Bad Eggs
I'm sure many of the long time readers here know how much I hate pot-lucks, yet I am constantly a part of functions that seem to require this sort of activity. So there I was on Saturday, preparing to go to yet another pot-luck, but this time I had a plan. If you remember I have all these chickens that lay many more eggs than I can deal with without forming another business plan. It seems that everyone loves deviled eggs and I saw this as an opportunity to rid myself of two dozen eggs in one swoop.
I tell my wife that what I'm going to do, but she's seen me go off and do things on my own before so she tells me that I'd better check the Joy of Cooking on how to make the perfect hard boiled egg. Normally I just place the eggs in boiling water for five minutes, then run cold water over them and that's it. That's the way my mother did it, and that's the way I've always done it, but the Joy of Cooking has something about simmering the eggs for fifteen minutes without a full rolling boil.
I figured that a fight will ensue if I do it my way now that the Joy of Cooking has spoken, so I follow the instructions to the letter. After the eggs cooled I crack one to see how well I did. Chunks of egg were coming off with the shells. I rolled the egg to make smaller pieces, and it was just impossible. I tried another egg and it was even worse. I tried each of the 24 eggs and none of them even approached what looked like a useable egg.
I ended up getting cream puffs from Costco, which went over well and someone else brought deviled eggs to the pot-luck. Another good thing that came out of the pot-luck is that I met someone that wants to buy nearly half of my flock so now I won't have such an egg problem and I'll save on feed bills.
I heard that you can’t use fresh eggs for making hard boiled eggs. But my question is how does one boil an egg, and how is it done so as not to turn the yolks green?
posted by The Guy Who Writes This at 4:00 AM
14 Comments:
I had problems with the eggs not peeling so that they would look acceptable for deviled eggs. Then someone told me to salt the water as one does for pasta. I salt the water so that I can taste that it is salty and I have not had an egg peeling mishap sence.
I boil eggs for ten minutes.
I've been trying to talk Cliff into letting me have two hens and a rooster; that would supply us with all the eggs we need most of the time, since I try to limit cholesterol. There's just something about the noises chickens make that really accents life in the country.
Unfortunately, Cliff isn't convinced yet.
Me, I like to experiment. Like putting an egg in a glass of vinegar for about a month. It turns into rubber. It's pretty cool.
http://www.notmartha.org/archives/2008/09/09/links-food-32/
I found this blog through the Oregonian, and she has great tips. (She has a pie in a canning jar that is fun) Might check it out
Nulaanne, I forgot about the salt. My mother used it he her pasta as well. I've never done pasta with it and I don't notice the difference, but I'll try it with eggs next time.
Donna, you don't want a rooster...really you don't unless you are mad at the neighbors, but remember you get to hear them louder than the neighbors. 10 minuted full boil? I always thought that soft boiled eggs were three minute eggs and hard boiled was 5 minutes. Interesting. I wonder how long egg timers run.
Lori, you must have some Viking blood in you.
Stepahnie, very cool, I love the "Science of food" articles. Thanks.
Guy,
Having frequented way too many potlucks and usually always bringing deviled eggs to these, my secret is simple...I boil the eggs on a low setting for about 15 minutes, drain the pot of water, and add cold water and let them sit for a couple of minutes, drain the pot again, and then and then run each egg under luke warm water while peeling. I may lose one egg, maybe, but not due to the shell sticking to the egg. Hope it helps!
Egg timers run 3 minutes; they're for soft-boiled eggs, at least the ones I've seen.
I've had chickens before, and I love hearing the rooster crow; that's why I want one. Since I'm always up before 5 AM anyhow, I don't think he'll wake me.
I'm a deviled egg worshiper.
I use "anonymous's" method.
My mother was good enough to teach me that method when I was old enough to know. And she is the queen of deviled eggs.
I love potlucks.
#%^#$%*!
I was looking for some frigging laying hens!
fracken-brack!
Thanks, Anon. I'll report back next time.
Donna, you should get a Bantam rooster. They have a lot of character and they can scream like a banshee.
I don't because some people still don't know how to handle food properly and some people have pets that jump on their kitchen counters...
CB, I still have more. How many do you want?
Just made hard boiled eggs last night. Easy.
1. Boil enough water to cover the number of eggs you want to cook.
2. Just before lowering the eggs into the water, prick the ends of the eggs with a pin to allow air to escape so that the yolks will fill out the shells as they cook (making them perfectly round).
3. Carefully lower the eggs into the boiling water with a ladle.
4. Boil 13 minutes. No more, but less is fine is you like them a little more orange and soft in the middle.
5. Just before the cooking time expires (say, at 12 minutes expired), prepare a bowl with mostly ice and a little bit of water for the eggs when they come out of the boiling water (this prevents the green stuff: overcooking of the yolk).
6. When the timer goes out, use a slotted spoon to remove the eggs to the ice water bath you prepared.
7. At this time, slightly crack part of the shell of each egg; this makes peeling easy later on when the eggs have cooled.
8. Cool eggs completely, and peel or leave in the shell, then put in fridge until you need them.
9. When peeling eggs, do so under a thin stream of water from the tap.
I will try all methods and report back. I'm especially interested in the oven method.
Sorry dude, but no different method of boiling or cooling would have made a difference. Your eggs were very fresh and fresh eggs done peel easily at all.
Try and experiment. Buy eggs at the store and boil them with some of your fresh eggs then see how they peel. The difference is amazing and gross since it tells you how old store eggs really are.
Someone mentioned that that the get-together. What is really amazing is how long eggs can last even without refrigeration.
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