Cooking Hard Boiled Eggs for Easter

[lorideanb]

What is the best way to cook hard boiled eggs for Easter for the kids to dye.

[emilycat]

We used to do this all the time! Alas, no more, but I loved so much dyeing them every Easter. My mom placed the eggs in a large saucepan filled with water, brought it to a boil, then she removed it from heat and covered the pot with a lid for 10 minutes. Then we did our dyeing magic, which is of course the most fun http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

[DmOrtega]

I have been cooking hard boiled eggs for the last 3 years in our rice steamer. I can cook a dozen at a time and they do not turn green around the yolk inside.

[HARRYET]

the reason the yokes turn green is because they've been over cooked. I use the same method a Emily, and have perfect eggs everytime.

My MIL just sent my kids Ostrich eggs to dye for Easter this year, boy are they HUGE!, don't know if I have a bowls big enough for all the dying colors!

Ann

[DmOrtega]

http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/eek.gif HARRYET --- you can go to a second hand store and pick up buckets to use. Do you eat the eggs. Have you ever made deviled eggs with them ?

[HARRYET]

No I never have eaten them, my MIL bought them from a local ostrich farm already hollowed out. But my neighbor bought and scrambled Emu eggs and invited my son over for breakfast, she said it was just like eating chicken eggs, and they told her it was equivlent to 12 chicken eggs! WOW thats alota eggs!

Ann

P.S. Thanks for the tip on the buckets, I think I'll try and get some tomorrow!

[This message has been edited by HARRYET (edited 04-12-2001).]

[BJennif]

Hmmnnnn..Easter eggs, what I should be doing instead of surfing here...I usually boil 10-15 minutes, but then I cooked 8 dozen at once this year! Put a little white vinegar in the water, it will keep them in the shell if they crack. Like I said I had 7 dozen after breakage from boiling, and I have 3 dozen left to decorate by Saturday. I decorate them with hot wax, then wherever the wax is the color doesn't go. It's not like Ukrainian eggs though, we read the were Lithuanian, but my family has just always done them for like 4-5 generations. It's cool though, wish I could share it with everyone..sometimes we go to school classes and show the kids. That's fun. Good luck everyone with their eggs!
Jen

[ewatkins]

Just don't forget about them (as I did) and let the water actually boil--you'll get a lot of cracks. Also -if you are at altitude, you need to cook them (simmer or just sit) for at least 20 min.

[Chef Cindy]

I use the same method as emilycat. I first saw this method of a Chinese cooking show several years ago and have been happy with results. I remember my Mom when I was a kid trying all these different things each year so the eggs would not crack. The method I remember most was my mom using a dish towel in the pot of water to keep the eggs from crashing into one another. She always seemed so frustrated when things didn't go well. I wish I could have helped her at the time...who knew?? With the eggs sitting without the heat on the yolks don't get so dry and I don't have to gasp for air, LOL, SOMEONE CALL 911 P-L-E-A-S-E!!!

[SandyM]

From our friends at Cooks Illustrated: Emily, do you work there on the side??? http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/biggrin.gif

An egg with a perfectly creamy yolk, tender white, and no green ring results from a simple bring-it-to-a-boil method.

The challenge: Hard-cooking an egg can be a crapshoot. There’s no way to watch the proteins cook under the brittle shell of an uncracked egg, and you certainly can’t poke it with an instant-read thermometer. The signs of the hard-cooked egg that has been left to sit in a pot of boiling water for 20 minutes or more are all too familiar: rubbery white, chalky yolk, and an off-green ring marrying the two. While undercooked eggs seem to appear less often, they’re mostly suitable for breakfast; certainly not for egg salad. How, then, to consistently come up the perfectly hard-cooked egg, with a moist and creamy yolk, a firm yet tender white, and no trace of an unpleasantly green ring?

The solution: Our initial research revealed two schools of thought on how to hard-cook and egg: (1) cover eggs with cold water in a saucepan, bring to a boil, then lower to simmer and continue cooking anywhere from 5 to 20 minutes; (2) place the eggs to cover in boiling water, which is then lowered to a simmer, and continue to simmer for 15 to 20 minutes more. Both methods suggest an ice water bath or a running faucet of cold water to stop the eggs from cooking. After numerous experiments in which the cooking time was adjusted, we got each of these methods to work. But the results would be hard to replicate. Boiling is boiling, but people have different ideas about the meaning of a simmer. Meanwhile, lowering eggs into boiling water is something of a trial. At least one usually cracks.
We finally got our foolproof recipe by tinkering just a little with a technique recommended by the American Egg Board: start the eggs in cold water, bring the water to a boil, then remove the pan from the heat and let the eggs sit for 15 minutes. Our tests brought the sitting time down to 10 minutes, but our tasters agreed that these were perfectly cooked eggs. And, best of all, the technique worked every time in all sorts and sizes of pan. That green ring was nowhere to be seen.

