How do you boil an egg?

[RPCookin]

Would you believe ... when a cookery school grad wants a job in a kitchen with a first class chef ... one of the first things they have to demonstrate is their ability to properly cook eggs?

Eggs were the main topic of the first class session in the 4 day class I took in Classic Essentials. We did everything from simple boiling to making omelettes, mayonnaise, and baked meringue cups for macerated berries.

As mentioned earilier, the best way is supposed to be starting with cool tap water, bring evenly to a boil, then remove from heat and leave covered for 10-15 minutes.

For shelling, fresh eggs are the most difficult to peel... older (1-2 weeks) eggs will usually peel easily because the binder between the membrane and the inner egg starts to naturally break down.

 

[NZDoug]

Never in a million years did I think there could be so much discussion on the subject of boiling an egg! To be honest I thought the thread title was a lure to bait people into looking at the thread, lol!

Heres looking at an egg from fridge to eat total time 10 minutes, eating not included. 7 size egg, btw.
Lensbaby on S2pro camera for you photo fans
Click image to enlarge.

 

[D_Blackwell]

I tweaked my Boiled Egg recipe from the one on goodegg.com - perfect boiled eggs. (On rare occassion I'll get a bit of the green ring, probably just something about the particular batch of eggs, because I don't deviate from my recipe; always using an immediate ice bath for about 5 minutes.)
http://www.goodegg.com/boiledegg.html

 

[BigDog]

Interesting.

I put the eggs in the cold pan with tap water covering them by about 1/2 an inch. Then onto the (electric range) stove on high to bring to a boil. Once at a boil, the heat is backed off to somewhere around med to med-high and they cook for 20 minutes. Rinsed under cold water and put in a bowl or whatever and in the fridge. DW then peels them later and puts them into containers for breakfast (I'm not a hard boiled egg fan). Never have any problems with green, and never poked holes in prior to cooking.

 

[Alix]

Once again we hit 3 pages on boiling eggs. That always makes me chuckle.

For my part, I am in the put the eggs in the cold water and bring them to a boil. I do them 10 minutes for hard boiled and about 4 for soft boiled (which is what you are showing, Doug)

I learned that a lot of the timing of eggs is altitude. Is that not correct? If I boiled my eggs for 20 minutes they would be pretty danged UGLY.

 

[BigDog]

If I boiled my eggs for 20 minutes they would be pretty danged UGLY.

Not boiled for 20 minutes, brought up to a boil then essentially simmered for 20 minutes.

 

[Alix]

Sorry BigDog, was referring to a much earlier post (ambers I think). But, even at simmering I suspect 20 minutes would be very overdone for me. I turn my stove down to medium low after the initial hard boil and start timing then. So, I guess I simmer too.

 

[Chopstix]

Va and Breezy, eggs IS an interesting topic! Alton Brown devotes one whole chapter to it in his book 'I'm Just Here For the Food'.

 

[Chopstix]

Using AB's advice, I steam my whole eggs. I use my rice cooker as as steamer. Once the water inside is boiling, I place the steamer basket with the eggs. Wait 10 minutes for hard white but soft yellow, or 12 min for hard-boiled. Place in cold water to cool and crack under water.

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

Wow! You guys cook your eggs a long time. Mine come out perfect for hardboiled eggs at ten minutes boiling time. I start in cold water and begin timing as the bubble just start rising to the top.

For perfect soft-boiled eggs, I start in cold water, bring to a boil, and cook at boiling for exactly 2 minutes - 38 seconds.

For both egg-types, I crack the eggshell under cold running water, let sit for a minute or so. The egg-shell always comes off cleanly when I do this.

I'm not sure what my altitude is, but I am on the shores of Lake Superior.

Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the North

 

[silvercliff_46]

I do what Sarah Moulten (Molten ?) on the Food Channel does. Start in cold water, bring to a boil, shut off the flame, cover 15 min. and done.

 

[AllenOK]

When I was younger, before I went to school, I tried bring water to a boil, then adding the eggs with a spoon. I would usually loose a third of the eggs to cracking as the cold shells hit the hot water.

Now, I start by placing the eggs in the pan, covering with 1/2" of hot water out of the tap, covering the pan, and placing it on a hot burner. As long as my electric burner is red-hot when I put the pan on, it will boil in a few minutes. I then turn the heat down enough to maintain a simmer, covered, and start a 14-minute timer. After 14 minutes, uncover, drain, fill with enough cold water to cover the eggs, then add a few ice cubes to stop the cooking. Perfect eggs each time.

