Foolproof Boiled Eggs

Even with working remotely, I've still been "packing" my lunches. I do it for my husband anyway, so I might as well right? One less decision during the work day is never a bad thing.

The 2 most typical themes for lunches in our house are leftovers or salads-in-a-jar and I usually include fruit and a boiled egg. I like to add my egg to my salad, and Greg eats his as a mid-morning snack. We've been doing lunches this way for years and have not gotten tired of it.

Over the years I've refined my egg-cooking technique, and I really think the steam method from J. Kenji Lopez-Alt (Food Lab @ Serious Eats) is the absolute best. This method consistently produces peels that slip off, tender whites, and at my preferred 9 minute cook time, perfectly-textured and non-green yolks. Lopez-Alt detailed his testing process in the New York Times back in 2019 (another lifetime ago), but the tl;dr version is this:

1. Choose a pot that will fit whatever number of eggs you are cooking in a single layer.

2. Fill that pot with cold water from the tap up to the first knuckle of your thumb (about 1").

3. Cover pot with a lid and bring to a boil.

4. Gently lower in eggs, replace lid, and set timer for 9 minutes.

5. At the 9 minute mark, turn off heat, remove lid, and remove eggs from water.

6. Let cool on a plate and refrigerate in shell.

7. Experience all the hard-boiled and easy-won joy. (If you were to email Greg he would happily tell you how much joy he gets every day from peeling that egg. I swear. Maybe he needs more fun in his life but I digress.)

I cook all our eggs on the weekend so we have them for the week as a quick, cheap, and portable high-protein nosh. I hope you try this method and if you do, tell me how it goes or if you have any questions.