Saturday, December 6, 2008

Perfect Boiled Eggs

Eggs, hard boiled perfectly, with pure yellow yolks and not a trace of green on the edges.

Perfect Boiled Eggs

Perfect boiled eggs seem hit and miss these days, but this method that I've used for years is pretty consistent to give you a pretty yellow yolk, no green edges, and a shell that easily separates from the membrane and doesn't shatter to a bazillion pieces. Even still, sometimes they peel beautifully and other times they are downright stubborn.

Whenever the topic of boiling eggs comes up, folks will pipe in and share their favorite methods, from baking soda, to vinegar, and even puncturing them are all common and I've tried them all. I'll have eggs in the same batch where one will peel beautifully, but on another the membrane will cling tight to the shell and peel away large chunks of the white. It's very frustrating, especially if you are trying to make some pretty deviled eggs to bring to a party!

I find that good ole salt does the trick! It's all about the same process of osmosis that works to flavor and tenderize meats. Osmosis is the flow of water through a semi-permeable membrane from an area of higher water concentration to an area of lower water concentration. When eggs are in a solution such as salt water, having a higher concentration of water than was inside the egg’s membrane, water flows into the egg, making it easier for the membrane to separate, and easier to peel. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

To boil a pretty much perfect egg, simply place the eggs in an appropriate size sauce pan so that they are fairly crowded with little room to move around. This will help to alleviate them bumping together and cracking during the boiling process.

Cover the eggs with water and add a tablespoon of salt. Bring the uncovered pot to a full, rolling boil (about 10 minutes on high), then immediately cover the pot and turn off heat, but leave the pot on the stove eye. Allow to sit covered for 15 minutes.


Drain the pot and place under the faucet tap, letting the eggs rinse under a steady stream of water, emptying and refilling the pot with cool water several times until the water is no longer hot. Let the eggs rest for 10 minutes in the cool water. If using right away, gently roll the eggs to crack them all the way around.


Peel eggs directly over the pot under a slow stream of water, starting from the larger end first.



Recipe: Perfect Boiled Eggs

©From the Kitchen of Deep South Dish
Prep time: 10 min |Cook time: 15 min | Yield: As many as you make!

Ingredients
  • 6 to 12 eggs
  • Water to cover the eggs, plus an inch
  • 1 tablespoon of salt
Instructions

Place eggs in an appropriate size sauce pan so that they are crowded with little room to move around. This will help to alleviate them bumping together and cracking during the boiling process.

Cover the eggs with water and add the salt. Bring the uncovered pot to a full, rolling boil (about 10 minutes on high), then immediately cover the pot and turn off heat, but leave the pot on the stove eye. Allow to sit covered for 15 minutes.

Drain the pot and place under the faucet tap, letting the eggs rinse under a steady stream of water, emptying and refilling the pot with cool water several times until the water is no longer hot. Let the eggs rest for 10 minutes in the cool water.

If using right away, crack the eggs all the way around and peel eggs directly over the pot under a slow stream of water, starting from the larger end first. Let dry and prepare or store in a covered container in the refrigerator.

If you are cooking them to store, don't crack them, but drain and cool them as above. Store covered and unpeeled in fridge. Boiled eggs in the shell will stay fresh generally for up to 2 weeks, peeled about a week.

Cook's Notes: If you have a disposal, take care when peeling under the tap not to allow stray shell to go down the drain, as egg shell can clog up the disposal and cause it to stop working.

Tips:
  1. Egg shells are porous to allow air in and out of the shell. Fresh eggs contain higher levels of moisture and generally do not peel easily. When boiling eggs, it's generally best to use the oldest eggs you have in the fridge.
  2. White eggs seem to peel easier than brown. Farm eggs peel the best, white or brown.
  3. Drain the pot and place under the faucet tap, letting the eggs rinse under a steady stream of water, emptying and refilling the pot with cool water several times until the water is no longer hot. Let the eggs rest for 10 minutes in the cool water.
  4. If using right away, gently crack the eggs all the way around and peel eggs directly over the pot under a slow stream of water, starting from the larger end first. Let dry and prepare or store in a covered container in the refrigerator. Cracking will help separate the membrane between the egg and the shell making them easier to peel.
Source: http://deepsouthdish.com

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Posted by on December 6, 2008
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