A Perfect Hard-Boiled Egg
Updated May 27, 2025
- Total Time
- 20 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
Advertisement
Ingredients
- Eggs
- 1teaspoon salt
Opt out or contact us anytime. See our Privacy Policy.
Opt out or contact us anytime. See our Privacy Policy.
Preparation
- Step 1
Place eggs in a single layer in a heavy saucepan and cover with cold water by at least 1 inch. Add 1 teaspoon salt (Salting the water helps minimize leaks if the eggs crack in the pan; the egg whites coagulate and seal off the crack more quickly). Turn the heat to high. As soon as the water comes to a gentle boil, turn off the heat and cover the pan.
- Step 2
For creamy yolks, remove the lid after 10 minutes and run cold water over eggs for 1 minute. Set aside to cool at room temperature. For firmer yolks, leave the eggs to cool in the cooking water, uncovered, for up to 2 hours. To test if an egg has been cooked, spin it on a counter. A hard boiled egg spins faster than a raw egg.
- Step 3
To peel, gently tap a boiled egg against the counter, turning and tapping to make a crackle pattern. Start peeling at the broad end, where there is an air pocket. Running the egg under cold water is not necessary, unless they are too hot to handle.
- A gray-green ring around the yolk of a hard boiled egg means that it was cooked too long and/or at too high a temperature. To protect against this, cooked eggs should be immediately immersed in cold water to stop the cooking process.
Private Notes
Comments
No offense to Julia's method, but I have searched for years to find the elusive secret of how to make the perfect hard boiled egg; one that is perfectly cooked, with shells that come off easily. These dudes on Buzzfeed tackled the task and came up with the answer. Works like a charm: 1. bring water to a boil BEFORE adding eggs, adding a teaspoon of vinegar. 2. Add eggs, gently boil for exactly 14 minutes. 3. run under color water (or place in ice bath). Voila.
Confusing. If you leave the eggs to cool in the cooking water for two hours, will you not get that gray ring around the yolk?
Cover cold eggs with cold water. Bring to a boil and cook for 10 minutes. Pour off hot water immediately and replace with cold water. As soon as the eggs are cool enough to handle, crack all around, roll between palms and the shells come right off (similar to peeling a garlic clove). Yolks will be tender and yellow!! I’ve been doing this for 25 years and have never had a problem. Once boiled the eggs are harder to peel the colder they are, so peel them right away.
I have found *no* foolproof method to peeling hard boiled eggs. Not the cold start, not the hot start, not the steaming method, not fresh eggs, not old eggs, not adding this that or the other to the water... nothing. The *one* thing I've noticed is that for years I *never* once had a problem, and now (for more years) I nearly *always* have a terrible time. I'm starting to think it's has to do with what chickens are being fed.
The yolks were beautifully creamy, but the eggs were hard to peal. Will add vinegar next time.
This recipe was a failure, far from perfect. Undercooked whites, impossible to peel. Are you supposed to leave the covered pan on the cooktop? If you use induction, as I do, there is no residual heat. Perhaps it’s different on an electric cooktop. Do you leave the eggs to cool in the cool water, or remove them. It’s just sad that a simple,e recipe can be so lacking in clarity. And appear in NY Times Cooking.
Advertisement