Cook the Best Eggs: Boiled

1. Cook the Best Eggs: Boiled: Okay, I've become a raging fan of boiled eggs. And I know that sounds bland and boring, but they've secretly got a lot going on. I mean the range of textures, hard and soft and even half boiled, and then frying or baking, or marinating, or pickling, and then the curries. Y'all. We're just getting started. Join me in my latest installation of the Cook the Best egg series with a comprehensive, deep dive into the wild world of boiled eggs. 2. Class Project: Your Signature Deviled Eggs: Your class project is to share with us your deviled egg. We talk about customization options with spices and substitutions and extra ingredients, and I'm looking forward to see what you put together. Also use some of the tips and tricks for easier peeling and share with us what you tried, what worked, and what didn't. You can make a family classic, or a whimsical experiment. Of course, if deviled eggs aren't your thing, share any of the other recipes, there's plenty to choose from, and I'm always curious about unique cultural traditions. So if there's something you know of that's not in the course, please share so I can explore for us all. 3. How to Cook Hard, Medium, Soft & Onsen Eggs: All right, how to boil eggs. We'll cover everything in this one class. So use the time stamps on the screen to jump forward to whichever chapter you're looking for. Note that hard boiled and soft boiled take different approaches, starting with hard boiled. Put eggs in a pot and cover with an inch of water. Bring the water to just under a boil. You want movement, bubbles and steam. Turn off the heat and cover. And let's stand for 12 minutes for large eggs, 15 minutes for extra large, and 9 minutes for medium eggs. Now immediately move them to an ice bath to stop the cooking and then peel them when you're ready to use them. Unpeeled eggs are good for about a week in the fridge and just a couple of days if they're peeled, if they're covered in water, and replacing that water each day, that's from a texture perspective, not necessarily deterioration. This method cooks the eggs evenly and gently. You're less likely to get that green egg around the yolk, which is just sulphur from the egg reacting to being overcooked. Not overcooking your yolks means they maintain some moisture and create silkier, deviled eggs, soft and medium, or jammy eggs. In variations, we start by boiling the water before adding the eggs, and I'm adding a few tablespoons of vinegar to help make them easier to peel. The vinegar helps to dissolve some of the calcium carbonate in the shell and help the white set faster. But some sources say this doesn't make any difference. A teaspoon of salt helps to solidify the whites quickly if they happen to crack and try to escape from the shell, which isn't unusual when you introduce eggs straight from the fridge into boiling water, Carefully add the eggs cold from the fridge and lower the heat to medium high. You maintain a boil, but not that rolling active boil that could crack the eggs and start a timer for however long you want to cook them. And I'll show you what, 76.2 6.5 minutes look like. You need an ice bath to stop cooking immediately after removing them from the cooking water. Here's the five minute egg, very soft boiled. The outer whites are solid, inner whites are cooked but liquid, and the yolk is very molten. I think this is what they call a dippy egg. The kind you put in the little egg stand and then dip strips of bread into a six minute egg has set whites and very runny yolk. I think this one is my preference. 6.5 minute yolk has set whites and the outer ring of the yolk is set. The rest of the yolk, thick and jammy, slightly runny, but like a slow run, the seven minute egg, the outer yolk is set and slightly yellowed, and the yolk is not fully cooked, but not runny, but solidly jammy, if you will. To show the importance of an ice bath, check out this egg. It was removed at the same time as the seven minute egg, and it's almost a full boiled egg, yolk after sitting with its own heat while I peeled the others. That's the importance of an ice bath to stop the cooking. Yes, you can do hard boiled this way too. You just end up with more rubbery whites, and the other method creates more delicate whites. The difference between the two methods of starting the eggs in the water versus adding them once the water is boiling is one way brings the egg to temperature with the water, creating a more even cook throughout the entire egg. The other way of adding eggs to boiling water cooks the outer edge of the egg first protecting the inside yolk from being cooked at the same rate as the outside white. Steaming is also an option. Some say it makes them easier to peel, but it definitely makes the texture silkier. Here are the steps and timetables for that. You bring an inch of water to a boil with a steamer basket or a mesh trainer and add the eggs you cover and steam for 5 minutes for soft, or 7 minutes for medium, and 12 minutes for hard. It's basically the same time as boiling again immediately into an ice bath to stop the cooking. Now for the son egg, this technique is very delicate and specific. Now if this is new to you, it's also