The Perfect Hard Boiled Egg, Every Time!
**Updated October 2014: Now you can print out the instructions. Navigate to the bottom of the post.**
Today’s post is a back to basics cooking lesson, how to boil an egg. The perfect boiled or hard boiled egg is when the egg is cooked all the way through and the yolk is golden. There should never be a grey or greenish ring around the yolk. To me if a hard boiled egg has that grayish or green tone, it becomes very unappetizing. (I can picture it, grayish yolk chunks in egg salad…yuck). I think eggs are one of those foods that seem like a fairly easy to cook food, but somehow can turn into a difficult food to master. We’ve all had our share of egg cooking gone wrong. This is a fool proof method and if you try it your hard boiled eggs will come out perfect. I’ve used the technique for years and it never fails.
1. Utensils you will need are a large pot, a slotted spoon, and a large bowl. You will also need cold water, ice cubes, and of course fresh eggs. First place the eggs in a large pot and pour cold tap water into the pot; The water should cover all the eggs by about 1 inch or 2.5 cm. Place the pot over high heat until the water has reached a rolling boil. This means that the water is bubbling vigorously. Then immediately lower the heat to a medium low setting, and continue to boil for an additional 10 minutes.
2. A minute before the 10 minutes are up, fill a large bowl halfway with very cold water and the ice cubes. Using the slotted spoon gently place the eggs in the bowl with cold water — making sure that all the eggs are covered.
3. Leave the eggs in the cold water until they are at room temperature. This is a very important step because this cooling down is what prevents the yolk from turning that greyish-green colour. To peel the eggs make a small crack with the back of a spoon. Run the cold sink water and begin to gently peel away the shell under the running water. Continue until all eggs are done then use or serve as desired.
I have been making hard boiled eggs this way for years and it’s always a success. Now you are ready to enjoy these hard boiled eggs with a little salt and pepper,slice them to use on sandwiches, and these are also perfect to for deviled eggs or egg salad. (I will post my recipes and photos for both soon.) Now if I could only master poaching an egg …
- eggs
- water for boiling
- a large pan
- slotted spoon
- a large bowl
- cold water
- ice cubes
- First place the eggs in a large pot and pour cool tap water into the pot, the water should cover all the eggs by about 1 inch or 2.5 cm. Place the pot over high heat until the water has reached a rolling boil. This means that the water is bubbling vigorously. Then immediately lower the heat to a medium low setting, and continue to boil for an additional 10 minutes.
- A minute before the 10 minutes are up, fill a large bowl halfway with very cold water then add the ice cubes. Using the slotted spoon to gently remove the eggs from the boiling water, then place them in the bowl with very cold water, making sure that all the eggs are covered.
- Leave the eggs in the cold water until they are at room temperature. This is a very important step because this cooling down is what prevents the yolk from turning that greyish-green colour.
- To peel the eggs make a small crack with the back of a spoon. Run the cold sink water and begin to gently peel away the shell under the running water. Continue until all eggs are done then use or serve as desired.
oh, i just need this tip! my husband is so picky on his boiled eggs for breakfast!
i love your little egg cups too! are they wooden?
Great pictures and I also really like the egg cups, very cute!
Agree with lululu and 5 Star Foodie – Love the cute egg cups!
I must pass this on to my bf – he always prefers hard boiled eggs so I'm sure he'll find it useful!
The eggs are sooo pretty!
Perfect eggs! Just beautiful
Hi everyone:), it's nice to see these comments.
Lulu~ Yes they are wooden, Let us know how they turn out for you and if your husband is happy:)
5 Star Foodie,Experimental,Penny and Velva, thank you very much, glad to hear you liked them:)
Great post! Nothing worse than a bad hard boiled egg..yuck! And great pics!
Great tip. A simple cooking like this is so important. Thanks for sharing that.
Hi Divina Pe,
THanks and your welcome. Yes I think it's important to revisit the basics now and then as they form the foundations of so many dishes :)
Great tip! Thanks again:)
Thanks for the great tip on making hard-boiled eggs so perfectly. I can’t wait to try your recipe. Now, as for poaching, I found a fool-proof method: bring a saucepan half full of cold water to a GENTLE boil. Use a spoon to gently stir the boiling water until you form a small whirlpool, then SLOWLY lower the egg into the whirlpool. ( I cracked the egg into a cup first so I could gently glide it into the water). Cook for about 3 minutes and you’ll have the perfect poached egg!
Good tips! While simple in theory, it’s easy to overcook a boiled egg, which not only turns the yolk grey but makes it very dry and chalky as well.
In my experience, you can even turn the heat off about halfway through and just let them sit there, although if your pan cools quickly it could turn out with very slightly underdone yolks(though still edible and tasty!)
Great tips! I often turn the pot off after boiling and put the lid on, but this seems just as easy! Thanks for a great post!
Hello! I realize this is an older post, but I just happened across it via Pinterest. After reading your steps, I’m curious as to whether the number of eggs matters in regards to time. In other words, if you have fewer/more eggs, do you need to allow to boil less/more than the 10 minutes? And no salt in the water, huh? I’m certainly game to try!
Hi Amanda!
The amount of eggs doesn’t matter — however make sure you don’t crowd them and that they are all under the water when you’re boiling them. That’s correct, no salt is needed in the boiling water.
Make sure you don’t skip the cooling in ice water step; This will proven the green rings from forming in the yolk. Enjoy!:)
wonderful tip and I have it down pat. My problem with hard boiled eggs is in peeling them. No matter how I cook them the shell remains very stubborn, leaving my egg whites a mess. Help!!!
Hi Sandra! Removing the shell can really be a pain, I know what you mean. Recently I’ve been peeling them under running water and that seems to help some. Just start off by making a small crack and slowly peel off a little piece of the shell until you’re done. Good luck! :)
I found that the fresher the egg, the harder it is to peel…. I have chickens, and fresh eggs are just about impossible to peel, no matter how you cook them! But I save a dozen about a month and then hard-boil, makes a huge difference.
I didn’t know that, thanks for the tip Kathy!