Yes, it works! A year or two ago I tried this method from a family cookbook and was not happy with the results so I never posted it. On the Food Channel recently Marcella Valladolid demonstrated this “tidbit” and I thought I would give it one more try. The difference was this recipe did cool the eggs in the ice water. I added a few more instructions to make the recipe clearer.
You can see the results below, perfectly cooked eggs with just two little brown spots which could easily be trimmed or pinched off. This comes from where they are sitting in the muffin tin and I do not think you can do anything about that. They were easy to peel, no chunks of egg taken off as I peeled them and no ugly blue ring around the yolk. Also, no egg opened up as it usually does simmering in the water. Much easier way to hard-boil eggs if you are cooking a bunch!
This method is ideal if you have a lot of eggs to cook. For example in the summertime I make potato salad and deviled eggs for a family gathering so I use quite a few. Cooking time may vary if you use more than a 12-well muffin tin.
- muffin tin (I used a 6 well but you can use a 12 well too)
- I used fresh large Organic brown eggs that I probably had in the refrigerator for a week or two)
Remove your eggs and allow to get to room temperature. Preheat your oven to 325°F. Put an egg inside each well and bake for 30 minutes, then remove and quickly place in an ice water bath. I got this ready ahead of time so the water/ice was good and cold. Allow to cool and peel, or you can refrigerate them unpeeled until ready to use. All 6 eggs turned out the same so I am very happy now with this new way to cook hard-boiled eggs.
You are probably wondering how to get the yolk more centered, right? You could place the eggs on their side overnight – I have heard that works. Guess what, an off-centered yolk is just fine with me and who is going to notice once you fill them or chop them up 🙂
Just received an email from Food 52 mentioning Alton Brown’s scientific way of hard boiling eggs in the oven.
Wet a kitchen towel so it’s just damp; make sure the entire towel is wet. Lay the towel on the center rack of your oven. Line up as many eggs as you want on top of the towel and not touching each other.
Turn on your oven to 320°F and let your eggs bake for 30 minutes. Pull the oven rack out and grab the corners of the towel, carefully pick them up and transfer to an ice bath. Cool until you can handle them.
The oven method can make the eggs more difficult to peel but they are creamier than hard boiled.
I thought the egg would explode. Who knew this could be done. Great tidbit. Thank you.
Not even a crack 🙂
This is new to me:) I have to try! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks – let me know your results 🙂
Very cool Judi… I’ve tried this before, but I didn’t do the ice water bath, will have to try that the next time. 🙂
Thanks Loretta – I also made sure the eggs were at room temperature before I baked them 🙂
Such a good idea Aunt Juju
Thanks Sonal 🙂
wow, this is a new one for me! thanks~
You’re welcome Cindy 🙂
Fun experiment and tidbits. Do the eggs taste any different than the ones boiled?
Thanks Fae! No, according to my sister and nephew. They ate them with a little salt and pepper 🙂
I tried this years ago and didn’t repeat it – maybe now I’ll revisit! I wonder if putting the muffin tins on an airbake sheet pan or cookie sheet would prevent the brown spots?
Maybe – if you give it a try let me know. I did not experiment any further as I have no problem with two little brown spots 🙂
Easter is coming up and I always make lots of eggs to dye, so I’ll give it a go!
I was just thinking but maybe each well could be insulated – I’m not sure with what – maybe foil on the bottom ???
I love the idea, Judi and thanks for sharing 🙂
You’re welcome Linda 🙂
Thanks for being the test kitchen “guinea pig”, Judi! 😉 And thanks for the ice bath tip too… I’m sure that helps immensely with the peeling!
LOL – you are welcome Nancy! When I boil eggs in water I always chill them in an ice water bath but the original baking recipe said not to. Heck, who knew what baking would do to the eggs. So, I never tried to make them again until now 🙂
These eggs did come out beautifully! Great tid bit!