How to Cook Hard Boil Eggs
February 25, 2009 | In: Cooking
Hard Boil Eggs
Hard boil eggs are great food when served once in a while. They can be eaten and can be used in a variety of recipes either as main ingredients or as garnishing.
It may sound and look easy to cook hard boil eggs but there are techniques on how to get it right. Just because you say hard boil doesn’t necessarily mean they have to be cooked hard and dry. There are two variations to this actually – the soft boil and the hard boil.
Before we get to the procedure of how to cook hard boil eggs, there may be some things that you still need to know. Did you know that fresh eggs are not ideal for making hard boil eggs? The older eggs are highly recommended because when cooked, they’re easier to peel compared to the fresh ones.
If you’re boiling eggs for use in your deviled eggs recipe, you have to make sure that the yolks are centered. How do you this? Place the eggs on their sides on their carton container for 8 hours or perhaps overnight and you’re sure to get it right.
Now before you boil the eggs, take them out of the refrigerator first and let them stay outside for about 30 minutes. This way, you lessen the shock caused by a change in temperature. This will also lessen the cracks in the egg shell when you boil and will result in an easier peeling.
Make sure you have the appropriate size of pot where you’ll be boiling your eggs. There should be enough room for them to prevent them from bumping each other. If the pot is small, the bumping of eggs during cooking will result in cracks.
When filling the pot with water, keep in mind that the eggs should be totally covered by the liquid with an inch allowance above. This would ensure that the entire egg is cooked.
Now turn on your gas stove using medium heat and cover the pot with lid as you bring to a boil. Once the water has come to a full boil, remove the pot and transfer to a cold burner. Turn off your stove at this time. You will know that your water has fully boiled when you see large bubbles and heavy steam. The reason for removing the pot from the heat is because cooking the eggs in boiling water will only result in hard and rubbery eggs.
Do not remove the eggs just yet after removing the pot from the heat. Sprinkle at least a teaspoon of salt over the water and eggs for easier peeling later. If you want soft cooked eggs, let them stay in the hot water for a few more minutes. For hard cooked eggs, leave them for about 15 minutes more.
From there, you can now drain the hot water and replace it with cold water. You can even use ice cubes if you wish. Cooling the eggs is essential to prevent the formation of a greenish ring around the egg yolk. Let your eggs cool for 15 to 25 minutes before peeling.
Peeling is easy but make sure you tap the egg only lightly to crack the shell. If they’re not easy to peel yet, you can put the eggs back into the cold water until they shells can be easily peeled off.
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