Hard Cooking Eggs

A 10 minute egg cooked at 5400 ft. Notice the yolk is still creamy and bright orange-yellow. Perfect for deviled eggs.

We have posted a couple of deviled eggs recipes (guacamole and spicy-chipotle). To make the best deviled eggs, you need to know how to hard-cook your eggs. Often, we find that people cook those poor eggs to death, which is easy to recognize. That chalky yolk, green ring and sulfur smell? That's an overcooked egg. We're here to save you from those sad little overcooked eggs.

We have tested two methods, a gentle cooking method and a "just boil 'em" and found that just boiling them works consistently and results in eggs that are easier to peel. We live at 5400 feet where water boils at about 204°F,  not 212°F. If you live at sea level, everything will take just a bit less time and we've noted that below. For deviled eggs, we like yolks that are set but not too hard. That keeps the filling nice and creamy. Use the cooking time at the bottom of the range. If you want the yolks a bit firmer, use the top of the range.

The pinch of salt helps to quickly set any egg white that leaks out from cracks that may form.

Hard Cooking Eggs

Put refrigerator temperature eggs in a saucepan with cool tap water. Add a healthy pinch of salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to maintain a gentle boil. Start your timer. At sea level, set it for 9-10 minutes. At an elevation of 5400 feet, set the timer for 10-11 minutes. When the timer goes off, remove from the heat, drain all the hot water and cover with cold tap water. Let sit for 10 minutes. If you don't need them right away, drain off water, and put in the fridge to chill. If you need them now, cover again with cold water and let sit another 10 minutes before trying to peel them. They are easier to peel when they are well-chilled. Running them underwater while peeling also makes peeling easier.