Gooey, soft boiled eggs for dipping. Hard boiled eggs for eating whole, mashing or pickling. We love eating perfectly boiled eggs for breakfast! STORAGE: Refrigerate boiled eggs in their shells, in an airtight container, for up to 7 days. Consume peeled eggs within 1 day of peeling.
INGREDIENTS:
Eggs, chilled
Salt and pepper
Buttered toast, to serve (optional)
METHOD #1: COLD WATER
1. Place egg/s into a saucepan. Cover with cold tap water (cold, not hot, to prevent cracking).
2. Bring pot to a boil and reduce heat to medium. Gently boil eggs (uncovered) for:
Soft-boiled eggs: 4 minutes;
Medium-boiled eggs: 6 minutes;
Hard-boiled eggs: 8 minutes.
3. Once eggs have boiled, remove from the pot straight away with a slotted spoon and chill in cold water for 30 seconds to cool down, if desired.
4. Serve.
METHOD #2: HOT WATER
1. Half fill a small saucepan with water.
2. Bring water to a boil.
3. Add room temperature eggs and bring back to a boil.
4. Reduce heat to medium. Gently boil eggs (uncovered) for:
Soft-boiled eggs: 6 minutes;
Medium-boiled eggs: 9 minutes;
Hard-boiled eggs: 12 minutes.
5. Once eggs have boiled, remove from the pot straight away with a slotted spoon and chill in cold water for 30 seconds to cool down, if desired.
6. Serve.
METHOD #3: STEAMED
The time for steaming will eggs will depend on egg size, boiling time/temperature and how much room the eggs have while they're steaming i.e. stacked eggs take longer to steam.
1. Insert steamer basket into pot. Add water to the pot until it's touching the base of the basket.
No steamer basket? Add 1/2 inch water to the base of a pot.
2. Bring water to a high boil. Turn off heat.
3. Gently place eggs into the base of the steamer basket (or base of the pot if no basket).
4. Heat pot over medium-high, lid-on, for:
Soft-boiled eggs: 6 minutes;
Medium-boiled eggs: 10 minutes;
Hard-boiled eggs: 12-15 minutes.
Add a few minutes if eggs are double layered.
5. Once eggs have steamed, remove from the pot straight away with a slotted spoon and chill in cold water for 30 seconds to cool down, if desired.
6. Serve.
METHOD #4: BAKED
If you have more than one pot of eggs to boil, then oven baking may be more efficient.
1. Pre-heat oven to 180°C (350°F).
2. Place 1 egg into each muffin cup (i.e. 12 per muffin tray).
3. Bake eggs for 30 minutes.
4. Once eggs have baked, remove the muffin tray from the oven straight away. Use a slotted spoon and chill in cold water for 5-10 minutes, if desired.
5. Serve.
SERVING IDEAS:
- Toast soldiers;
- Deviled eggs;
- Paprika and fresh chives.
- Age - use eggs that aren't super fresh: if they're a few days old they're easier to peel (about 1 week old is best);
- Egg rolling - once boiled and cooled, roll eggs on the kitchen bench to remove the shell;
- Shell sticking - finding the shell sticking to the boiled egg? Crack the boiled eggs all over, soak in water for a little while to make them easier to peel;
- Bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) - adding 1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda to the pot of water increases the alkalinity of the water, which might make eggs easier to peel;
- Salt - adding 1/2 teaspoon salt to the pot of water might make eggs easier to peel;
- Vinegar - if you're using fresh eggs, adding a splash of vinegar to the pot of water will soften the egg shells.
AUTHOR: Megan Radaich
PUBLISHER: www.foodpreserving.org