like a half boiled egg, or poached in the shell. It has silky whites that aren't fully set but are fully cooked, and a very soft yolk. Essentially, we bring water to a boil, then add lukewarm water to reduce the temperature. Then turn off the heat and gently add the eggs to the water cover for 16, 19 minutes, and then cool for at least 5 minutes. In an ice bath, when you crack it open, it should slip right out. Sintomago is the formal name, and it means hot springs. The traditional method uses water heated through a specific temperature, And then it gently bathes the egg for like 25, 45 minutes, and then cools for 15 minutes. You can use a rice cooker or an immersion circulator or like Suvid to create ideal conditions to keep a specific low temperature for like 45, 90 minutes. This is truly low and slow, but the Internet seems to have figured out this workaround of boiling the water and adding lukewarm water to it. Now this is usually served in a dashi broth, but it can be used anywhere you'd use soft boiled or poached. Now there are some tools and gadgets that can simplify this whole process. An egg cooker like this one steams the eggs. It uses this water measurer to provide exactly enough water for however many eggs you're cooking, and allows for hard, medium, and soft boil options. Another unique feature is the pin that gently breaks a hole in the shell, which helps them peel more easily. And the cooker sets an alarm to go off when all the water has evaporated from the tray. The other setting here is for little pans to poach or cook eggs also with steam. Now, I love this thing, it's how I primarily cook my eggs since it is so hands off. Another option for the son type egg is egg bath. It has also been cleverly designed to slowly release boiling water over just enough time to create that poached in shell texture. You can choose how much water to add and therefore how long your egg bathes in the hot water. Now links to these tools are in the recipe PDF. Now we'll explore all the ways to use your deliciously boiled eggs and I'll see you in the next lesson. 4. Peeling Tips & Freshness Facts: Secrets to an easier peel. Number one, an older egg is easier to peel because the membrane between the shell and the whites is thinner and separates more easily from the cooked egg whites. We determine freshness two ways. First, the date on the carton. These three numbers, at least in the US, are the Julian date and it corresponds to the date of the hear the egg was harvested. Here's number 36, which is November 2. I'm filming this late November, about 3.5 weeks later, a not farm fresh egg. And I deliberately saved these eggs so they would be easier to peel. For this, we can say about ten days is enough to notice a difference in an eggs age. The other way we determine freshness is the float test, which is really more about determining if an egg has gone bad, which will take a long while because eggs can stay safe for four to five weeks past their expiration date. If they're stored in the back of the fridge and in their carton, egg shells are porous. Fresh eggs will sink in a glass of water because oxygen hasn't had time to accumulate in the egg. If it sinks but stands upright, that means it's not fresh, but not bad. Some oxygen has found its way into the shell, but not enough to deteriorate safety. If it floats, there's too much oxygen and don't eat it. Now, another method to make peeling easier is to add vinegar to the boiling water to help dissolve some of the calcium carbonate in the shell, about a fourth of a cup. It does not influence the taste of the egg. Also, using a spoon can help get under the membrane and separate it from the egg, making the peeling process easier. Baking soda can also supposedly help because the alkaline helps the whites to separate from the membrane. But I've seen too much contradiction on this one to confirm it. But it also doesn't affect flavor if you want to try it. Cracking the shell in lots of smaller pieces helps because those larger bits create larger suction and can't be peeled off as easily. Gently make lots of little cracks all over the egg to get you started. Steaming rather than boiling is another trick that supposedly helps eggs peel more easily. And finally, making a small hole in the shell also helps. However, some sources don't recommend it as it could introduce bacteria to the egg. So use at your own wrist and happy peeling. I'll see you in the next lesson. 