How to cook Hard Boiled Eggs?
I know, I know, I'm 39 and can't cook. Growing up we used to have pancakes for dinner, and chef boyardee ravioli. (I didn't know that ravioli didn't actually come in a can until I was an adult!!  )
So, how do I cook hardboiled eggs? |
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| I love eggs! I put the eggs in a pot and cover them with water. Then I put them on the stove at medium heat. Too hot and they will crack. Let water boil a few minutes (3 or 4). Test egg by spinning it (a raw egg is wobbly). Rinse under cool water. |
| Everyone hardboils eggs a little differently. As was stated, warm the eggs slowly. Going from the refrig into water and a fast boil is more likely to cause a crack. Let the eggs come to room temperature if possible then into the water and proceed as above. They really don't need a long cook, when they are hard, they are hard and don't get "harder." |
| If you want to cook hardboiled eggs perfectly (tender whites and bright yellow yolks with no green) here is your answer:
Foolproof method for hardboiled (hard boiled) eggs -- no green: Place eggs in cold water in pan and cover. Bring to boil. Remove from heat. Let sit for 20 minutes. Drain and rinse in very cold water until cold. Another tip: Don't use eggs that are very fresh! Use eggs that are about 1 week old. (This will make your hard boiled eggs much easier to peel) |
| That's how I do it Ron. Also, don't use really fresh eggs because they don't peel well. |
| You can buy an egg cooker. There's a great model by Oster that is so simple to use. You just add a little water, plug in and press the button. It also has a holder to make poached eggs.
I find trying to rinse hot eggs burns my fingers, so I usually fill up the sink with some cold water and put the cooked eggs in there to sit for a little bit. |
| I just run the cold water, drain the pot into the sink, fill the pot with cold water running over the eggs, drain the pot into the sink, fill the pot with cold water running over the eggs, and repeat, until I can run the water over the eggs constantly with the pot tipped.
I've never really had problems peeling the eggs, although come to think of it it's almost always done with "excess" eggs that we have, so you may have something there! (In case anyone is wondering, the reason for the running of cold water over the eggs is to cool them down and stop the cooking. Avoiding this step will probably cause green around the yolk. You want to get the eggs up to a high temperature for a sustained amount of time to ensure they are fully cooked safe to eat through and through, then you cool them down rapidly to avoid over cooking.) |
| I always just boil them for 10 or 15 minutes and then rinse them in cold water. LOL |
If you'll put a pinch of salt in your water, it will keep your shells from cracking (according to Paula Deen).  |
Beaureguard's Mom wrote: If you'll put a pinch of salt in your water, it will keep your shells from cracking (according to Paula Deen).
I'm surprised it's not butter that she suggested! 
Personally, I am a fan of the short boil, then sit in the hot water method, versus the boil for a longer time and immediately remove from hot water method...I don't know why...less green, maybe...but I don't really eat eggs anymore, so I'm not the best person to listen to! |
| Deb, you and I are competing for worst cook on the forum.
I tried to boil eggs once and actually let them go so long the pot ran dry!!! |
Maxmm wrote: Deb, you and I are competing for worst cook on the forum.
I tried to boil eggs once and actually let them go so long the pot ran dry!!! How'd they taste? |
| They were actually okay. Go figure! |
| Okay, so new method:
Put eggs in pot. Cover with water. Cook until water runs out and pot catches on fire...Enjoy! |
Willowsprite wrote: I always just boil them for 10 or 15 minutes and then rinse them in cold water. LOL
I do 15 minutes too  |
| I cook too many of these things, lol My sons love them and eat 2-3 of them a day.
I put the eggs in a pot, cover them with water, add a little salt, and cook them for about 10 minutes. |
| I like to make sure anything and everything I cook is really well done.
It's one of the reasons I really love cooking with my crock pot.... I can cook it all day and it's not overdone |
| barney1 wrote:
Quote: Put eggs in pot. Cover with water. Cook until water runs out and pot catches on fire...Enjoy!
Is that how to make fried eggs?!! I've never had any lick with those. I either break the yolk or it is over done. I use Ron's method to hard boil mine. |
WOW LOL, I didn't expect to find so many different ways to cook hard boiled eggs!! 
I will try each of yours, including Mandy's  and get back to you on how they taste.
Fortunately my husband likes to cook, but instead of reading a cook book he'll experiment with things like fish with dry Rub BBQ seasoning on it. (sorry Chris if you're lurking...) But there are many meals that he cooks that are yummy of course!
A. Yager, I like your Warhol sheepdog avatar. |
| I just boil the hell out of them, dump them in the sink, throw a bunch of ice cubes on them and when they are cool, peel them! Lazy, huh? |
| Even lazier way...go to the grocery store, deli section....buy 12 in a bag already cooked and peeled...... |
Darcy wrote: Even lazier way...go to the grocery store, deli section....buy 12 in a bag already cooked and peeled......
