooey in the center. Now, I don't care if the yolk has that greenish tinge around it. I just want to be able to make Deviled Eggs and egg salad that isn't all yolk.



It's quite embarrassing that I can't do this. I can make cakes from scratch. I love baking homemade croissants and making my own puff pastry for danishes. I can Create an 8-course Thanksgiving Dinner for 20 people and have everything get done cooking at the same time (that one took a LOT of practice!) So, why can't I make a hard-boiled egg?!
Last Year's Egg Hunt (Yeah, it was warm out!)

Now, every year, I host a little Egg Hunt and games for the kids in the neighborhood. It's nothing formal - just something fun to do to welcome spring. I would love to use real eggs this year. I can't figure out WHERE my husband stored our plastic eggs, OK? I refuse to buy more, so we are going to need to do this with real eggs. Plus, I want to try out some natural egg-dying methods. I've been saving up my yellow onion skins for a couple of months, and I froze some of the beets from last year's garden just for the occasion! The thing is, I don't want to send all of these kids home with eggs that haven't been cooked correctly.

So, I need your help - PLEASE! How do I boil an egg so it peels easily and the yolk is cooked all the way?

10 comments:

I'm That Mommy said... Best Blogger Tips[Reply to comment]Best Blogger Templates

Ok here is what I do and I get perfect eggs. Put a good amount of water in a large pot and place the eggs in the pot. Start heating the water and bring to a boil. Once boiling, boil for a good 15-20 minutes. I would say the longer the better, just to be sure. Let them cool completely, like 2-3 hours, before you dye them.

If you are peeling the eggs for any reason, take the eggs out of the pot after boiling and place in a colander in the sink. Peel under cold running water.

Hope it works for ya!

I'm That Mommy said... Best Blogger Tips[Reply to comment]Best Blogger Templates

Just in case my directions weren't clear enough, you are starting heating the water with the eggs in the pot already. That way they slowly heat up and cook instead of going to straight boiling water.

Gem said... Best Blogger Tips[Reply to comment]Best Blogger Templates

I found in this a book YEARS ago and have done it the same way ever since and turns out great everytime--

put eggs in a cold water (at least covering the eggs by an inch), bring to a boil, remove from heat, cover, let sit for 18 minutes, put in cold water to stop the cooking.

in terms of peeling--i saw this on a show but haven't tried it since i normally don't have problems peeling them, but put them in a bamboo mat (the kind you'd use to make sushi) and roll the egg and the shell comes of easily.

Unknown said... Best Blogger Tips[Reply to comment]Best Blogger Templates

Stopping by from the NP blog party. This post cracked me up!!!! No pun intended. My dad has an awesome method for getting the perfect egg. I will post it on my blog next Thursday so check it out! :) I always do recipes on Thursdays so why not!

Madeline said... Best Blogger Tips[Reply to comment]Best Blogger Templates

What I do is :

Start the eggs in lukewarm water. Boil for 15 minutes, let sit for 5. Immediately transfer those eggs to an ice bath, and let sit for 30-45 minutes.

Crack gently and peel!

One Rich Mother said... Best Blogger Tips[Reply to comment]Best Blogger Templates

Your post cracked me up as well. Mostly because my eggs also often end up looking like the first picture you posted. lol I have tried multiple "methods" as well and sometimes... well sometimes it just doesn't work.

I forgot to send the ling but last week I awarded you with the versatile blog award over at my blog.
http://sashabreeze.blogspot.com/2011/04/versatile-blogger.html?showComment=1302937109313#c8927690912599026173

mrs green @ littlegreenblog said... Best Blogger Tips[Reply to comment]Best Blogger Templates

I can help you! Bring a pan of water to the boil, carefully add your eggs (put a dash of vinegar in the water if you're scared of it cracking) let the water just simmer for 10 MINUTES. Not more than that; Afterwards have the cold tap running and immediately tip the boiling water out and let cold water run over your eggs for a minute or two. This prevents the green hue around the yolk.
Crack them on the side of the pan as soon as they are cool enough to peel.

incidentally; the shell usually sticks to eggs that are super fresh, so save older ones for hard boiling

Anonymous said... Best Blogger Tips[Reply to comment]Best Blogger Templates

Steam them. This really works and not just for me, but family and friends have had success with this method too. I steam them for 15 minutes, rinse with cool water, and then cool for 15-30 minutes before peeling.

Unknown said... Best Blogger Tips[Reply to comment]Best Blogger Templates

Thank you to everyone! I think that what I will do is try doing one or two eggs each way and see how they come out. Might be a fun experiment for my stepson who wants to be a chef to try out (he's here for the week on Spring Break.) I'll let you all know how it turned out!

Maria said... Best Blogger Tips[Reply to comment]Best Blogger Templates

A couple of things that might not help today, but will in the future.

1. Use this. I swear, it's God's gift to hard boiled eggs. http://www.amazon.com/HIC-Harold-Eggsact-Egg-Timer/dp/tags-on-product/B000I1UVX2

2. "old" eggs peel better than fresh eggs, so buy them early and let them sit a few days.

3. If you want to peel them right away, dump the water from the pan and let them sit just a few minutes. Then roll them around in the pan so the shells crack. The peels then come off super easy.

4. If they are cold, definitely peeling under cold water helps to lift the shell from the egg.