All the credit goes to the Georgia Egg Board and Julia Child. I swear this really works.
Eggs go into a pan in a single layer (I boiled 12 in a 5-qt saucepan), just covered with water (I used 3.5 qts). Put on high heat and just bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Cover pan. Let sit EXACTLY 17 minutes.
At about 15 minutes, prepare a bowl of ice water (that's water with lots of ice cubes) to hold the eggs. At 17 minutes, transfer the eggs (tongs work good for this, or a slotted spoon) to the ice water where they will chill for 2 minutes. As soon as the eggs are out of the hot water, turn the heat back on under the hot water, bringing it back to a boil. THE 2 MINUTE CHILL SHRINKS THE BODY OF THE EGG FROM ITS SHELL!
Transfer the eggs back to the boiling water, up to 6 at a time and let them boil for 10 seconds. THIS EXPANDS THE SHELL FROM THE EGG. Put the eggs back into the ice water, preferably for 15-20 minutes. Then refrigerate the eggs. Chilling the eggs helps prevent that dark line from forming and makes them easier to peel.
I haven't even made hard boiled eggs for a long time because i just hate picking the shell off the white and watching the egg practically disinegrate in the process. No more! The free-range farm eggs we've been getting have the most beautiful bright yellow yolks. Their speckled beige and robins-egg blue shells would put a smile on Martha Stewart's face. Don't you just love the simple pleasures of life?
2 comments:
Wow. Thanks for that. I'm going to give it a try.
There was 1 egg from the first dozen I boiled that didn't shell easily, but these eggs come from different chickens, so who know what the problem was. The other 11 were perfect. I boiled another dozen tonight, 4/29/06.
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