I absolutely LOVE eggs. Always have, always will. Whether they’re scrambled, sunny-side-up, chopped over a salad, or even straight out of the carton (whites, in that case. And no, it doesn’t taste like foot. It’s tasteless and awesome)… Eggs have always been a staple food in my regime of deliciousness.

Cadbury Creme Eggs were even my favorite holiday treat growing up, for goodness sake. Side note: Are you aware they have actually decreased 30% in size since back in the heyday? Truth.

I partly hold this on account of my dad and the memories of him making his yummy breakfasts of eggs, mushrooms, cumin, and close to a half-stick of butter in a pan. I always wanted whatever he was making because it smelled so warm and spicy. Plus, he always ate everything with Lebanese pita bread. Believe it or not, the pita and butter was my favorite part… I just kind of put up with the eggs (reminder: Nutrition Specialists are not born Nutrition Specialists) and I could still hear my mom saying, “That is TOO much butter for her! Way too much,” to which he would say okay and then slice me off another chunk of golden, melty goodness when she wasn’t looking.

Coincidentally, I really miss my dad about now… and the thought of that much butter at this point kind of makes my stomach turn. But, I digress.

When it comes to the most convenient form of eggs – hard boiled – there is actually a LOT more involved then throwing eggs in a boiling pot of water and then peeling them after a few minutes. It’s a SCIENCE, and if you don’t have it down, you’ll likely experience one (or all) of the following hard boiled fails:

1. Tearing and peeling half the whites off with the shell. I call this the Moon Crater fail.
2. Success with peeling… but a puke green rim (or totally green, for that matter) yolk on the inside. Aka: the Groke.
3. A yolk that isn’t completely cooked and still runny (which is on purpose, at times, ie. the soft boiled egg).
4. A cracked or broken shell while boiling which ends up in seeping out whites and tumor-growth looking eggs.
5. (Add your hard boiled egg fail here)

It came to my attention recently that so many people don’t know exactly how to make the perfect hard boiled egg. Whenever anyone asks me what a good, portable, convenient option is for a snack, one of my go-to suggestions is this winner. However, 9 out of 10 people say they can never make them right! As soon as a couple of clients mentioned spending way too much money on a way questionable means of this amazing, protein-packed snack (*cough* 7-11 ready hard boiled eggs in a plastic baggy), I KNEW I had to share this post to benefit their bellies and everyone else who fears attempting the delicousness that is the HBE.

I’m pretty happy to say I have it down to a science and am even happier to share it here!

HOW TO MAKE THE PERFECT HARD BOILED EGGS

You’ll need:

• Eggs

• Water

• Large sauce pan with lid

• Large slotted spoon

• Large bowl

• Ice

As an example here, I’m using a small saucepan and just a few eggs. But I highly suggest making these in bulk and using the biggest stock or sauce pan you have because you want to make sure the eggs are covered by a good inch of water without it boiling over once things get moving. Plus, it’s amazingly convenient to have a bunch of them ready to go in the fridge, especially if you don’t have time to prepare food during the day and need a quick snack (or protein for a full) to grab and go.

Step 1: Carefully place cold eggs in a single layer at the bottom of your sauce pan.

 

Step 2: Fill the sauce pan with cold water until all the eggs are completely submerged (about an inch of water above eggs).

 

Step 3: Put sauce pan on stove and set it to high to boil.

 

Step 4: Once water gets going with a rolling boil, let boil for only one minute before removing from stove top.

 

Step 5: Cover with lid and take off the burner, setting it to the side

 

Set a timer for 15 minutes. The eggs will continue cooking in the hot water as they sit.

 

Step 6: Fill up a large bowl halfway with ice and then up about 3/4 high with cold water

 

Step 7: Once timer goes off, use a slotted spoon to remove eggs from sauce pan and place in ice bowl.

 

Let sit about 10 minutes, until ice is mostly melted down.

 

Now. Time for things to get serious.

 You’ve made it this far, peeling glory is soon ahead.

And what would an instructional post be without a little video for the visual people?

Main tricks are:

• Have water handy for rinsing (and even peeling under). It will help the shell slip off.

• Tap both ends of the egg gently on a counter, then do a gentle “rolling’ motion to break it all around before peeling off (this REALLY helps!)

• Use the side of your thumb to gently glide the shell off (as opposed to nails or the tips of your fingers). This alleviates risk of tearing any whites off with the shell.

• Organic, brown eggs are harder to peel than regular, white eggs. Basically, the fresher the egg, the harder to peel. I definitely suggest and prefer organic, free range eggs if you plan on eating the whole thing including the yolk-y goodness. But if you mainly just want the whites, it will be easier on your prep (and wallet) to just get regular white eggs.

• Try not to eat them as you’re peeling. At least not all of them. Yummy little health balls they are.

Additionally, if for some reason an egg cracks in the pot and whites start seeping out (like one of mine did because it had a slight crack in the shell before putting in), have some distilled white vinegar handy and throw a splash or two in the water as it begins to heat up. This helps the white coagulate faster and works well to salvage the egg.

Food for thought: Do you feel like hard boiled eggs make you bloated and gassy?

There is actually justification for this. Eggs (particularly the whites) are very high in sulfur… what most people familiarize with the “rotten egg” or Florida sprinkler system smell. Sulfur is a beneficial nutrient and one of the reasons eggs are a great super food. Any time eggs are cooked, the sulfuric compounds in the proteins are broken down and hydrogen sulfide is released (the cause of that smell). In the case of the HBE, however, this hydrogen sulfide has nowhere to really go. The green rim around the yolk from “overcooking” is actually a reaction between the ferrous iron in the yolk and the hydrogen sulfide in the white (yay, science)!

Some people poke a tiny hole with a very small needle in the shell of the egg before boiling to release pressure and claim this eases any digestive upset caused by the broken down proteins. I’ve never noticed any digestive issues regarding HBE’s personally, but it may be worth trying if you’ve had this issue! People also claim that poking the tiny hole encourages more even cooking, making the eggs easier to peel. But, as you can see once you try my method, a hole isn’t necessary for super hard boiled success!

Now time to go enjoy them however you like! My preference is simple with a bit of sweet and tangy homemade ketchup :)

Now that you know how to cook them up, what is your favorite way to eat hard boiled eggs?