Perfectly cooked eggs are commonly used in deviled egg recipes, egg salads, or served alone as a protein-rich and filling meal. You're only wasting eggs if when you boil the eggs always crack or the yolk turns green. Luckily, there are now a few things you can do to guarantee delicious eggs, and what's more, you can easily learn them in just a few minutes!
- Cooking prep time: 5 minutes
- Cooking time: 3-20 minutes
- Total time: 8-25 minutes
Step
Method 1 of 2: Boiling Eggs on the Stove
Step 1. Sort the eggs and put them in a pot or pan
Place the eggs in the bottom of a heavy pan. Stack the eggs carefully so they don't crack. Do not stack eggs more than four levels.
- If you're unsure whether your eggs are fresh, test them by putting them in a bowl of brine. If the egg sinks to the bottom, it means it is fresh. Eggs that are not good will float to the top.
- To keep the eggs from cracking as they boil, place a folded cheesecloth on the bottom of the pot as a base. However, this is not mandatory.
Step 2. Fill the pot with cold tap water
Cover the egg gently with at least 3 cm of water. Add a little salt. You can hold the eggs with your hands when you add water to prevent them from cracking. Or, just run the water down the side of the pan.
- Cold water helps prevent eggs from overcooking. Do not put the eggs directly into a pot of hot water, or the shells may crack and the eggs may cook without the shells.
- The saltwater helps make the egg whites harden faster, and also helps plug small leaks if the shell cracks during cooking.
Step 3. Place the pan over medium heat
Cover the pot with a lid. Let the water boil. The water will boil a little faster with the lid on, but it's okay to open the lid if you prefer to keep an eye on the eggs being boiled.
You can stir the eggs occasionally very gently to ensure they don't stay on the bottom, as they will cook unevenly and crack easily. Use a wooden spoon to stir the eggs and mix very gently
Step 4. Remove the pan from the heat when the water boils
Once the water reaches a boiling point, remove the pot. Keep the pan covered. The heat of the water and the remaining warmth from the stove will be enough to finish cooking. Depending on how hard or soft you like hard-boiled eggs, you can leave them like this for 3-20 minutes:
- If you like quarter-boiled eggs, remove the eggs from the water in three minutes or less. The egg whites will be cooked through, while the yolks will be runny and warm.
- If you like half-boiled eggs, remove from the water in 5-7 minutes. The yolks will be half soft in the middle, while the whites will harden.
- If you like perfectly cooked eggs, leave the eggs in hot water for 10-15 minutes. The whole egg yolk will harden. Eggs will be difficult to overcook if you use this method.
Step 5. Cool the eggs to stop the cooking process
Once the waiting time for the eggs is done, carefully drain the hot water from the pan. You can also remove the eggs one at a time using a slotted spoon. Drizzle the eggs under cold water, or carefully place them in a bowl of iced water to quickly drop the temperature. Leave the eggs in cold water for about five minutes.
- Once the eggs are comfortable to hold, place them in the refrigerator for 20-30 minutes to loosen the shells.
- If the shape of the peeled egg isn't important to you, you can skip the refrigerator and peel the egg right away once it's cooled.
- To test whether an egg is cooked through without breaking it, turn the egg over the counter. If the eggs turn quickly and easily, they are cooked. If the eggs are vibrating, you will need to boil them longer.
Step 6. Peel the eggs before serving
Beat the egg onto a clean, flat surface, then roll it in your hands to crack the shell. Start peeling from the thick end of the egg, the part that has a small empty space under the shell. This makes the eggs a little easier to peel. Rinse the eggs in cold water after peeling to prevent the eggshell and any remaining membrane from sticking to the egg.
Quick peeling tip: Put the eggs back in the pan and then put the lid back on. Shake the pan back and forth to crack all the eggshells at once
Step 7. Store the eggs in the refrigerator for 5 days
Once peeled, the eggs are ready to eat. You can store leftover eggs in a bowl with a plate on top, or place them in a sealed container. Whichever you use, cover the egg with a damp paper towel. Change the tissue every day to prevent the eggs from drying out. Eat eggs within four to five days.
- You can also store eggs in cold water. Change the water every day so the eggs don't spoil.
- Hard-boiled eggs can be stored a few days before use, but tend to be a little chewy and dry. It's usually better to keep peeled eggs moist in the fridge with water or paper towels.
Method 2 of 2: Microwave Eggs
Step 1. Heat the water to a boil in a special microwave bowl
Microwaves generally don't work as well as stovetops when it comes to boiling eggs, but they can be used in a pinch. Here, you must first boil the water in the microwave without the eggs. Read our guide on how to safely boil water in the microwave for other important information.
Take note: Do not heat unpeeled eggs in the microwave. The build-up of pressure in the yolk can cause the egg to explode and damage the microwave.
Step 2. Remove the bowl from the microwave and carefully put the eggs in it
Use a towel or oven mitt to remove the bowl from the microwave. Use a slotted spoon to add the eggs one at a time. Make sure each egg is completely covered by the water.
Do not drop the eggs directly into the water. Not only can the egg crack from hitting the bottom of the bowl, you could also be splashed with boiling water in the bowl
Step 3. Cover the bowl and let it rest
Once all the eggs are added, cover the bowl with a lid or plate. Leave it - the eggs will cook from the heat of the boiling water. Cooking time for eggs varies, depending on how cooked you want them to be. Generally, eggs need a little more time than boiling them on the stove. This is because the eggs don't start cooking when the water heats up.
