Perfect Boiled Eggs
Updated Oct. 24, 2024
- Total Time
- About 10 minutes
- Cook Time
- 10 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- Up to 12 eggs (see note)
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
123 calories; 8 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 3 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 1 gram carbohydrates; 0 grams dietary fiber; 0 grams sugars; 11 grams protein; 122 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Find a lidded saucepan large enough to allow your eggs to comfortably fit on the bottom in a single layer. Add 1 inch of water, cover and bring to a boil.
- Step 2
Gently lower eggs into the saucepan using a slotted spoon or a steamer basket. (It’s O.K. if the eggs are partly submerged on the bottom of the pot, or elevated on a steamer rack and not submerged at all.) Cover pan and cook eggs, adjusting the burner to maintain a vigorous boil, 6 minutes for a warm liquid yolk and firm whites, 8½ minutes for a translucent, fudgy yolk or 11 minutes for a yolk that is just barely firm all the way through.
- Step 3
Drain eggs, then peel and eat immediately, or transfer them to a plate and allow them to cool naturally before storing in the refrigerator for up to a week directly in their shell. (A small dot made with a permanent marker on the top of each cooked egg will ensure you don’t mix them up with the raw eggs.) Do not shock them in an ice bath after cooking; this makes them more difficult to peel.
- On a regular home burner, you can cook as many eggs as will fit in a single layer in your pot, up to around a dozen. (Any more and the temperature in the pot will affect cooking.) A steamer basket is not necessary, but it can help you raise and lower eggs gently, preventing accidental cracks. If you have trouble with eggs cracking during cooking, use a pushpin to poke a small hole through the shell on the fat end of the eggs. (This can also help minimize the dimple that forms on the cooked egg white due to an internal air pocket.) The eggs in this recipe should be cooked straight from the refrigerator; reduce cooking times by 1 minute if using room-temperature eggs.
Private Notes
Comments
I've been using this steam method for years. Two remarks: 1. A "vigorous" boil is a waste of energy. The steam will not get hotter than 100 deg C. It is sufficient to ensure that all the steam which condensates at the cool egg is replaced by the boiling water. Just add enough energy so that a little bit of steam always escapes from the lid. 2. Following advise #1, much less water than one inch is sufficient. Just make sure there is enough water to prevent the pot from getting dry at the end.
About the "vigorous" boil. Yes, the temperature is the same BUT, the heat transfer coefficient is higher as the speed of the steam-water mix over the surface of the egg is higher. If you are only "steaming" the vigorous boil will make your water boil faster so the steam will move faster over the egg, increasing again the heat transfer AND making a more homogeneous temperature profile. I am a Mechanical Engineer that worked on similar problems for the Oil Industry.
Been doing this for years. My best results are at 6 and a half minutes for soft-boiled. I do put the cooked egg in tap water to cool shell briefly and have had no trouble peeling. I slice in half lengthwise and place on toast. Delicious.
I think using a steamer makes the heat transfer into the egg more uniform than that into an egg half in and half out of water. Condensation heat transfer is so effective that I don't think a vigorous boil speeds things much, and the point of steaming eggs is consistency, anyway. Starting the steaming once the water is boiling eliminates burner to burner variation. Cooking will be slower at high altitude due to the lower boiling points.
Disagree with advice against using an ice bath. My experience is that the ice shock loosens the membrane surrounding the inner shell, making the eggs exceedingly easier to peel.
I prefer Jacques Pépin’s technique. Bring water to boil. Poke a small hole in egg at the air pocket end to let gas escape. Drop eggs in boiling water. Turn off heat. Wait 10 minutes. Drain. If pealing, shake pot to crack eggs. Drop eggs in ice water. When ice is nearly gone, repeat with fresh cold water. Peel egg and you get a perfect yoke. No sulfur. Creamy but cooked.