Get rid of the unsightly green ring encircling the yolk of those hard boiled eggs by learning how to properly hard boil eggs. You’ll be rewarded with golden yellow yolks that are creamy and devoid of that yucky green crumble.
Hard boiled eggs have been around since cavemen figured out how to put two sticks together and got a spark (well, maybe they hadn’t figured out the pot situation yet so give or take a few years.). Yet, they are an oft forgotten food. Inexpensive, simple to make, high in protein and super healthy, buy an extra dozen of cage free eggs and you’ve got grab and go snacks for a week!
Forget the drive-thru, grab a couple of hard boiled eggs to eat in the car on the way to practice. At just 70 calories and 6 grams of protein be sure to toss in a couple for mom as well!
How to Properly Hard “Cook” an Egg
“Hard boiling” isn’t really “Hard” and “Boiling” will just get you rubbery eggs
My hard boiled eggs used to turn out rubbery and green in the middle until I tried Linda Carucci’s technique. Linda shares in her fabulous cookbook, Cooking School Secrets for Real World Cooks that the term “Hard-boiled” is “actually a misnomer. Perfect hard-cooked eggs are achieved by steeping eggs in very hot water. If boiled, eggs are likely to have tough, not tender whites, and an unsightly blue ring around the yolk.” My eggs are now “hard cooked.” You know you’ve got it right when the yolks are creamy and bright yellow.
Here’s what you do:
Use old eggs- all grocery store eggs are weeks old so no need to let ’em sit around any longer. If you have chickens or buy eggs fresh from a farmer then buy an extra dozen and let one sit for next week (go ahead and use fresh eggs if that’s what you’ve got. That’s what I use and they are usually no problem to peel)
Put eggs in a saucepan large enough to put one layer of eggs in.
Cover with an inch of water.
Bring to a boil, uncovered
Once the boiling point has been reached, cover, turn off the stove, leave pan on burner.
Set timer for 10 minutes.
When the timer rings put the pan in the sink and run cold water over. Rinse a couple of times and then let sit for 5 minutes.
Refrigerate.
Quick and Easy Deviled Eggs
Deviled eggs don’t have to be for a special occasion and they don’t have to be time consuming to make.
Hard cook the eggs, split in half, and pop (I don’t scoop I just squeeze the white part of the egg and the yolk pops out) the yolk into a plastic bag.
Add mayo, mustard, and salt and squish the bag until the combination is thoroughly mushed together (“incorporated” if we’re getting fancy about the whole thing).
Squeeze the whole mess down to one corner of the bag. Snip off one corner and twist the bag (like you would a pastry bag if you were frosting a cake- if you don’t know how to do this watch one of the cake decorators down at your local bakery. It’s really simple). The contents will come out in a nice little sausage roll shape. Just squeeze a bit into each egg and voila, you’re done!
What Eggs Should I Buy?
Remember the old adage “You are what you eat.” This is especially true when it comes to protein! Eggs raised from pastured chickens that are fed an organic diet will impart the most nutrients nutritionally speaking. I live within a budget just like you, so if I have to choose between buying organic fruits and veggies and pastured, organic proteins/meat, I’ll always go with the higher quality protein. This is because toxins are stored in the fat and protein of an animal. Animals fed a GMO grain diet that include antibiotics and animal by-products are full of toxins that will not nourish my family like an animal fed a species appropriate diet and allowed to pasture (vs. a feedlot).
Cholesterol in eggs- Debunking the Myth
Some of you may be saying “But eggs are high in cholesterol!” The myth about too many eggs being a major source of cholesterol consumption has long been debunked. Eggs are high in protein, vitamin D, choline and a host of other nutrients. Click here to get the scoop.