Alright, perfection is in the eye (or mouth!) of the beholder. My perfect egg may not be yours, but here goes...
The goal was to get tender whites and moist yolks, with the least amount of energy possible. I put a dozen eggs in a pan, added water just to cover, put a lid on, and turned the stove on high heat. Eight minutes later, when they came to a boil, I turned the heat OFF, left the lid on, and started timing.
The goal was to get tender whites and moist yolks, with the least amount of energy possible. I put a dozen eggs in a pan, added water just to cover, put a lid on, and turned the stove on high heat. Eight minutes later, when they came to a boil, I turned the heat OFF, left the lid on, and started timing.
These are the experimental eggs:
Front row, starting left: cooked for 5 minutes after the water boiled; middle front egg was cooked 6 minutes; front right got 8 minutes.
Back left was pulled out at 10 minutes; back middle at 12; back right at 15 minutes. All eggs were put into cold water as soon as they came out of the pan, to make them stop cooking.
The five-minute egg was very tender, very moist, but would mash densely if you wanted deviled eggs. For eating, though, I thought it was great. Same with the 6-minute egg. My kids preferred them at the 8-15 min marks.
Front row, starting left: cooked for 5 minutes after the water boiled; middle front egg was cooked 6 minutes; front right got 8 minutes.
Back left was pulled out at 10 minutes; back middle at 12; back right at 15 minutes. All eggs were put into cold water as soon as they came out of the pan, to make them stop cooking.
The five-minute egg was very tender, very moist, but would mash densely if you wanted deviled eggs. For eating, though, I thought it was great. Same with the 6-minute egg. My kids preferred them at the 8-15 min marks.
The left egg was left in for 15 minutes. You can see it was too long because of the grey-green layer on the yolk's exterior. The one on the right was the 5-minute egg.
So for my idea of perfect hard-boiled eggs, do this:
1- put eggs in a pan, cover with cold water.
2- Put a lid on; heat on high until the water reaches a full rolling boil.
3-Turn heat off; leave pan on the burner, with lid on.
4- 5-6 (or up to 12) minutes later, dump hot water and cover eggs with cold water. Cool and eat.
Your timing may be different, but this will give you a good starting point.
For instance, your elevation will make a difference. I live at about 3500 feet in elevation. The boiling point of water at sea level is 212 degrees F, but is only 205 degrees at my elevation. That means that if you're cooking these at sea level, they'll be done a little bit sooner, since the water was hotter. For every 500 feet in altitude, the boiling point goes down about one degree.
If you have a gas stove, you might need an extra minute. (I don't know, just guessing!) My stove is electric, and the burners stay hot for a couple minutes. Gas burners don't, so they, and the pan on them, would cool faster.
1- put eggs in a pan, cover with cold water.
2- Put a lid on; heat on high until the water reaches a full rolling boil.
3-Turn heat off; leave pan on the burner, with lid on.
4- 5-6 (or up to 12) minutes later, dump hot water and cover eggs with cold water. Cool and eat.
Your timing may be different, but this will give you a good starting point.
For instance, your elevation will make a difference. I live at about 3500 feet in elevation. The boiling point of water at sea level is 212 degrees F, but is only 205 degrees at my elevation. That means that if you're cooking these at sea level, they'll be done a little bit sooner, since the water was hotter. For every 500 feet in altitude, the boiling point goes down about one degree.
If you have a gas stove, you might need an extra minute. (I don't know, just guessing!) My stove is electric, and the burners stay hot for a couple minutes. Gas burners don't, so they, and the pan on them, would cool faster.
Leftover hardboiled eggs?
Here's a family favorite recipe:
Tuna Burgers, serves 4
3 hard-cooked eggs, chopped
1 (5-oz) can tuna, drained and flaked
½ c. (2 oz.) shredded sharp Cheddar
¼ c. chopped green pepper or celery
¼ c. chopped onion
1/8 tsp. garlic powder
¼ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. pepper
¼ c. mayonnaise
4 buns or Kaiser rolls, split
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Mix everything together and spoon onto rolls. Wrap in foil, then bake 15 minutes or until warm through. Also good cold on lettuce as a salad.
Need more ideas?
- Slice them into green salads (Chef Salad, if you also add your leftover ham!) Or maybe Wilted Spinach Salad with warm Bacon dressing?
chop them and add to white sauce; serve over buttered toast (My family calls this Creamed Eggs and eats it for breakfast.) For Goldenrod Eggs, only add the whites to the white sauce. Push the hardboiled yolks through a sieve over top of the sauce on toast.
make deviled eggs
sliced or chop and add to casseroles
make egg salad/sandwiches
egg-olive sandwich: chop 4 eggs with 8 stuffed olives and 2 T mayo. Spread on bread.
add to potato salad
stir into macaroni salad
add to chicken salad, especially with curry powder added
mix with cooked hamburger and Mexican spices for empanada filling
If you need actual recipes, there's a great collection at Sparkpeople.com
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