5. Classic Deviled Egg: A classic deviled egg. There is so much room for variation. And it's really not a recipe because some factions insist on chopped pickles, some insist on a specific mayonnaise. It's a taste driven ratio that you make your own. But loosely, we remove the yolks and add a couple spoonfuls of mayonnaise. And about half of that amount of mustard, partial to Dijon, but yellow and even whole grain mustard are options. I'd like to add chopped cornichon and chives to mine for extra tang season with salt and pepper, and mush it all together. When yolks are creamier, they will emulsify together with the other ingredients, better making a silkier mixture and not lumpy. Then taste and decide if you want more mayo or mustard. Now if it's just for a snack, mixing by hand is fine. If we're doing this for a party, I may blend this with an immersion blender, or a food processor, maybe even some olive oil to fluff it up and add even more smoothness. And then I might use a piping bag to fill the eggs rather than trying to smush it in with the spoon. Regardless, you'll always have yolk mixture left over and you'll want to add more visual interest with a sprinkle of paprika or chopped herbs like parsley or dill. Now we have added spices like tandorre spice mix or Mexican taco mix. For something a little different, you can cook up bacon or panchetta and stir the head in, and even substitute cream fresh for some of the mayonnaise. It's a classic recipe because it can be as simple or as dressy as you want to make it. And literally that's it for a basic deviled egg. I'll see you in the next lesson. 6. Egg Salad Sandwich: Egg salad. It's having a Renaissance moment. And good for it, because it does not need much to be highly satisfying. And it can be as crude or as polished as you want to make it. We start with our hard boiled egg to be chopped into small pieces. You can do this by hand if you like a chunkier texture, or if you want a finer texture, peel the eggs and freeze them for 20 ish minutes. So they harden up, then grate them on the large grate. We only use mayonnaise, salt and pepper to mix together. Some people add mustard and some folks like to use pi mayo because it's sweeter than other mayonnaise and that pairs well with egg. I'm using my usual mayonnaise and adding a pinch of sugar. That's literally it just stir it together until it's all homogeneous. This can go on crackers or lettuce, but most of the time we see it on bread for tea sandwiches. Find the softest, fluffiest bread, like Japanese milk bread or brioche, and spread a layer of butter. This helps to keep the bread from getting soggy and adds flavor and spread on the egg salad. Now to help a proper tea sandwich stay together. We'll weigh down the sandwich with a plate for about 5 minutes and then cut off the crust and slice it in a half. Voila, a traditional tea sandwich. Like with the other recipes so far, exact measurements are less important than taste and texture to your preference. The measurements are in the recipe PDF to get you started, that's it for traditional egg salad. I'll see you in the next lesson. 7. Eggs Jeanette: Eggs, Jeanette, are an upgraded twist on the classic deviled egg by Chef Jacques Pepin, who named this after his wife. It starts similarly with yolks being mixed into a paste. The recipe calls for milk here, but I don't have any, so I'm using mayo and olive oil to give a similar creamy consistency. And we add finely chopped garlic and chopped parsley. The mixture should hold together, but also be soft enough to easily fill the eggs and spread it flat. Don't mound it up like a regular doubled egg. You should have about two tablespoons of extra yolk mixture or somewhere around that. And we will add mustard water, salt and pepper, and then olive oil. We're making a dressing basically now in a non stick pan. Heat, olive oil over medium, high heat and add butter, reducing the heat to medium. When the butter foams up, add the eggs flat side down. We want to brown the yolk mixture, not necessarily the whites, because they just get rubbery if they're overcooked. It doesn't take but a few minutes to see the browning happening. And we'll gently remove them to a plate and drizzle them with the dressing. To me, the dressing tastes a lot like a cesar dressing with the garlic, the mustard, and the egg yolk, even though it's cooked. And I even use the extra dressing to dip a steak in afterwards, since it was so Caesaresque. This is nice when you want something warm and light with lots of flavor and it comes together so quickly. That's it for eggs, Janet and I will see you in the next lesson. 8. Bengali Egg Curry: We're going to try a Bengali egg curry. Some of the spices are pretty specific. I'll do the best I can with substitutions, starting with hard boiled eggs, make slits through the whites, and rubbing them with turmeric and salt. Now this is a teaspoon of turmeric and two a teaspoon of salt. It should be enough for four eggs. Now, wear kitchen gloves or protect your hands by wearing a ziplock bag like gloves, because turmeric stains quite easily. Heat oil in a medium pan over medium, high heat enough to cover the bottom of the pan. Cook the eggs in this oil, turning the skin brown and bubbly. And this can help the sauce stick to the egg. And it also might get dangerous. I had large pops of oil in the beginning. We want a gentle fry, nothing violent, and then you've got the urmoric in the oil and you've got like oil popping out everywhere that's going to stain everything it hits. So just be diligent and constantly cleaning when they're mostly browned, remove from the pan and add crushed bay leaves or dried oregano as a substitute. We're going to spice the oil, add a whole seed spice mix called pant foron. I'm not sure I'm pronouncing that correctly because I've never heard it said before. The Internet tells me that a reasonable substitute is cumin, thyme and mustard. So we'll give that a shot. And again, I'm using whole seeds because that's