Some cooks, like Kenji Lopez Alt, managing culinary director of the website Serious Eats and author of “The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science,” swear by the method I grew up with — carefully dropping eggs into water that’s already boiling. Others, including the America Egg Board (incredibleegg.org), say you should bring the eggs slowly to the boil in a pot of cold water.
It’s enough to scramble a cook’s brain.
For this story, we’re going to go with the easier version — a cold start. Here’s how:
— Place your eggs in a large pot and cover with cold water by 1 inch. Bring to a rolling boil over medium-high heat.
— Allow eggs to boil for 30 seconds, then cover with a tight lid, remove from the heat and set aside for 12 minutes.
— Drain eggs in colander, then chill completely, either in an ice bath (for at least 15 minutes), under cold running water or in the refrigerator over night. The cooler the egg is, the firmer and tighter its structure will be and the easier it will be to peel the shell away from the cooked white.
— Gently crack the eggs all over their surface, starting at the fat end and gently rotating and tapping all around until egg is covered with cracks. Roll egg under the palm of you hand.
— Start peeling from the large end. If you like, you can peel eggs under cool, running water.
— To make deviled eggs, slice the eggs in half lengthwise. Scoop the yolks into a bowl and prepare filling. Fill empty egg-white halves with the yolk mixture using a spoon, piping bag or a resealable plastic bag with a corner snipped.
— Hard-boiled eggs keep, chilled, five days.
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