I see many different times listed, especially "off the heat". What people are doing is poaching the eggs, in the shell. The varying time will result in differently cooked egg yolks, depending on how long you actually boiled the eggs, and your altitude. Altitude only comes into play because the lower air pressure affects the temperature at which water boils. Lower air pressure means a lower boiling point (put a bowl of water into a vaccuum chamber, and remove the air. At one point, room-temperature water will boil, but because you are lowering the air pressure, temperature is also going down, and when it hits 32 degrees, the "boiling" water will actually freeze at the same time). So, longer times "at altitude" are a compensation for the water boiling at a lower temperature.

Also, you have carry-over cooking to worry about. Even if you drain the hot water from the eggs, the eggs themselves are still hot, and are still cooking, until they are immersed into cold water. The faster you stop the cooking, the more chances you have that your eggs will not overcook and get the grey-green ring on the yolk.

 

[BreezyCooking]

Again, OUTRAGEOUSLY funny how many pages this topic has gone on for. Just stick your darn eggs in a pan, cover them with water, bring them to a boil for a minute or so, & take them off the heat for 10 or 15 minutes. You're not performing brain surgery or sending a rocket to the moon.

It would be interesting to see if a recipe about baking salmon in puff pastry or Beef Wellington would garner this many posts.

 

[Alix]

Allen, thanks for the stuff about altitude, I DID know that. Just momentarily slipped my mind!

 

[Seven S]

truth is, there are few "constants" when starting out the eggs in cold water... that is, the chosen pot's materials and size, the volume of water used, which burner on your stove you are using, etc. - these will all contribute to the "time" it takes to get the result you want... when adding the eggs to the pot of water already at a boil, you are sure that the water is approx at 212 F or boiling point (regardless of what pot, how much water, which burner, and how long it took to get to boil) and therefore, measuring the time of the eggs cooking from that point forward is more accurate... i say, if your method works fine, then stick to it and if it doesnt, DC is a great place to find all the differing opinions on the subject and find which one works for you!

 

[skilletlicker]

Again, OUTRAGEOUSLY funny how many pages this topic has gone on for. Just stick your darn eggs in a pan, cover them with water, bring them to a boil for a minute or so, & take them off the heat for 10 or 15 minutes. You're not performing brain surgery or sending a rocket to the moon.

It would be interesting to see if a recipe about baking salmon in puff pastry or Beef Wellington would garner this many posts.

A recipe about baking salmon in puff pastry or Beef Wellington would not garner a post from me because I have never made either dish and am not interested in making them in the foreseeable future. My interest is in well made, simple home cooking, so topics about how to make very good bread, pasta, potatoes, and even boiled eggs are more interesting and useful to me. I think there a few more, kind of like me, out there.

I wasn't going to comment on this topic but, since I'm here, I like to poke holes in eggs and gently set them, in one layer, into enough boiling water to cover by one inch, simmer for 14 minutes, then move to cold water.

 

[Beke]

I was always told adding salt to the water prior to boiling the eggs makes the shells come off easier and in bigger pieces. I always had trouble cause the shells wouldn't peel off easily at all, so I put salt in the water and it worked! Or maybe I got lucky and didn't realize it.

 

[Gretchen]

Would you believe ... when a cookery school grad wants a job in a kitchen with a first class chef ... one of the first things they have to demonstrate is their ability to properly cook eggs?

Yes, according to an interview I heard with Julia, it is the properly cooked omelette that is the supreme test.

 

[Gretchen]

Once again we hit 3 pages on boiling eggs. That always makes me chuckle.

For my part, I am in the put the eggs in the cold water and bring them to a boil. I do them 10 minutes for hard boiled and about 4 for soft boiled (which is what you are showing, Doug)

I learned that a lot of the timing of eggs is altitude. Is that not correct? If I boiled my eggs for 20 minutes they would be pretty danged UGLY.

That would be the eggs I like also, although maybe closer to 3 minutes for soft.

And I always thought the metal of the pan caused the ring--aluminum=green. Learned a new thang.

And altitude would really affect time since the water is not "boiling".

In the South there are the time honored pickled eggs sold in corner stores. There was an article in our paper about preparing this "delicacy" and the folks that did the peeling. Those are boiled for a LONG time--30 minutes. They are SO hard!! I have forgotten how many these people could peel per minute but it was prodigious!!

And one other tidbit--if you are making eggs for devilled eggs and want the yolk "centered", stir them gently in a circular motion when first adding to the water.

 

[PytnPlace]

I put the eggs in a pan and cover them with about an inch of water. I also add salt and vinegar - only been doing that for a couple years. Someone told me that this makes your eggs easier to peel and I have found that to be true. Once boiling I cover, lower the heat and simmer for exactly 15 minutes. Then run cold water over them. They come out perfect for me. No green ring, cooked through, peel easily.