a little more traditional to the recipe. But use whatever you've got when that starts to sizzle, add some chopped onion and chilies that have been sliced lengthwise, not all the way through. We're just trying to open the skins, reduce the heat to low, and let the onions cook until translucent. After five ish minutes, add grated or powdered ginger, if that's what you've got. And chili powder, stir this in and add chopped tomatoes and tomato puree. We'll cook down the tomatoes until they are pulpy and stewy Stirring and mashing once or twice to speed up the process. Once they've cooked down a tablespoon of coriander and garam Masala, it should be about a tablespoon of like both of them combined. So split that up whatever you want. I did an even split and stir it in with 34 a cup of water. Now, I know it seems tedious to add spices a few at a time, like add some, cook something, add some cook something. But we're building levels of flavor by cooking them in bit by bit. If you like curries, maybe double up this recipe and freeze the extra bits, since it has so many steps. And that way it's only half the work for twice the meals. Now, this is going to seem watery, but you'll want it a little loose and it will thicken a tad as you add the eggs and heat it altogether and it's ready to serve. It is so fragrant flavorful. I'm personally not a fan of the texture of the egg skin and I'd probably be happier with this curry and a plain soft boiled egg. So keep that in mind. Truly hope you make the effort to try this one. It's not too complicated, it's just a lot of steps, but that's how it goes for curries. And that's it for Bengali egg curry. Or Dim kasha. Dimo kasha. I'll see you in the next lesson. 9. Pickled Eggs: Pickling your hard boiled eggs, It's pretty straightforward. A brin and some time, every recipe calls for pickling spice, which can be bought as a premix or you can just make your own, which is generally what I do based on what I have on hand. Things like allspice, black peppercorns, bay leaf mustard seeds, dried ginger, red pepper flakes, cinnamon. And the amount you use is also up to you and how big of a jar you're trying to fill. I'm just pickling a couple of eggs to test this combination. So I'll use a crumbled bay leaf. About three allspice berries. All right. Eight inch black peppercorns and a few mustard seeds and a sprinkle of ginger to make the brine. We'll simmer together vinegar and water with sugar and a little salt. The amount of sugar depends on how sweet you like your pickle, but some sugar helps to balance the vinegar you need a little and add your spices and other aromatics like garlic or red onion. You can even add beet juice and bits of beets to add color, or turmeric to make them very yellow. We simmer about 5 minutes just enough to dissolve the sugar and soften the onions if you're using them, then let this cool for a few minutes before pouring it over the hard cooked eggs in the jar. If the brine is still hot, let it cool on the countertop before sealing the lid and storing it in the fridge. But basically, it'll sit in the fridge for a few days to soak up the flavor. And the longer it sits, the more flavor the eggs get. And they'll be good for about a month if you don't eat them all before, then if you use beet juice to make them pink, the longer you let them sit, the darker the color becomes and then the deeper the color penetrates into the egg. It's pretty simple, but if you like pickled things, this will be right up your alley. So have fun making the spice all your own. That's it for pickled eggs, and I'll see you in the next lesson. 10. Korean Mayak Eggs : Marinating. Now, this is a much shorter process than pickling the eggs, and we generally use soft or medium boiled eggs for this. To demonstrate, I'm using a Korean Mayic eggs recipe, which starts with soy sauce and water, then chili and sesame seeds. I used Hell Pino because my store didn't have any other type. And I definitely do not like the flavor with everything else. It just doesn't mix. But it is better than none at all. And it was educational to experience how flavors can complement or contradict each other in something like this. Then garlic green onions and then some type of sugar like granulated, white or brown sugar, or corn syrup or honey. The eggs are peeled and covered in the marinade and they sit for at least 8 hours in the fridge, they'll turn brown. And I rotated mine so they were somewhat a homogeneous color. And then they're usually served over rice. The marinade can be used for one more batch or reduced to a syrupy sauce over heat. Most sauces I used didn't say that it could be used over and over again as a marinade. So maybe just two marinades. And if that's done within a week's time because it's still fresh ingredients that can still go bad over time. So after a week, if you haven't used it, you should probably discard it. But I also froze my marinade after the first use, and then I'll thaw it when I'm ready for this. Again, there are many other variations of this for Chinese versions and Japanese ramen eggs, but the technique is the same. The eggs only need a few hours to take on the flavor of the marinade. And it fills up any basic rice or noodle bowl for a small meal or a hearty snack. And there's lots you can do with it. And that's it for now, for marinated eggs and Korean Mayic eggs. We'll see you in the next lesson. 