Mystery Lovers' Kitchen: Easter eggs easy to peel

Monday, April 2, 2012

Perfect Easter Eggs

Easter is upon us. At my house, that usually means spring asparagus and strawberries. Sometimes ham, sometimes lamb. Sometimes babka and/or coconut cake or cupcakes. So when I thought about what I might post today, it dawned on me that the one

thing that shows up on my table every year, no matter what, is dyed Easter eggs. It's just not Easter without those wonderful, happy, colorful eggs. They're not difficult, of course. The dying instructions are on the back of every box of PAAS.

While this might make me sound duller than dirt, a group of my friends recently discussed how we cook hard-boiled eggs. No kidding. In the past I've managed cracked eggs, or eggs with that unsightly green ring around the yolk. Or worst of all, eggs that cling to the peel so they end up looking like a mangled mess. Today I thought I'd share the easy-peasy way to boil eggs -- that peel perfectly!

Hard-Boiled Eggs

Bring to boil

1. Place eggs in a pan large enough to accommodate them in a single layer if possible. Cover them with water.

2. Bring them to a boil. Don't walk away and let them keep boiling or boil too vigorously. It's not necessary and may result in cracked eggs.

Cover and let stand 20 minutes.

3. Leave them on the burner, but turn it off. COVER.

4. After 20 minutes, pour off the hot water and cover them with cold tap water.

SHOCK your eggs!

5. SHOCK them with ice. This is the key to easy peeling. Dump ice cubes on them and let them sit.

That's it. How easy is that? Perfect eggs every time. Please note that I used brown eggs in the pictures, but you must use white eggs if you're going to color them.