Wednesday, August 26, 2009

How Do I Hard Boil An Egg? Then What?

I have no doubt that there are more “recipes” for hard boiling eggs than there are egg varieties. I only know what works for me. I’ve been boiling eggs the same way for 30 years and it works every time. If you don’t cook an egg long enough, you will end up with a runny center. If you cook it too long, the yolk with have a greenish tinge to it. You can eat the eggs in either of those cases, but what you are going for is a nice bright yellow, cooked yolk. Once in a while I will get an egg that is slightly undercooked because of the position in the pan (I eat it).

For this article, I used 6 eggs. There are only 2 of us here, and we have to eat everything I’m posting for all of you. I didn’t want us to overdose on eggs today. You can do this exactly the same way for any number of eggs, just adjust your pan size accordingly. Place the eggs in a pan and cover them with cold water. Place on the burner and turn onto high heat (my stove is electric, if you have a gas stove, you may need to adjust the temperature a bit or add an extra inch of water to the pan). Set your timer for 16 minutes. Do not forget to set the timer and look at the eggs to make certain they are not boiling dry. If the water boils dry, the eggs will explode. I know this for a fact. Remember how I told you I was sharing my mistakes? The eggs will come to a rolling boil. When the timer goes off, remove the eggs from the heat and set the timer for 2 more minutes. After the 2 minutes, fill the egg pan with cold water and let the eggs cool down. At this point, your eggs are ready to peel and use. Some eggs are harder to peel than others. If the eggs don’t peel “pretty” they can still be chopped and used on salads, or mixed with a little mayonnaise, pickle and celery for egg salad.

*Mom hint-fresh eggs are harder to peel. If I know I’m going to be making deviled eggs soon, I try to buy my eggs at least a week in advance.

Deviled eggs are a favorite at my house, and for potlucks or cocktail parties. They are inexpensive to make, easy and will disappear before most of the other food items.







Deviled Eggs

This recipe is for 6 eggs which makes 12 deviled eggs. If you want to make 24 deviled eggs, cook 12 eggs and double the rest of the ingredients.

6 hard boiled eggs, cooled and cut in half
2 tsp. yellow mustard (you can use spicy mustard for a slightly different taste)
2 tsp. white vinegar (red wine vinegar will also work, but will change the color of the eggs a little bit)
2 T. mayonnaise (I use light, you can also use Miracle Whip if you like the taste of it)
Salt and pepper to taste.

Place the cooked yolks in a bowl with a pinch of salt (I use kosher salt) and mash with a fork until all large lumps are gone. Add vinegar, mustard and mayonnaise and stir rapidly with a fork to blend. Add a little black pepper and mix. Spoon filling into empty egg whites. Be careful not to fill them too full or you will run out of filling. You can serve as is, or sprinkle with paprika or top with olive slices for a “party” look.
 
 
 
 

15 comments:

Tonia said...

Hope you don't mind my adding a tip here and there that I've picked up along the way. When making deviled eggs, I've found it easiest to put the egg mixture in a plastic freezer bag and then cut off one of the bottom corners. This will allow you to squeeze the egg mixture in the empty egg whites making the whole thing look just a little fancier :)

Sue said...

Of course I don't mind tips, that is exactly what I hoped would happen. I've used a pastry tip (not often, just for parties) but your idea is so much easier. Thanks!

J Rodney said...

Thank you so much for sharing the recipe. I tried deviled eggs for the first time in college, and I always wondered how to make them. You make it sound so easy.

Sue said...

Frug-many things are easier than you think. Hopefully you will find several things that work out for you here.

JUST ME said...

I usually cook my eggs for 10 minutes and then try to peel them and eat them...which usually results in extremely gooey weirdness.

As you can see, I have the patience of a 5 year old.

Cindy said...

I use a pastry bag. I haven't made these for a while. Thanks for the reminder! I have collected recipes for deviled eggs for a long time. I remember one of my favorites is using "Durkee Sauce" as the salad dressing...really zippy effect. Right now, we're buried in fresh tomatoes so, am going nuts with the salsa cruda variations.

Chrissy...The Apothecary Shop said...

Morning~~ Just wanted to say hello and thanks for coming by,so glad you like my blog!!!Yours is looking good,all the best,Chrissy

Sue said...

Cindy-I think that Durkee Sauce would make a great deviled egg. I recently saw a recipe using cream cheese, but I haven't tried it yet. Our fresh tomatoes are gone, and I'm going to try to find a farm stand this weekend to get some. Thanks for stopping by.

Sue said...

Chrissy, your blog is beautiful and people can get many great ideas there. I hope they will click on your name (or the link I have under favorite blogs) and check it out.

Relyn Lawson said...

I so, so, so love deviled eggs. YUM!

Sue said...

Relyn-I think everyone does!

Sonia said...

I love deviled eggs and make them often...I also like to experiment with other ingredients....such as adding smoked salmon to the filling mix...YUM!

Sue said...

Sonia-maybe someone should start a blog devoted to deviled eggs:) It seems that there are many ways to make them. Salmon sounds good.

Duckie said...

Ok, I am back to try and leave a comment... so far no error messages warning me about security stuff!

I just want to add a small tip I learned recently about adding a small bit of oil to the boiling water. I've tested it and have used the tip since I read it and I swear by it now. It really makes peeling the eggs EASIER! Two tablespoons in the boiling water (or less) is all it takes. It somehow permeates the shells and makes peeling the eggs a breeze!

Talking of tomatoes, I've used halved cherry tomatoes as toppers for deviled eggs. They make such cheerful decorations and are yummy, too. I'd rather use the over abundant tomatoes we have now (and sometimes a green sprig of parsley and/or some olives or capers) than just dust my deviled eggs with the ubiquitous paprika.

Sue said...

Duckie-glad I seem to have gotten the bugs worked out of the system! Thanks for coming back. I've never heard that about the eggs and oil. I will try it next time, thanks!