Hard-boiled eggs are a cabin staple: they can be eaten right out of the shell for a quick meal, pickled for longevity, or deviled to fancy-up a special occasion. With these four simple steps, one may disregard the age of the eggs and have no trouble peeling.
A hot start and a cold finish is the key to easily-removed shells with perfectly cooked yolks.
- In a pot, bring water to a boil (enough to cover all the eggs you plan to cook.)
- Add eggs and return to a simmer.*
- Simmer for eleven minutes.
- Remove eggs and place in an ice bath for fifteen minutes.
*The temperature in the pot will drop considerably when the eggs are added. It’s important not to begin timing until the water has returned to a gentle simmer. Small bubbles will form on the bottom of the pot and drift up. These are the bubbles that tell you the simmer has begun, not the tiny bubbles which escape through the eggshells from inside the egg when they’re first added to the pot. Refrigerate hard-boiled eggs and use within seven days.
Cabin Dweller's Textbook 