I never ate a deviled egg, that I can remember…at least not that left a memorable impression. See, in my house, we snarfed the eggies down long before they made it to the deviled-stage. In my memory though, the eggs had that nice green tint around the outside and smelled slightly of sulfur. Of course, now that I understand how to really hard-cook an egg, I realize that that odor should have been a slight turn-off. Not bad for you, just not as tasty as it could be.
I remember thinking how funny it was that recipes for hard-cooked (some say “hard-boiled) eggs, but after having some bad ones, I can see why no recipe book should leave it out! When, in reality, it really is the easiest recipe. It requires no fancy cookware, any hot-plate or commercial stove top that can reach a boiling water point will work, and then some raw eggs. Oh, and most importantly, a timer!
Hard-Cooked Eggies
- any quantity of eggs desired
- Place eggs in pan, in single layer, with room to jiggle (don’t overcrowd).
- Fill pan with water to one-inch water above the eggs; there should be at least two inches between the top of the water and the lip of the pan or you will lose a great deal of water at the boiling point.
- Place pan, uncovered, on a burner and crank to high. Don’t wander.
- As soon as your water hits a full, rolling boil (which means that the top of the water is one mass of breaking bubbles), clamp a well-fitted lid on top and remove the pan from the burner. Set timer as instructed (see below)
- Immediately remove eggs from hot water and place in large bowl full of ice and water. This will immediately cool down the eggs and prevent over-cooking. Allow to stay in bath for five minutes
- Store in fridge for up to three days, or peel and snarf immediately.
- Soft-cooked egg, slightly runny middle, 6 minutes
- Mostly hard-cooked with slightly soft middle, 10 minutes
- Hard-cooked throughout, 12 minutes
- Nice green tinge with sulfur odor, 12:01 minutes +
Personally, I like to use my nearly-expired (okay, okay—sometimes already-expired, too) eggs for hard-cooking. When they’re that old, eating fresh seems pointless, but I can always enjoy a hard-cooked egg. Mmmm. Especially with sea salt and fresh-ground pepper. How do you eat your hard-cooked egg?
Thanks for the instructions… Last time I tried to make a hard-cooked egg, I used ten minutes and completely grossed myself out! ;)
Becca,
thanks, it is a simple thing to cook, but i never knew the correct way to get the right results.
Thank for sharing it with us.
i always enjoy the way you write you articles. that sense of humor, down to earth tone. LOVE IT.
:)
Man, I’ve been doing this all wrong. LOVE your tips and writing style. You were born to be the KitchenNut! I forgot about my hard-boiling eggs one time and an HOUR late remember them and came into a house FULL of smoke. Not good. My hard-boiled eggs had exploded everywhere. So, your advise to “no wander” is one I will never forget!