What works for us when making quick soft, medium or hard-boiled eggs on the stove.
Stove top soft, medium and hard-boiled eggs are typically cooked by submerging eggs in cold water and bringing them to a boil in a covered pot over medium-high heat. Once the water comes to a roiling boil, the pot is removed from the burner and set aside for about 10 minutes before the eggs are removed and cooled down in an ice bath. This is the de facto way to make boiled eggs on the stove, but very often it is easy to miss when the water starts to boil. The results are over-cooked, hard-boiled eggs. As a kitchen multi-tasker, this happens quite often. Thus, I use what is sometimes referred to as the soft-boiled egg method for every type of boiled egg – soft, medium and hard-boiled eggs.
The soft boiled egg method requires dropping eggs into boiling water and removing them after a specific period of time. This method is easier to control because a timer can be set the moment after dropping eggs into the water.
How long to boil eggs
Depending on what size egg (medium, large, extra-large) you are using and how many eggs you are boiling together in the pot, time ranges can vary slightly. I primarily use large-sized eggs.
6.5-7 minutes for soft-boiled eggs
8-8.5 minutes for medium-cooked eggs with a dark yellow center and a bit of liquid
9 minutes for a medium-cooked egg with a dark yellow center
10 minutes for a hard-cooked egg with a beautiful yellow yolk.
After about 12 minutes the yolks turn a lighter yellow.
How to peel egg shells easier
- Use older eggs nearing expiration rather than fresh eggs.
- To make peeling eggs easier, crack hard-boiled eggs all around before immersing them in an ice bath to loosen the membrane between the shell and egg.1
- For farm fresh eggs, adding ½ teaspoon baking soda to every quart of water increases the pH of the egg whites, thereby loosening the membrane from the shell.2
- Adding vinegar to the water dissolves some of the shell and makes it easier to peel.2 Also if the egg cracks, vinegar helps the egg whites hold their shape better.
- Crack and start peeling eggs from the larger end where they may be an air pocket.
There were no conclusive results when trying out the vinegar and baking soda approaches. The shell appeared to peel off easier using vinegar but more tests are needed to rule out or validate baking soda.
Quick Soft, Medium and Hard Boiled Eggs
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Loading...A quick method that works for us when making soft, medium or hard-boiled eggs on the stove.
Instructions
Pour enough hot water in a pot to cover eggs, when they are added, by about 1” of water.
Cover the pot and bring water to a roiling boil.
Remove cover and lower the heat to medium.
Using a spoon, carefully lower each egg into the water. Leave the cover off.
For a very soft-cooked, liquid-like yolk with extra-soft whites, remove the egg at 6.5-7 minutes. For a medium-cooked egg with a dark yellow center and a bit of liquid, remove the egg at 8-8.5 minutes. For a medium-cooked egg with a dark yellow center, remove the egg at 9 minutes. For a hard-cooked egg with a yellow yolk, remove the egg after 10 minutes. After about 12 minutes, the egg yolks turn a lighter yellow.
To stop the cooking process, quench the eggs in an ice bath or run them under cold water and place in a bowl filled with cold water.
Peel and serve.
Notes
Times extend a bit longer when more eggs are cooking simultaneously in the pot.
Informational Resources
- [1] How to Peel Hard Boiled Eggs. Saveur.
- [2] We tried 2 tricks that make eggs easier to peel — here’s the one that worked. Insider.
