Behind Brown Eyes

If you’re anything like me, you love eggs. (I even wrote a short story on my blog devoted to them). Omelets, sunny side up, fried, scrambled, over easy—my goodness there are so many varieties and ways to cook these precious little Humpty Dumpty’s it makes my mouth water.

But there’s one form, that’s particularly hard to perfect (no pun intended). And that’s the hard-boiled egg (HBE). Must have that name for a reason. At least for me, it was always a struggle for consistency. Do you put the eggs in cold water and bring them to a boil, and then start timing? Do you boil the water first? Ice water? I’ve never done that! How many minutes? That arbitrary range of time can be quite tricky, I agree. Ah, I think it’s done. Grab the egg, crush it on the counter; you then make a casual attempt to peel your snack and wait—what? What the? WHY IS MY SHELL CRACKING in 500 pieces!!! #firstworldpains

Fellow tumblees, that has been me. I’ve been where you’ve been—in the kitchen, by the stove, striving for perfection and falling short each and every time. That is, until my colleague Margaret (she goes by “Mad”), shared with me a flawless method that guarantees a perfect HBE. Every. Single. Time.

Mad’s Method:

1. Bring your water to a boil.
2. Gently place eggs into boiling water.
3. Boil for 9-12 minutes, depending on desired “done.” I’m partial to 12 minutes, myself, but haven’t tried anything less.
4. Ice bath for 2 minutes; make sure you leave your water boiling.
5. Back into boiling water for 10 seconds.
6. Back into ice bath.

DONE. And if your shell cracks into anything more than two smooth halves, please do give me a call.

Grammatical Disclaimer: I know AP style says that whole numbers one through nine should be spelled out. In this post, I’ve used the actual numeral as a visual aid and complement to the recipe.