- If you like quarter-boiled eggs, Let the eggs sit for 10 minutes or less. The egg yolk is still a little runny.
- If you like half-boiled eggs, let the eggs sit for about 15 minutes. The yolks will be half soft and the whites will harden quite a bit.
- If you like perfectly cooked eggs, let the eggs sit for 20 minutes or so. The yolks and whites will harden without the unattractive gray-green color.
Step 4. Remove the eggs and refrigerate as usual
Once you've added the eggs, remove them from the water using a sieve or slotted spoon. From here, the rest of the process is the same as cooking eggs on the stove. See below:
- Cover the eggs with cold water or place them in an ice bath for about five minutes so they cool.
- Once the eggs are comfortable to hold, you can peel them immediately or refrigerate them for 20-30 minutes for convenience.
- Store eggs under a damp paper towel, or soak them in water in the refrigerator. Eat eggs within four or five days, and change the tissue or water every day.
Problem
Step 1. If the yolk is grayish-green, cook it faster
Boiling eggs too long will make the yolks have a gray-green circle and smell of sulfur. These eggs are still edible and very safe to eat. However, if you don't like it, reduce the amount of time you boil the eggs.
- A grayish-green color is formed when the iron from the egg yolk reacts with hydrogen sulfide from the egg white. This reaction occurs after the egg is fully cooked.
- Excess heat also tends to over-clump the protein in eggs. The egg whites will be chewy while the yolks are dry.
Step 2. If the eggs are too runny, boil longer
If you don't use enough heat to cook the eggs, the yolks won't harden the way you want them to. Very undercooked eggs may even have egg whites that are not hardened. If the first egg you peeled isn't cooked through, return the rest to the hot water.
- Undercooked eggs can pose a risk of salmonella infection. The FDA recommends cooking all eggs until the yolks have hardened or using pasteurized eggs.
- As mentioned above, you can turn the egg on a hard surface to test it to see if it's cooked. If the egg turns evenly (like a top), the egg is cooked. Undercooked or raw eggs will vibrate or spiral to one side.
Step 3. Steam fresh eggs to make them easy to peel
For eggs that are only a day or two old, the membrane is still attached to the shell so the eggs are difficult to peel. The best eggs to fully ripen are eggs that are about 7-10 days old. If you must boil very fresh eggs, steam them first to help separate the membrane from the shell:
- Place the eggs in a metal colander and let the colander sit on top of the pan. Boil about 2.5 cm of water in a saucepan for about 10 minutes, turning the eggs frequently. After that, boil the eggs as usual.
- Some people also like to add a teaspoon of baking soda to the water when boiling very fresh eggs. However, this can add to the sulfate taste of the eggs.
Step 4. Crack and soak the hard-to-peel eggs
If you notice the egg white sticking to the shell as you peel it, scroll the egg around to make lots of small crevices on the surface of the shell. Then put the eggs in a bowl of cold water and leave for 5-10 minutes. This will often help loosen the skin and separate the membranes, making the eggs much easier to peel.
Step 5. Add vinegar if the egg cracks in the water
This is especially common with very cold eggs. If you notice an egg has cracked, pour a teaspoon of vinegar into the water to help the protein in the egg white thicken faster and plug the cracks in the shell. Be quick here - if you add vinegar to the water as soon as you see a crack, the eggs will still cook evenly.
You may notice a bit of egg white seeping out of the cracked egg. If you don't clog the egg cracks with vinegar in time, don't worry. The eggs will still cook fine, but they may look a little odd
Tips
- Using a teaspoon can keep the egg whites intact when peeling. Peel a small part of the shell and membrane from the large end of the egg. Insert the spoon under the eggshell and membrane so that the spoon bends the egg. Then slide a spoon around the egg and peel off the shell.
- If you're cutting two hard-boiled eggs, use the freshest eggs, as they tend to have a more concentrated yolk and are less likely to turn green. Try the tips above to help peel fresh eggs.
- When you boil eggs, make sure the water is at the boiling point. Cook the eggs for 12 minutes for large eggs, and 15 minutes for extra large eggs.
- Recipe ideas that call for perfectly cooked eggs such as deviled eggs, egg salads, burritos, and more!
- If you're using egg whites, add a little onion skin (the dry brown part) to the water when you cook the eggs. The skin of the onion will turn a pretty little brown, and you'll be able to tell the difference between a cooked and raw egg in no time.
- Stirring the eggs several times while the water is about to boil will help the yolks stay in the center and ensure that the eggs cook evenly.
- By sprinkling baking soda in boiling water, you can crack both ends of the egg (after it's cooked), stick your mouth into the smaller end of the egg, and then blow on it. It may take you a few tries, and if successful the egg will come out on the other end!
- Cooling the eggs to room temperature before boiling will help prevent the yolks from turning green and also prevent them from cracking.
- Some sources recommend punching a shallow hole with a needle into the flat end of the egg before boiling it, so that air can escape and reduce the risk of cracking the egg. However, research has shown that this technique is not always reliable.
Warning
- Do not use the microwave to boil eggs with shells - they may explode. Instead, boil water in the microwave, then put the eggs in a bowl and let them cook outside the microwave. You can also microwave hard-boiled eggs.
- Be very careful with cooking that involves boiling water. Protect hands and skin to prevent burns.
- Using too much vinegar will cause the eggs to smell and taste vinegar.
- Do not use cracked eggs, as they may contain bacteria.
