Best recipe for hard boiled eggs

Hard boiled eggs are not hard, but there are a few tricks that will help them come out perfectly every time.

Before you start, take your eggs out of the fridge and let them get up to room temp. Usually 15 minutes does the trick. After they've warmed up add them to your pot, in a single layer, along with 2Tbsp baking soda. Cover with water so there is one inch of water above the eggs. Bring water to a boil, then lower the heat to a simmer. Allow eggs to simmer for 10-15 minutes; 10 for any number under 6 eggs, 15 for any number over 6 eggs. If you are doing more than 2 dozen eggs do them in batches of 12-24 (depending on what your pot can handle) to ensure even cooking. When time is up, remove pot for stove and run cold water into it until the water in the pot is cold, add a tray or 2 of ice to stop cooking process. Allow the eggs to sit in ice water until they are cool to the touch. Drain water, peel eggs and rinse to be sure no shell remains on eggs.

I know some of my suggestions seem useless, but they really do serve a purpose. Allowing the eggs to warm to room temperature lessens the chance of the eggs cracking. As does the single layer of eggs. The baking soda helps the shell release from the white of the egg, making peeling easier. The ice water retards the cooking process, eliminating the greenish tint on the yolk from over cooking. It doesn't effect the taste of the eggs, it's just the iron and sulfur oxidizing, but it does degrade the protein in the egg lessening it's nutritional value.

While not the most interesting of topics, these are tricks I've learned over the years. I love deviled eggs, so I hard boil eggs a lot. This has lead me to finding the best way to peel, cook, etc the eggs so they always look their best. The fastest way to ruin deviled eggs is having half the white be thrown out with the shell for it sticking or the color being off because of the green tint. Hope y'all found this a little helpful and have a great night. Next post, if you're all very good, I'll share some secrets for the perfect cup of tea (a true passion of mine), hot or iced.