eggs!

[movie zombie]

once you've steamed them, i doubt you'll go back to boiling..... please post your results.

i 'm so happy with steaming i doubt i try the baking method....

 

[rainydaze]

holy canoli!! MZ i just tried this method (which i had never heard of either) and it WORKED GREAT!! i am probably more excited than i should be about this, but i have been trying for years - mostly in vain - to boil eggs in such a way that the shell peels off nicely. up until today, i was in the group that just couldn't seem to get it to work. my youngest goes through boiled eggs like nobody's business, and i like them too when they aren't so much work, so this is a godsend!! thanks for posting this MZ!!

p.s. and yeah, much easier all around AND the eggs taste better - more moist.

 

[TravelingGal]

I'll have to try steaming, but I rarely have a problem with peeling eggs. We just put them in cold water and on a stove (med heat) for 17 minutes, dunk in cold water and peel. No grey, no weird yoke, and pretty easy. Hm.

 

[amc80]

I bought Eggies to avoid peeling eggs. I seem to end up with egg shells that are in a million pieces and it drive me crazy. But nowhere on the Eggies box does it say if they are BPA free, so I'm guessing they aren't. I will definitely try the steam thing...

Has anyone at a high elevation tried the steam method, and if so, how long did you steam them for?

 

[movie zombie]

rainy, you sound as excited as i was!!!!!! its not that i hadn't tried all the "tricks"....but they just didn't work for me.

amc, the chowhound link has a discussion re elevation. my reading is that it doesn't matter as much re steaming because the temperature of steam doesn't vary that much. however, boiling water temp varies greatly due to elevation.

i'm at about the 1300 foot elevation. i'm going to shorten the steam time by a couple of minutes. i think this is sort of a try it and find what works for you.

checkout the chowhound link and i'd give it a 13 minute steam if you're at a higher elevation than i am....i'm betting they'll be done but perhaps a bit more than you want if you're looking to be rid of the grey yolked ring. but the white will NOT be rubbery. you could then try 11 or 12 minutes.

 

[amc80]

rainy, you sound as excited as i was!!!!!! its not that i hadn't tried all the "tricks"....but they just didn't work for me.

amc, the chowhound link has a discussion re elevation. my reading is that it doesn't matter as much re steaming because the temperature of steam doesn't vary that much. however, boiling water temp varies greatly due to elevation.

i'm at about the 1300 foot elevation. i'm going to shorten the steam time by a couple of minutes. i think this is sort of a try it and find what works for you.

checkout the chowhound link and i'd give it a 13 minute steam if you're at a higher elevation than i am....i'm betting they'll be done but perhaps a bit more than you want if you're looking to be rid of the grey yolked ring. but the white will NOT be rubbery. you could then try 11 or 12 minutes.

I'll check it out. Usually the higher the elevation, the longer things take. I think water where I am boils at around 203 degrees, and it's 212 at sea level, meaning my water is boiling early and food is not getting cooked as much...hence the longer cooking time. But I think it makes sense that this wouldn't impact steam...I should have paid more attention in physics.

 

[Haven]

once you've steamed them, i doubt you'll go back to boiling..... please post your results.

i 'm so happy with steaming i doubt i try the baking method....

I'm thinking the same thing. The steaming method is so easy, why bother with the baking?

TGal--I never had much problem with boiling eggs, but they really do come out lighter and more delightful all around when steamed.

 

[movie zombie]

another tip: take them out of the carton and let them come to room temperature. the egg yolks will be more centered within the egg! only important if visual appreciation is part of your eating experience and/or you're making deviled eggs and looking for a nice "presentation".

and what i so love about this method is i can use fresh store bought eggs!

 

[amc80]

I steamed some eggs last night. The good news is dh said they were perfect and the shells came of easily. The bad news is out of the 6 eggs I cooked, 2 ended up cracked and had burst through the crack. Any thoughts?

