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| my grandmother's steamer, curled up in its nest of bowls |
Just put the eggs over cold water in a metal basket or other steamer, cover, and bring a boil. Boil for 15 minutes. Place eggs in cold water until cool enough to peel.
The shells practically slide off and the yolk is a gorgeous yellow with no olive-green ring (a sign of overcooking). I love that this method also uses less water.
Lots of eggs in the fridge right now from generous farmer friends! I'm thinking of mustard eggs or dill eggs. Or just simply adding them to any summer vegetable meal.
12 comments:
I'm going to have to try this method. Thanks! We have our own chickens, so the eggs are always way too fresh to boil and peel.
What a great tip... My son has chickens, and we are always complaining about the difficulty of peeling boiled eggs.. I tried all the other things, and nothing has worked] Will try this, Thank you.
How much water do you put in the pot?
I have good results peeling if I cook eggs the usual way in water for 8 minutes, followed by two cold water soaks - but that uses a lot of water, so I'm going to give this a try. I would think this method would also reduce the chance of having an egg crack, which happens with every other batch I cook. Thanks for passing this along!
Margo, you have no idea how timely this is!! Yesterday I hard-boiled some eggs, and the shells stuck and took some of the white away with them. And I had used the baking soda! This does not always happen to me, but I'm clueless as to why. I looked to see what Julia said about boiling eggs, and she mentioned the pinhole. Still, you seem so sure of your new method - I'm trying it! Thank you!
Anon, you just put an inch or so of water in the pot, whatever stays under your steamer without touching the food. You want the steam to cook the food, not the water.
I also will add my beloved Cook's Illustrated-recommended way for perfect soft-boiled eggs. Bring about an inch of water to a boil; add up to 6 eggs cold from the fridge (eggs all need to touch the bottom of the pan). Continue boiling for 6 1/2 minutes, then rinse under cold water. Using a similar steaming method as your hard-boiled eggs, and perfect every time, with hard whites and dippy yolks. Mmmmm.
This might just motivate me to buy a steamer. I love hard boiled eggs done right, not overcooked.
And what a pretty plate you have in that last photo!
Sarah, I don't know that you have to buy a steamer. A small colander or strainer could work, anything that keeps the eggs out of the water and allows the steam to circulate with the pan lid closed. . . Until I started steaming eggs, I was only keeping my grandmother's steamer around for sentimental reasons!
Delicious - I love eggs! I'm going to have to try the mustard eggs (and the steaming method!!)
What!
I am trying this today. I can never get my eggs just right and always end up overcooking them, and staring at that accusatory green ring around the yolk......
I have tried every trick in the book to get hard boiled eggs to peel easily. I''ve never seen the steaming method before and couldn't wait to try it. Dear readers, it works! Thank you so much, Margot.
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