July 27th, 2009Perfect Hard Boiled Eggs + Lazy Deviled Eggs
Ever have deviled eggs? Ever have deviled eggs that have that distinctly foul odor? I have.
I don’t understand why people put up with eggs that are over boiled. If you watch people, you’ll see that the smell (in the absence of eggs) results in a swift move to cover the nose and breath safe air.
How can people screw it up? I’ll accept absentmindedness as an excuse but come on man! You’ve got eggs boiling!
I only recently took this up as a challenge as Peggy, my lovely girlfriend, manages to over boil eggs all the time and frankly it’s annoying.

First egg!
Here is an example of a perfect egg. Note how the yellow has no GREEN or BLUE! It’s because I didn’t overcook it and when I was done cooking it, I shocked it in ice water to stop the cooking. It also helps a bit with peeling them.
You can also make this happen in your kitchen as I have documented all the instructions you will ever need. The altitude of your location will have some effect on this process but I’ll rely on your intelligence to guide you through it.
- Select the number of eggs you wish to boil. I usually go with 3 or 4. I’ve seen people do them in batches of 12 or more. I don’t want to put all my eggs in that basket so to speak.
- Select a pot in which you will be boiling the eggs you selected in Step 1. Select another pot where you can setup an ice bath (ice + water)
- Place eggs in said pot.
- Add water to said pot until eggs are fully submersed. Water temperature can be room or a bit cooler.
- Place pot on source of immense heat and set a timer for 10-12 minutes. I set it for 10.
- Here is the crucial part. In 10 minutes, when the timer goes off, go back to the pot and check on it.
- If it’s about to begin boiling, then let it continue for about 1-2 minutes. I stick to 1 minute exactly.
- Turn off the heat and let cool for 1-2 minutes. I stick to 1 minute again.
- Pull out one egg, place it in the ice bath and let it stop cooking.
- Peel it to see if it’s fully cooked. If so, repeat step 9 for every egg you have placed in the pot.
Once you’re done shocking all the boiled eggs, you can store them in the fridge for days to weeks. Mine don’t last that long.
It’s a fairly long process but it’s not difficult. All the hard work is based on timing. If you time it right, you will always get perfectly boiled eggs and believe me that a perfectly boiled egg is actually quite delicious.
My favorite way to eat them is to devil them the poor mans way.
Sprinke of salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper or chili powder (maybe some cumin)
Hope you get to enjoy them. Please let me know if you find something better, easier and reliable.