The Perfect “Hard Boiled” Egg

I am going to let you in on a big secret….. ready? The perfect hard boiled egg is NOT boiled!! Seriously! But how can that be you ask?!?!?! Simple, boiling eggs in water leads to movement, which cracks eggs. Admit it, you always have that one egg (if not more then one) that breaks in the water and by the end of boiling, its inners are outers. And maybe it’s just me, but trying to peel a boiled egg, well lets just say my deviled eggs were ugly, pitted, pathetic things to behold.

But no more I say!!! There is a better way to “boil” an egg…….. steam! That’s right, the perfect “hard boiled” egg is steamed. It is easy to do, you don’t end up with those broken, ozzing eggs, and the best part is they peel like heaven!

I have this nifty pot I got from my mother that is two parts with holes in the top portion. I am sure there is some proper name for it, but we just call it the holey pot. If you don’t have one, fear not! Simple put your eggs in a metal strainer and set it in a bigger pot. Fill the bigger pot with water to the bottom of your eggs. It’s okay if the water touches the eggs, just don’t cover the eggs with water. I put my eggs in the top portion of my pots and then pour water till I see it coming up through the bottom holes.

Once the water in the pot starts to boil, put a cover on top. I just laid a cookie sheet over my holey pot because I don’t have a lid for it. Now some of you may enjoy a soft boiled egg…. I do not. I like my eggs done, so I set the timer for 20 minutes and let those eggs steam away. If you want a softer egg, go for about 8 minutes. Once the time is up, let the eggs cool and peel. You will be amazed at your perfect, non-pitted eggs. No longer will your hard boiled eggs be shamed into hiding in egg salad, they can sit proudly upon a plate and say “look at me, love, me, eat me!”

38 thoughts on “The Perfect “Hard Boiled” Egg

  1. You have no idea. I FAIL at boiling eggs. SO much so, that I have to call my best friend literally every time to guide me through it. "Charlotte," she'll say, "it's fool-proof. Boil water. Add eggs. Cook for 15 minutes." And not once have they ever turned out okay. TOTALLY trying this 🙂 Also, look at the color of the yolk you have!!

    1. The yolk looks so good in part because this egg was laid this morning in my coop. None of those store bought eggs LOL

  2. I've never heard of this method! I do always end up with cracked eggs and I hate that. I'm going to try this for Easter eggs this week!

  3. Hi Mindie, just stopping by to say how delightful your blog is. Thanks so much for sharing. I have recently found your blog and am now following you, and will visit often. Please stop by my blog and perhaps you would like to follow me also. Have a wonderful day and a Happy Easter. Hugs, Chris
    http://chelencarter-retiredandlovingit.blogspot.ca/

    1. Hi Chris *waves* Thanks for popping by! I will wander over and have a look 🙂 Hope you have a happy Easter as well

  4. I've never tried steaming eggs before. I don't know if I have a pot I can do this with, but I'm willing to give it a try if I can swing it. Thanks for sharing this method on The Yuck Stops Here!

  5. Brilliant! Peeling fresh from the coop boiled eggs is such a challenge! I am heading into the kitchen right now to steam a big pot full!!!! Oh! and I have a holey pot also!!! 😉 Thanks for sharing!!!!
    Blessings~Wendy

  6. I have never heard of steaming eggs. I'm definitely trying this! Thanks for passing along your tip. 🙂

    1. It is awesome Kim. They peel perfectly. I have never had such nice looking devil eggs LOL

  7. I read about this recently and I'm happy to see it really works, lol. Looking forward to trying it. Visiting from Real Food Fridays. Thanks for the tip!

    1. I am one of those people who have to try everything! LOL And yes, it works like a charm.

  8. This is the first time I have seen a steamer method. I have yet to try the oven method because I am someone who never wants to bother with the oven unless its the middle of winter. I have a old antique metal pan that I use just for boiling eggs. I put a dozen eggs in the bottom and cover with water. I turn the pot on and bring to a boil. Once the water boils I shut the burner off and let the eggs cool down. This method never fails me. It's interesting to see what works for others! Stopping by from 'From the Farm' hop and yumeating.com my non blogger site.

  9. Hi Mindie – This is a great tip. Thanks so much for sharing with the Let's Get Real party.

  10. I can't tell you how many times I have tried to make perfect hard boiled eggs and failed. First I read the fresher eggs were better, that you must bring them to a boil and then put them immediately in a cold water bath. Next I read that older eggs were better, the closer to the expriation date the better. By that time, I only had the eggs I had, neither super fresh nor super old. By bringing them to boil at a painstakingly slow pace (with my burner only on medium) and turning it off as soon as they started boiling, letting it sit for 15-18 minutes and then putting it immediately into an ice bath, I got passable eggs that took only what felt like half a century to peel (the others felt like they took a WHOLE century). I'm definately going to try your trick the next time I boil eggs, because we're always asked to bring deviled eggs to parties and pot lucks, and that's a lot of eggs to peel when the shells stick. Thanks so much for sharing on The Yuck Stops Here this week! Hope to see you back next week, we’ll be starting the party on Tuesday evening at 6pm ET instead of Monday from now on! HUGS

    1. Here is another tip for you Cheryl…. when you go to peel your egg…. smack it down on the counter to crack it then with the palm of your hand roll it around (with some pressure to snap the shell but not enough to smush the whole thing) and start peeling at the large end of the egg where there should be an air pocket to get you going.

  11. Isn't this a great trick? I like how it cooks the eggs a little faster too since steam can get hotter than liquid water. 🙂 Stop by and share with us on Five Friday Finds when you get a chance!

  12. Cool! I was telling my sister about some of the neat ways to make hard boiled eggs and told her when I came across one that I would email it to her! Thank you for this!

  13. Thank you for linking up with Meal Planning Monday Recipe Link-Up! 🙂 Great cooking tip, I will have to give this method a try. 🙂 I hope you join us again this week!

  14. This is so awesome and I am definitely trying it! Thanks for linking up with "Try a New Recipe Tuesday." I look forward to seeing what you'll share this week. http://our4kiddos.blogspot.com/2014/04/try-new-recipe-tuesday-april-29.html

  15. This look amazing and so easy!! I've never tried this before, and I need to! My kids love eating boiled eggs, and getting them just right is difficult sometimes. Thanks for sharing with us over at the Homeacre Hop! I'll be featuring you on my Hop for tomorrow and sharing your post on FB! Thanks!!
    Mary
    http://www.homegrownonthehill.com

    1. Thanks so much! This way is the best I have ever found 🙂 And if you use the rolling the egg on the counter routine to crack em…. your eggs will be a thing of beauty.

  16. Interesting way to make them, maybe I'll give it a try! Thanks for sharing at Happiness is Homemade 🙂

  17. Brilliant! I've just signed up to follow you on Bloglovin'!

    Blessings,
    Laura of Harvest Lane Cottage

  18. I love to make deviled eggs for family functions, this might even make them easy enough for a normal meal or snack. I use a cookie press to fill the eggs with the stuffing and using one of the fancy tips makes the eggs look so pretty. Then I thinly slice tiny little olives to top them with and sprinkle with paprika! Makes for pretty presentation, if they last long enough for any one to actually pay attention! 🙂

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