Now that is LAZY!!! |
| OMG Darcy! That is lazy!
As for cooking, when I got married my husband's secretary said, " If you can read, you can cook." She forgot to add "follow directions." It should be "read and follow directions." Cooking is for the adventuresome, hence the husband who doesn't follow instructions. Baking is for the precise. |
| as most of you know I LOVE to cook. Funny last week I forgot the eggs on the stove and the water boiled almost away. Just a tsp on the bottom.
( thank god for good cook ware) but the funny thing is I put then into cold water and let them set. They were the best eggs we have had. no green!! they shelled perfect. go figure  |
| At church, we dye alot of eggs red for Easter.......like hundreds. To get this done, they are dyed as they cook. Also the only color used is red, deep red. Here's how we do it:
Set eggs out to warm to air temperature. Fill the very large kettles about half full with tap water. Bring to boil. While waiting for the water to boil, warm eggs in warm water (separate from the above water). Dissolve 1 bottle od Rit dye scarlet color with 1 cup vinegar and a little water, add to boiling water. Add eggs to the kettle (we use wicker baskets to lower them in). Boil 20 minutes. When the eggs come out, don't rinse. Instead allow to drain until dry, then rub with with an oil soaked cloth. The eggs are hot, be careful. Then store in cooler. |
| Doesn't the Rit dye make the eggs inedible? |
| A lot of Greeks would be dead now if that were the case. I wouldn't save the cracked eggs.......... |
Why only red?  |
| Okay the reason that I had to buy my hard boiled eggs is this....I have a 1944 stove..gas...and B thinks that the stove "heats" up the house too much during the summer....so, he turns off the gas line to the stove...sooooo, all summer, I have the grill, electric skillet, toaster oven and a crock pot to cook in.... do you know how hard it is to make spaghetti without a stove???!!! I am fairly proficient now, but, if I have to buy my hardboiled eggs during the summer so be it! My goal this summer is to make a cake on the grill........ |
| This thread is TOO funny! Of all the complicated recipes that have been posted and shared, and we have a 2 page thread on hard boiling eggs!
For the record, I also use Ron's method. |
Darcy wrote: My goal this summer is to make a cake on the grill........
If I get my old Girl Scout books out I'll teach you how to build an oven out of a liquor bottle box, tin foil and charcoal. We baked cakes that way one summer. I'm beginning to realize why I don't like to cook and I think it all stems back to Girl Scouts! |
| I made an oven like that in Girl Scouts too! (although mine wasn't out of a liquor box )
We made ours out of one of those cardboard file boxes... |
| Red sybolized the blood Christ shed on the cross.
Remember in the movie "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" where they are breaking eggs? On Easter Sunday when the 7 week fast is broken and eggs can again be eaten, people take an egg and crack it against someone else's egg (big end to big end or little to little). The one who's egg survives the contest will have good luck all year. |
| Thank you! I really enjoy learning about different cultures & traditions.
So, you can't eat eggs during lent? Is there anything else that is restricted? |
Darcy wrote: My goal this summer is to make a cake on the grill........
Darcy, those are the best cakes!!!! My dad makes them for me for my birthday every year. He uses iron camping cookware, mixes the cake mix with a can of pie filling and puts it on the grill........my favorite is chocolate w/ cherries.....also, yellow w/ peaches........yummy!!!!! Crazy but it works! |
| oh yeah!
All meat, fish, dairy (eggs too), olive oil (but not olives...go figure), liquor and I suspect sex too, but I haven't checked  Also no weddings and dances during Lent. There are a few breaks within the 7 weeks allowing olive oil & fish, but I think only two.
There's a shorter Lent before Christmas, only 40 days with less restrictions. And a several few day fasts thru the year. One would think this is the time to loose weight........I wish. I find myself eating too much carbohydrates. Only protein comes down to shellfish, beans and nuts. Thank goodness for Boca and Morningstar products. Still, its hard. |
| That is pretty restrictive...I'd probably eat pasta every day.
So Easter is a big feast day, huh? |
| Holy week (which this year is a year later than western Easter) is pretty intense with many church services. Friday usually has 3 services but most parishes combine them into two. Saturday has a morning and then the late evening that goes until midnight which is the climax service of the Orthodox year. If you are near a Greek church, go to the church for that late evening service. Candles are lighted, then extenquished, relighted to announce the new life. The Kouvouklion (bier), decorated with flowers, is carried around the church.......or often outside around the church. The congregation is sprinkled with rose water (representing tears), etc. It is quite an event. You don't have to be Greek to attend and if you can squeeze into the church, it is quite interesting. Yes, alot is in Greek, but often translations are in the pews.