11. Bruleed: If you've been looking for an excuse to use your kitchen to or to buy one, this is it brulee eggs and oh my God, y'all, it's as simple as the jammy egg, as thick or as runny as you like it. But I think it does help to have a sturdy white to hold up to the flame. This is a six or 6.5 minute egg, and we'll sprinkle a little salt on first because salt will help amplify the flavors of both the yolk and the sugar, like a salted caramel. And then cover the top of the egg with sugar. And don't skim on the whites or around the edges because we want that crunchy sugar layer to protect the whites from getting rubbery in the extra heat plan for just under a teaspoon of sugar per two egg or more, if you like, then play with the intensity of the kitchen torch. You can get close to the egg for a deep burn or pull away to get a lighter melt. Regardless, we like seeing bubbly sugar and browned areas and even some dark brown spots, just like a creme brulee. We're going for a crunchy sugar topping that, after it cools for a minute or two, we get to crack with a spoon, and it sounds wild, but the yolk is just right for something sweet and savory and rich like this. This is my kind of breakfast, but it would be delightful with cocktails. So get that torch go in and sugar up some eggs, and I'll see you in the next lesson. 12. Scotch Egg: Scotch egg, which actually isn't Scotch, it's English. It's a soft or hard boiled egg wrapped in spiced meat, then battered and fried or baked into a hearty, delicious barsnack. Traditionally, it's a hard boiled egg, but a lot of us try really hard to make it work with a jammy egg. So I'm using a couple of jammy eggs and maybe they won't cook into a hard yolk, or maybe they will and it will still be fine. After you've cooked your egg, Let's prep the meat to wrap the egg so we need flavor here. I have bought garlic and herb pork sausage from Whole Foods. So I'll just remove it from the sausage casing. You can buy breakfast sausage, which is also generally already spiced or flavored. And you can buy basic ground pork and then add things like garlic powder, onion powder, parsley, cayenne, whatever other seasonings you really like. For one egg, we'll need a four pound of meat or 4 ounces. Another reason why I bought the sausage, these are already 4 ounces. I just need to figure out how to roll the meat into a patty that will perfectly wrap around the egg. Now, one of the recipes I found in my research, it was suggested to use plastic wrap. And this was super easy. Like deceptively easy, I've never made this before, and this made it so much easier than I imagined. Smash the ground meat into a patty. And just kept testing to see if the patty would wrap all the way around the egg and the plastic wrap helped the meat agree that we would all meat in one place. Then I just twisted it and pushed it all together. Now I just need to smooth it out a little so that the meat cooks evenly. That's one thing you want to make sure you do that. Your meat is even around the egg. Now that my eggs are fully wrapped, I'm going to let them sit in the fridge while I set up everything else. We need an egg wash and breadcrumbs to dip them into. Taking care to use one hand for wet treatment and the other for dry treatment so things aren't as messy. Please use a larger bowl. I have a bad habit of underestimating how much bowl space I need. These are regular breadcrumbs. A lot of recipes recommend using Penco. Then you can deep fry at 350 degrees Fahrenheit or bake in your oven, or use your air fryer, which to me, seems the quickest and easiest. Here we go, at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 12 minutes, and a pre heated air fryer. After 12 minutes, I was not certain they were crisp enough, so I flipped them and put them back in for another 4 minutes. Here's how they look. I am confident they are cooked. Through a cut through the center reveals eggs. This egg was super soft. It must have been the six minute egg, and the other one is just right. So it must have been the 6.5 minute egg. The meat isn't as dark as I expected, but a thermometer says it's at 01:50 to 160, which is good for pork. I am pleased with this experiment. What do you think that was easy, right? We hear a lot that Scotch eggs are like really difficult and people struggle with it, but that was easy. All right, that's it for Scotch egg and I'll see you in the next lesson. 13. For More Like This...: So boiled eggs are pretty fancy now. Eh, my favorite is the brulete egg. It's just everything I love in a bite of food. There are more recipes to come, so turn on those notifications so you'll get the announcement. And remember to actually try one or two of the recipes and share them here. And ask me any questions. I check in here every day and if you like my style, you can find the rest of my cook, the best egg series here on Skill Share, And you can find me on Youtube, but Cooking Companion TV and the Tiktok and Instagram at Jenna G. Edwards TV. Now, thank you for taking my class and I'll see you in the next one.