 

[movie zombie]

i did another 6 eggs yesterday but steamed for 12 minutes this time...less than the first time. one of the shells looked less than ideal for making making steamed hard boiled eggs but i did anyway...no problems with it breaking and leaking.

i leave the eggs out for hours to really be at room temperature. in this case overnight plus some. eggs are natures best packaged food item and no you do not need to worry about it. i left the eggs on their sides, not upright. i put the eggs in the steamer when i turn the burner on....not after the steam develops.

they were perfect once again! no grey around the yolk and cooked perfectly. i of course had to eat one and it was yummy. refrigerated the other 5 and will "test" one today to see if the grey around the yolk developed.

amc, i can only guess that perhaps there was a crack or hole in the egg already? were they at room temperature? did they bump each other in the steamer? perhaps a shell that was thin in that area? or perhaps it was a hint from the universe to make egg salad?!

glad your hubby enjoyed his hard steamed egg!

 

[MissStepcut]

I wish I had known this years ago! I had tried everything suggested in this thread, old eggs, under water, everything, to no avail.

 

[amc80]

amc, i can only guess that perhaps there was a crack or hole in the egg already? were they at room temperature? did they bump each other in the steamer? perhaps a shell that was thin in that area? or perhaps it was a hint from the universe to make egg salad?!

glad your hubby enjoyed his hard steamed egg!

No cracks that I know of. I'm thinking I put in a little too much water (it was just over the top of the basket), which made their ride a little too bumpy. I'll be sure to keep the water under the basket next time.

 

[movie zombie]

so, i had another egg yesterday: it was perfect w/o any grey around the yolk.
however, again the egg didn't peel as easily.
still better than when i actually did the 'submerge and boil' egg routine.
i think the eggs were just too dang fresh. i didn't have the problem with the first steamed batch.

 

[amc80]

I made 8 more...and 2 of them cracked in the process. These were new eggs as well. Oh well, I'd rather have two crack then have to deal with peeling hard boiled eggs!

 

[movie zombie]

very true, amc!

 

[Haven]

I made 8 more...and 2 of them cracked in the process. These were new eggs as well. Oh well, I'd rather have two crack then have to deal with peeling hard boiled eggs!

That's so strange! I don't think I've ever had eggs crack while cooking them whole.
I agree with you, though--better to crack two than deal with eight that are difficult to peel!

 

[amc80]

I made 8 more...and 2 of them cracked in the process. These were new eggs as well. Oh well, I'd rather have two crack then have to deal with peeling hard boiled eggs!

That's so strange! I don't think I've ever had eggs crack while cooking them whole.
I agree with you, though--better to crack two than deal with eight that are difficult to peel!

I'm just going to blame it on altitude. For no reason other than it's an easy thing to blame things on.

 

[Haven]

amc--Works for me! I live in the land of prairies, so the fact that my eggs don't crack only bolsters your assertion. Blame on the altitude!

 

[amc80]

amc--Works for me! I live in the land of prairies, so the fact that my eggs don't crack only bolsters your assertion. Blame on the altitude!

Great! So my theory is batting at 100%. You know, based on my sample size of two

Altitude sucks for cooking...everything has to be adjusted. At least I'm only at 5,000 feet...my grandma's house is at 6700 feet and it was damn near impossible to cook anything right.

 

[movie zombie]

and the experiment continues:

last weekend i took 6 eggs and brought them completely to room temperature.
put them on to steam.
then hubby distracted me for over an hour doing some things outside.
when i came in i saw "smoke" and smelled something like hair burning.
then i remembered my pot on the stove!
water all gone!
eggs definitely COOKED.
cracked one open anyway and it tasted liked a well done fried egg but w/o the crispy edges.
hubby said it tasted ok to him
and asked if there was something i couldn't do with them: so i made egg/potato salad.
i dared to taste it....wasn't bad.
he's been eating some everyday this week.......and likes it.
better him than me!

oh, and i thought the pan was ruined but after it cooled it cleaned up and you'd never known it burned....thankfully.

 

[partgypsy]

Well I tried it but I don't have a steamer, so I stuck a strainer in there but the pot lid didn't close completely. After cooking for around 12 minutes I opened one and even some of white hadn't cooked let alone the yolk! I cooked for another 10 minutes and the rest were fine, but didn't taste noticeably different to me than a boiled egg? Maybe I need to get a steamer basket so it can be done properly.

 

[movie zombie]

yes, tastes like a boiled egg but if done right, the white is cooked but not rubbery....unless you overcook like i did the last time.

yes, i think you need to use a steamer. mine is one that sits on the top of the pan and has rings around it that allow it to fit into different pans.