How to Make Perfect Hard Boiled Eggs

Cracking eggs on their sides spreads the force over a greater surface area and facilitates peeling.

Few foods have the versatility of eggs. They have paramount importance in both sweet and savory cooking, and their applications -- binder, emulsifier and thickener -- supplement their position as a stand-alone dish. There are several methods to perfectly hard boil an egg, and the most reliable involve controlling time and temperature. But most problems concerning hard-boiled eggs arise when peeling their shells. Hard-boiled eggs are peeled easiest when warm, before the air separating the inner and outer membranes -- the two films of protein that separate the shell from the albumen -- dissipates and causes the shell to stick.

Things You'll Need

• Eggs
• Saucepan with lid
• Instant-read thermometer

Instructions

Method I

1. Arrange the eggs in the bottom of a saucepan. Allow about 1/2 inch of space between each egg.

2. Cover the eggs with enough cold water to cover them by 1 inch.

3. Attach an instant-read thermometer to the saucepan and set the heat to high.

4. Heat the water until it reaches 212 degrees Fahrenheit and remove it from the heat. Cover the saucepan with the lid and place it on a kitchen towel.

5. Let medium eggs stand in the water for 12 minutes; allow large eggs to stand 15 minutes; let extra-large eggs stand 18 minutes. Drain the eggs and allow them to cool until you can handle them.

6. Crack each egg on its side against a flat surface, such as a counter top. Cracking eggs against an sharp angle, such as the side of a saucepan, pushes small pieces of shell into the egg white. Peel the shell from the eggs.

Method II

1. Arrange four large eggs in the bottom of a 1-qt. saucepan. Cover the eggs with 1/2 inch of cold water.

2. Set the heat to high and bring the water to a boil. Adjust the heat to medium-high and gently boil the eggs for 10 minutes. The water temperature range for a gentle boil is between 185 and 200 degrees Fahrenheit.

3. Remove the eggs from the heat and run cold water over them for several minutes or until cool enough to handle. Crack each egg on its side against a flat surface and peel the shell.

Tips & Warnings

• The timing of the eggs boiling is important. If they do not boil long enough, there will still be soft yolk. If they boil too long, they will get tough, and be very hard to peel.

References

• Incredible Edible Egg: Basic Hard-Boiled Eggs
• "Gourmet"; Hard-Boiled Eggs; December 2006