You would think something as basic as an egg would be easy to cook, and the cooking method would be cut and dry. However, the answer to the question “How do I cook the perfect hard-boiled egg?” is varied.
The Perfectly Cooked Hard-Boiled Egg
Hot or Cold Water?
I found out by accident that this is the most important part. There are many recipes these days that will tell you to start your eggs in cold water, bring them to a boil, turn off the heat, cover, and let them sit for a varied number of minutes. I respectfully disagree, and for more than one reason.
In recent years, I have used the cold start method myself, but I discovered that the amount of time they need to sit varies depending on the type of stove you have. The time it takes to boil water varies on gas, electric, and induction stovetops. If you aren’t using the same type of appliance as the person who wrote the recipe, your results are going to be different. To really nail down a specific time for a perfectly cooked hard-boiled egg, I decided to go back to how I used to do it in the past, adding my eggs to boiling water. However, what I discovered while doing this was far more significant.
Eggs Started in Boiling Water Peel Easier
I kid you not!
Almost everyone enjoys hard-boiled eggs, but not peeling them. When I switched back to putting my eggs in boiling water, I noticed that they were easier to peel. I went on the internet to try to figure out why this was happening. I came across a great article by J. Kenji Lopez-Alt for Serious Eats that explains that “slow-cooked egg whites bond more strongly with the membrane on the inside of an eggshell.”
How Long Do You Cook Hard-Boiled Eggs?
It is important to make something clear when discussing the amount of time it takes to hard-boil an egg. You want to add room-temperature eggs to boiling water, but you don’t want to continue to cook them at a rolling boil, which is 212 degrees. You have to reduce the heat after adding the eggs. Keeping it at a rapid boil will produce a rubbery white, and you don’t want that! You don’t, however, have to reduce it too low. The goal is only to keep it below a rolling boil. The eggs will immediately reduce the water temperature, so reduce it to medium or medium high to maintain a full simmer (about 195–205 degrees). This allows the eggs to cook in 9 minutes while maintaining a silky, creamy texture. Remember, your eggs should be at room temperature. Adding cold, out of the refrigerator eggs to boiling water will tend to make them crack.
After your eggs are cooked, remove them with a slotted spoon and immerse them in ice water for about 5 minutes to cool them off.
The Easiest Way to Peel Hard-Boiled Eggs
Now it is time for the magic to happen, but instead of a magic wand, you simply need a one cup mason jar.
Perfectly Cooked Hard-Boiled Eggs
Instructions
- Fill a pot with water, making sure that after adding the eggs, they will be completely immersed in water.
- Bring it to a rolling boil on high. (You don't need a thermometer. That is only in the photo to show that a rapid boil is about 212 degrees).
- Add the room temperature eggs carefully with a slotted spoon.
- Lower the heat to medium or medium high to maintain a full simmer (as described above).
- Set the timer for 9 minutes.
- Remove the eggs with a slotted spoon and set in a bowl of ice water for about 5 minutes.
- Peel!
