Learn how to make perfect hardboiled eggs! No more gray yolk or eggs that are impossible to peel!
Perfect Hardboiled Eggs
I know we live in divisive times, but I’d like to hope that we can all agree on this: nothing is more frustrating than trying to peel a hardboiled egg. You know what I’m talking about: you’re excited to have a little protein-packed snack. You grab a hardboiled egg from the fridge and gently tap it on the countertop. As you start to peel away the shell, perhaps pondering just how much black pepper on a HB egg is TOO MUCH black pepper, you realize the entire white of the egg is peeling away with the shell. You hurriedly attempt to remedy the situation, but nothing works. By the time your egg is “peeled”, you have the thinnest layer of white surrounding the yolk.
No thanks!
I’m here today to show you a few tips and tricks for hard boiling eggs to perfection, resulting in the shell coming off (in some cases!) in one piece! Intrigues? Read on and check out my video on my YouTube channel with all the details!
Before You Make Hardboiled Eggs...
There are a few considerations to take before you set out to make perfect hardboiled eggs:
- How old are your eggs? Some resources will tell you that week-old eggs are best, while others argue that you should seek out the freshest eggs possible. From my personal experience, I find older eggs actually yield better results in relation to peeling. If I have a few eggs left in the carton at the end of the week, more times than not they’re getting hardboiled!
- The size of your pan. If you’re hardboiling a few eggs, a saucepan should be just fine. If you’re making a dozen, best to opt for a large stockpot. You want your eggs to be completely submerged in the water, without any portion sticking out.
- Lid on or lid off? Both! I cook my eggs first with the lid off, and then a few additional minutes with it on. I can’t be certain if there’s science behind this, but it works perfectly every time!
- Cool quickly. I move my pot of eggs to the sink, drain off some of the water, and just let the cold water run. Let them sit in the cold water (sporadically checking to see if it needs a blast of cold water since the eggs will warm it up) before draining and peeling.
How To Make Hardboiled Eggs
Follow these steps to make perfect hardboiled eggs!
- Fill a large pot with cold water, placing it over medium-high heat until a light boil begins.
- Using a slotted spoon carefully submerge one egg at a time. Be sure all eggs are submerged in the water.
- Cook for 5 minutes, continuing the gentle boil.
- Add the lid and continue to cook on low heat for an additional 5 minutes.
- Move the pot to the sink, draining off some of the hot water carefully. Fill the pot with cold water until overflowing.
- Allow eggs to cool in cold water for 10 minutes.
- Drain, gently tap, and watch the peel magically shed in one piece!
Extra Credit!
How To Soft Boil Eggs
If you’re into yolks as much as I am, then this section’s for you.
Soft boiled eggs are made the same way as hardboiled eggs, but the amount of time they’re boiled is much less. See the below graphic which shows the difference of consistency between the yolk of a hard and soft boiled egg.
While hardboiled eggs are cooked for 10 minutes total, the perfect jammy egg is cooked between 6 and 7 minutes. The closer you get to 7 minutes, the more likely it will be for part of your yolk to be cooked. If I’m eating a softboiled egg on its own as a snack, I’ll opt for closer to 7 minutes. But if I’m adding a softboiled egg to a dish (particularly a bowl of homemade ramen), I’ll only cook the egg for about 6 and a half minutes. Test the timing to find what you like best!
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