For good measure: The appearance of a green ring around the yolk of a cooked egg is a sign of excessive or prolonged heat. Under such conditions, the iron in the yolk reacts with the sulfur in the white to produce ferrous sulfide, which shows itself by discoloring the egg. High iron levels in household tap water can also promote discoloring because water seeps into the egg during boiling.

FOOLPROOF BOILED EGGS

Makes 6 eggs

You may double or triple this recipe as long as you use a pot large enough to hold the eggs in a single layer, covered by an inch of water.

6 large eggs

Place eggs in medium saucepan, cover with 1 inch of water, and bring to boil over high heat. Remove pan from heat, cover, and let sit for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, fill a medium bowl with 1 quart water and 1 tray of ice cubes (or equivalent). Transfer eggs to ice water bath with slotted spoon; let sit 5 minutes. Peel and use as desired, or proceed with one of the salad recipes (see Exceptional Egg Salad).

March, 1999
Original article and recipes by Maryellen Driscoll

[Karen from VA]

Did you know that poking a hole in the large end of each egg with a needle before boiling will keep them from cracking? Try it, it really works.

Karen

[kwormann]

I also use the methos mentioned, but grew up on the boil 'em for 20 minutes technique. Its a wonder I was willing to try them as an adult!

Kim

[lorideanb]

Thanks for all your help, will be cooking them this afternoon. I think I am going to try to boil them then let sit for 10 min. thanks again have a great Easter weekend.

[SHERRY]

SandyM...thank you for posting the Cook's Ill. directions...I went to their site yesterday and I could not access that article, I guess you have to purchase a years subscription to the web site to view their material...Do you subscribe, is it the same or better than the magazine subscription.. http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/biggrin.gif Anyway, thanks a bunch!

[SandyM]

Hi Sherry,

I'm a Cooks Illustrated junkie (much like a Cooking Light junkie - hehe). I paid for the online subscription, and I'm also a hard-copy subscriber. Some of their articles are free, but many are not. They don't accept advertisements, so this is fine by me. I can't even remember what I paid to be an online subscriber, but so far I've gained so much knowledge from that site, it doesn't even bother me.

I really love Cooks Illustrated. I'd suggest a trial subscription if you're unsure. I just wish it were a monthly!

[Grace]

Sandy, I too have a subscription to Cook's Illustrated, and I love it. I have one question though, does the website have more or different information than the magazine? Is it worth it to have both? If it's basically a repeat of the mag, then I can save the money - I save all my mags and have them in cases, in order, right at my fingertips. But if I am missing something, well, I don't want to miss anything!! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/biggrin.gif Thanks for your help.

[SandyM]

Gosh Grace - I'm a bad one to answer that question - since the magazine comes out only every two months, it's really hard to say. I don't have the best memory!

What I can tell you, though, is on the site you can search for past reviews of products, past recipes, etc. I find this a good tool when looking for the best vanilla, the best cinnamon, the best food processor, etc. They do testing on 100 different ways to roast a turkey (ok ok slight exaggeration there) and then report on the best results.

I've also found they have a forum page, which has been down for maintenance lately. I haven't visited it, but I might give it a shot later.

Sorry - this probably doesn't help you much.......

[luv2cook]

Emeril uses the 13 min. egg cooking rule. Bring to a boil, cook for 2 min. and then cover and let rest in hot water for 11 min. Wahlaa!

But I will say if they're really big eggs, like jumbo, I would boil them for 3 min. and let them sit for 10 min...

OH, for making regular eggs you're gonna peel, throw some salt in the water - the eggs will peel more easily...

[hka]

I just wanted to say that I tried the Foolproof Boiled Egg "recipe" that SandyM posted and it worked great! I'm the type to boil them for 15 to 20 minutes. I never knew the green ring wasn't normal since that's how my mom did it when we were young. I made the most wonderful eggs!! I just wanted to say thank you SandyM!