(this year I get to decorate the Kouvouklion--prayers are welcome as I haven't a clue what to do.) Easter day as a service, brief as everyone is still a bit sleepy. Then afterwards it's party time! Spring lamb is traditional fare. The week after Easter has not fasting (Orthodox fast on all Wednesdays and Fridays) and is time to eat those chocolate eggs and jellybeans. |
| That's very interesting! I'm going to see if there is a Greek Orthodox church nearby. I'd love to visit. |
| I wrote to Rit asking about it's use on Easter eggs.
Ron wrote: Hi, A question came up today on our forum about using Rit Dye to color Easter eggs. The question is whether or not Easter eggs colored with Rit Dye are edible. Can you help us by providing me with your answer? Thanks. Ron, webmaster, www.oes.org Nicki, from Rit Customer Service wrote: Ron- Thank you for your interest in our RIT products. Rit does not recommend their products on anything that is edible. So therefore, I would not recommend using the RIT dye on Easter Eggs. If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact us again. Thank You- Nicki RIT Customer Service |
| Has any one used onion skins to dye the eggs? It's a Slovak Easter tradition -- they come out a pretty mahogony brown... (Very common in the Allentown-Bethlehem PA area)
I'm sure I have the "real" recipe if anyone wants it. Marie Ocala, FL |
| Susan, could you cook the eggs in beet juice or wouldn't that be the proper shade of red? |
| They'd probably be a bit too brown. Still, why not? There are many natural dyes.
Curious Ron about the Rit dye. I have some powdered dye from Greece I sometimes use here at home. I'm not sure it would be any safer since FDA hasn't approved it. I wonder if Rit is covering their "arse" for legal purposes since they haven't been approved as a food grade dye, but the product is still safe. We aren't the only parish doing this.....hmmmmm. And as far as visiting the Greek Orthodox church, anybody is welcome. There is no secret hand shake. For Catholics, it will seem like old style service.........afterall, they were the same for the first 1,000 years then broke apart. |
| P.S.
I forgot to say any orthodox church is open; Greek, Russian, Antiochian, etc. Antiochian Orthodox was originally based in the Middle East but has been most open to Westerners converting over. If you are old enough to remember Campus Crusade for Christ, many of their leaders coverted to Antiochian Orthodoxy. Many Anglicans have also converted over. My, how this has strayed from boiled eggs!!! |
bestdogsx4 wrote: Susan, could you cook the eggs in beet juice or wouldn't that be the proper shade of red?
Actually, when you dye them in beet juice they turn a lovely shade of pinkishpurple. Just ask Jil, she loves to eat them everytime she comes to PA!!!!!! |
| I was thinking about the onion skins, missed the beets. Sound pretty, but not blood red.
How do you do it? Boil with eggs? Use vinegar? |
| I think Chris might know. I would have to ask my grandmother because, as you may already know, I am not the cooking type!
I do believe that vinegar is involved in the process though. |
| The eggs are not cooked in the beet juice, and they don't keep the shell on. You have to hard boil them first. After they're cool, peel them and place the peeled eggs in beet juice and just let them soak. If they soak long enough, the white of the egg will be "pinkishpurplish" right down to the yolk. They also need to be stored in the beet juice because of already being peeled. One of my husband's favorites, but not mine!
Marie, how do you know about the Allentown-Bethlehem, PA area? |
| BTW, when the eggs are made like this, they're called pickled eggs. |
| And Jil loves them!!!!!
(I can't believe I can't even poke her into replying!!!) |
| I love pickeled eggs. It's been awhile since I made them.........oh, wait, sodium........drat! Hmmm, maybe fresh beets w/o salt...........hmmm.
sheepieboss |
| Does beet juice have sodium? I mean, I know pretty much everything has sodium, but does plain old beet juice have a lot of it? I guess it does since it is a canned process...hmmm, I don't much like regular hard boiled eggs, but I do like pickled eggs... |
| I always used those bottles of food coloring and vinegar to dye my eggs. I never knew you could use other things (besides those little tablets which is pretty much food coloring too). |
| Oh yeah, they have all sorts of natural food dyes. Basically, anything that stains in nature will stain your egg--it's how they used to dye things in the old days...things like tea will give you a brown stain, beets will be pink/red, saffron or pollen will be yellow... |
| Fresh beets are OK, but you only get 3 or 4 per bunch! Ripoff. Canned are somewhat higher in sodium. The already prepared pickled beets could be higher yet. I haven't checked. I distrust anything already prepared. |
| I'm sorry to tell you guys but I still have not made the hard boiled eggs yet.
...And, who exactly hijacked this post to evolve into an pickled eggs & beets thread??? YUCK 
....And Darcy, I need to shop at your supermarket with the pre-made hardboiled egg bags. I never heard of that! |
| They are at Safeway...deli section! |
| You'll never guess what i found at our local Karns grocery store. Premade and packaged hard boiled eggs!!! They were in the vegetable section, top shelf above the cucumbers.
I almost fainted! |
| EEEWWWWW!!!
Those PA folks eat some weird stuff . . . . (I've been working too much this week and totally missed this thread!) |
| yuck. |
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