Hard boiled eggs - not quite?

12 years ago

Hi all,

I used a new method for hard boiled eggs and they came out, well, not completely hard boiled. They're firm, not soft, but the yolk still has a bit of translucent look about it, not the completely opaque, more crumbly texture I'm used to. They were cooled in an ice bath. A couple had been dropped and cracked, so I peeled them and found the problem. They were also tough to peel.

Is it possible (and worth it) to cook them some more at this point, or would it just make matters worse?

These are eggs from our chickens, saved from 2 weeks ago for hard-boiling and egg dying. So I'm not concerned about egg quality or bacteria from the not 100% cooked yolks.

I'd appreciate your advice!

Theresa

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Comments (7)

colleenoz
12 years ago
To be honest, that's the stage top chefs aim for when hard boiling eggs. I do it all the time, and they're fine- better IMO as they are not as dry as the totally crumbly ones are.
thegratefulgardener
Original Author
12 years ago
Thank you, colleenoz! Good to know I'm finally doing it the gourmet way!
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annie1992
12 years ago
Theresa, I agree with Colleen, that's the stage I try for, instead of being cooked until they crumble. Sometimes I'm successful, LOL, so you did better than I do sometimes.

I wouldn't try to cook them any more, I think you're "stuck" with them the way they are. If you are making deviled eggs or using them in potato salad, you probably won't notice.

You could always do what my husband Elery does, he removes the yolk and gives it to the dog and then fills the indentation in the white with my homecanned salsa. Now, and egg white filled with salsa is a bit much for me in the morning but he loves 'em.

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plllog
12 years ago
Oh, yum! Annie, the salsa filled eggwhite sounds great to me!

I haven't tried it, but I think if you did try to recook the eggs, the whites would get yucky and way overcooked while they were heating enough to cook the yolk further. Of course, I also aim for the cooked through golden yellow yolk, that's more like an over well fried egg. By definition, a hard boiled egg has the fluffy/crumbly pale yellow yolk, but the pasty, bright gold yolk is not only stylish, it's yummy. Not great for applications where you want diced eggs, though, like mixing into other dishes.
colleenoz
12 years ago
Oh, I disagree, plllog, I prefer the way the just set yolk holds together when you dice the eggs instead of falling apart into crumbles as the really hard cooked yolks do.
plllog
12 years ago
That's so interesting Colleenoz! Others have been talking about crumbles with the yolks, and I have had that happen occasionally, but usually my fluffy pale yolks hold up pretty well when they're diced and stirred into a salad or cooked spinach or whatever, whereas the golden pasty yolks tend to mush away into the dressing. Either we're talking about different temperatures, we're making different kinds of dishes, we stir differently, or there's a difference in the eggs. Viva la difference!

Thanks for the alternative experience. Good to know.
albert_135 　 39.17°N 119.76°W 4695ft.
11 years ago
It's a long weekend some are too busy but others may have nothing better to than read:

The Food Lab: The Hard Truth About Boiled Eggs | Serious Eats - Here's the truth: there is no 100% fool-proof method, and anybody who tells you different is selling something.

Hard boiled eggs - not quite?

Comments (7)

colleenoz

thegratefulgardener
Original Author

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annie1992

plllog

colleenoz

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Hard boiled eggs - not quite?

Comments (7)

colleenoz

thegratefulgardenerOriginal Author

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annie1992

plllog

colleenoz

plllog

albert_135 39.17°N 119.76°W 4695ft.

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thegratefulgardener
Original Author

albert_135 　 39.17°N 119.76°W 4695ft.