I’m a self proclaimed egg lover….especially fresh, free range chickens, that come from my parents farm in Wisconsin. They can’t certify they are organic, but they don’t pump their chickens full of any hormones and are all feed a natural diet.
There are dozens of ways to cook up eggs but I have two personal favorites and over the last few years have perfected them (to my liking at least).
Hard Boiled
I used to put the eggs in water, cover, and boil for 15-20 minute until I was good and sure those eggs were cooked through. Nothing worse than a runny, uncooked or partially cooked egg. Then I read in a cookbook somewhere how to make the perfect hard boiled eggs, tried it, and now I faithfully follow this simple, but specific process.
- place eggs in water and place in a covered pot
- bring to boil
- as soon as it boils, remove from heat and let sit exactly 10 minutes
- at 10 minutes, drain hot water, and add plenty of ice water to the pot to cool and stop the cooking process
Presto- you have perfectly cooked hard boiled eggs. The whites are completely cooked through and firm, and the yolks are done, but not overcooked and rubbery. I will usually make 6 at a time and have 2 that day. Then leave the shells on, and place in the egg drawer. Once I want a few more hard boiled eggs, I can easily peel and eat them.
Over Easy
This is another way I just love to eat my eggs. I can’t stand a soggy white part, but I loooooove to dip my toast into the runny yolk, so how do you find the balance without under cooking the whites or overcooking the yolks (and I always failed miserably at flipping them):
- so do pretty much you would normally do, but DON’T FLIP the eggs
- pre-heat the pan and add whatever oil, butter, spray you wish
- crack eggs without breaking and place in hot pan
- the whites should cook up pretty quick, but the top and the yolk will all still be wet and soggy
- add several tablespoons to up to a 1/4 cup of water into the pan around the eggs, and immediately cover with a see-through lid
- the steam from the water will rise to the top of the cover and cook the top of the egg without overly cooking your yolks
- when finished, remove lid and slide onto a plate
- start dipping your toast
No need to flip the eggs and run the risk of breaking one of the yolks. You may have to try this a few times to get it to your desired level of cooked, but once I learned this trick I was sold. I showed this to my dad a while back and now this is how he does it too. Who says you can’t teach an old dog new tricks!?
Excel With Mel 