The Home Front
Once I discovered the best way to make hard-cooked eggs, I’ve never looked back. I spend a lot of time making hard boiled eggs, but I don’t boil them anymore. What cooking method do I use instead? Steaming. If you want your hard-cooked eggs to peel easily, steaming is hands down the best way to do it. The shells slip right off the eggs with no effort.
Have you ever had a bowl full of hard-boiled eggs that you needed to peel for deviled eggs? If so, then you know they are maddening to peel! The shells break into tiny pieces, cling to the egg, and almost never come off easily. I’ve had to eat or toss many an egg because the whites had pit marks all over from difficult peeling. If you are a creature of habit, this might sound like an odd method to cook eggs, but it couldn’t be any simpler. All you need is a steamer basket, a saucepan with a lid, and a timer.
Here’s how to make hard-steamed eggs.
- Insert a steamer basket into a saucepan.
- Add water until it starts to peep through the steamer basket holes.
- Bring water to a boil.
- Add eggs to the steamer basket, being careful not to burn yourself.
- Place a lid on the saucepan.
- Turn the heat down so that the water gently simmers, medium-low or low on most burners.
- Set the timer to 16 minutes.
- When the timer goes off, lift the steamer basket and eggs from the saucepan.
- Let cool for 60 seconds, rinse with cold water or place in ice water.
You can allow the eggs to sit for about half an hour, or you can refrigerate until you’re ready to peel them. The shells will come off easier than you can imagine.
My technique for peeling hard-cooked eggs. Gently tap the egg all over until tiny cracks cover the surface. Then hold the egg under running water and start peeling, gently squeezing the egg if needed to make it “pop” out of the shell.
How to use hard-cooked eggs. You can use hard-cooked eggs for cobb salad, egg salad, and avocado toast. My personal favorite way to use them is for my “Wicked Deviled Eggs” recipe on the Family Savvy blog since it’s perfect for summer.
-Jamie Tarence
