I have called them "hard boiled" for my whole life and I have been informed that they are "hard cooked."

Whatever you call them, the directions that I have found just about everywhere all agree that the best method is to use a steamer basket and steam for eleven minutes, maybe longer depending on egg size and altitude.

Then, most directions say to plunge into an ice water bath. Most, but not all. The NYT cookbook says, “Do NOT shock them in an ice bath after cooking; this makes them more difficult to peel.”

So, who is right? The liberal, left-wing, New York Times? Or the rest of us right-thinking Americans?

Question:
How do you do yours?

Choices:
Ice water
Just let them come to room temperature naturally after removing them from the steamer basket
Other (please explain)

 

I steam them in my Fagor pressure cooker. The steam pressure loosens the shell from the hard boiled egg.

Gently shaking the cooked egg in a glass jar with 1/2” of water loosens the shell pretty effectively and it’ll sometimes come off in 2 or 3 big sections.

quote:

Originally posted by Pipe Smoker:
I steam them in my Fagor pressure cooker. The steam pressure loosens the shell from the hard boiled egg.

This is the way to do it. Makes them so easy to peel.

Instapot. Because we, meaning my wife, have to make life more complicated than it needs to be.

Otherwise, yes to the ice water bath. It keeps the eggs from over cooking.

boil,
water,

shake the colander around a bit to break up the shell,


fresh eggs (like farmers market) seem to be harder the peel than store bought

The only thing that makes them hard to peel is using fresh eggs, like laid today from your own chickens. Stuff from the store is at least a couple weeks old and they peel fine.

Instantpot. Cook for 5 minutes. Rest for 3 minutes with Instantpot turned off. Release steam and into ice bath. Perfect. Peels fine.

I boil mine for 14 minutes and then run them under cold water from the faucet in a colander. Always done right for me and I never have trouble peeling them.

Bring to a boil. Let sit for 15 min in hot water. Add a teaspoon of white vinegar. It helps them peel easier.

I only ice them if I need to use them right away.

It is my understanding that freshness is a factor in whether they are easy to peel.

Boil in water, drain, rinse and peel, shells come off easily. Tap the eggs on the side of the sink a couple of times, slide it under a stream of cool water from the faucet and off the shells come, bobs your uncle.

Kroil, MAP gas and a hammer. No, wait... that's for rusted bolts.

Always added salt, vinegar, eggs to pan of water, bring to a boil, and boil them about 3-5 minutes.

Crack and roll them between hands, and peel. (hot or cold)

Then I smoosh them in a bowl with butter, salt and pepper an' eat 'em. (the eggs, not the bolts)

quote:

Originally posted by smithnsig:
Bring to a boil. Let sit for 15 min in hot water. Add a teaspoon of white vinegar. It helps them peel easier.

Personally I detest hardboiled eggs however, I also seem to have a knack for cooking them (and eggs in general) to the perfection of the eater (ie, my wife and daughter).

With that, I petty much follow the above except to boil them for seven minutes. Add a dash of white vinegar, and let rest (in the cooling water) for another 10 - 15 minutes. Letting them rest ensures the eggs finish cooking without overcooking.

My old method was to cover eggs with cold water about an inch or so over, bring to rolling boil and then turn off burner, pull off burner and let sit with lid on for 20 min, then ice bath.

My wife got me this neat little egg cooker for Christmas that holds 7 eggs upright, you pierce the top end with this needle like tool, place a small amount of water in the bottom, then lid on and turn it on. They cook on a timer, then I still do the ice water but the shells slip right off since that pinhole seems to allow the steam to loosen the shell. It's great!

I watched a YouTube video once.
It showed "gently" slamming the egg on a towel and then rolling it, and the shell comes off in two pieces.

3/16" of water in bottom of pan. Steam for 11-12 minutes for large or another minute for XL or jumbo. Let sit for 5 minutes for the pan to cool. Fill pan with cool water to cool eggs faster. Easy to peel if you use eggs at least a week past the 'best by' date.

Better still is steaming in insta pot/pressure cooker.

I don't like them hard boiled (fuck the media). So I cut the water below the hard boiled mark and the soft boiled - and get them the way I like them.

egg cooker.

I've been told that the age of the egg determines how easy it is to peal. Older peal easier.

After boiling them, I just set in the sink and let cold water run into the pot for a few minutes. Then remove the eggs and peal em.

I've done the following to hard boil "today" fresh eggs without ANY peeling difficulties.

Bring water to a boil
Lower eggs (fresh or otherwise) into boiling water
Cook for 15 minutes
Remove and rise with cold water

Never had an egg cooked this way that was a peeling problem.