With summer upon us, boiled eggs are a very versatile element that can be used in many places. Part of a composed salad, the ubiquitous deviled egg, the comforting egg salad, or just a quick snack that can be prepared ahead of time. Which ever is your preference, knowing how to boil an egg properly is important. There are a few skills that any good cook should know, and surprisingly, boiling an egg is one that I see many professionals not possessing. A properly boiled egg will not have that green surface on the yolk (over cooked) or be a very bright yellow, and not completely solid (undercooked). It also makes the task of peeling them effortless. There's nothing worse than trying to peel a bunch of eggs where the shell is stuck to the egg, and you wind up with as much in the garbage or compost pile as you do in the salad, or worse, embarrassment at the family picnic, as people eye the pitted and pathetic plate of deviled eggs, and only turn to them when everything else is picked over.

Certainly not rocket science, nor a major task, there are just a few simple steps to boiled egg nirvana. First, you need to make sure you are using a pot big enough for the amount of eggs you are boiling. A few eggs, a small sauce pan will suffice, a dozen, you need something bigger, a stock pot, dutch oven, the pot you boil pasta, in, you get the idea. With out enough water, the eggs will crash into each other, bang against the pot, and crack before they full set. Also, due to the cooking time, you need plenty of water to start with otherwise it will evaporate away, and the eggs will not cook evenly – tops will extend above the water line.

Second, start your eggs in room temperature tap water (filtered water really isn't required, you will be boiling it long enough). Again, this is to ensure even cooking time. I like to fill the pot with at least half as much water as I'm going to use, then add the eggs, then top off. This helps prevent cracking. Putting a dozen eggs in an empty pot, carrying it to the sink and then filling it up again allows the opportunity for the eggs to bang together, cracking, and then making a mess in your pot.

This is probably the most important step. Bring the eggs and water to a full boil. Once the water is at a full boil, set a timer, check your watch, what ever works for you (keep in mind what else you are doing. With any cooking times, if you are stepping away from the kitchen, a timer is best. It's very easy to get distracted only to come back to a scorched pot) for twelve minutes. Only after 12 minutes from boiling (and not just when you start to see the first few bubbles in the water, but a full boil), should you remove the eggs from the heat.

The final step is almost important as the previous. That is to cool the eggs down immediately. All too often, people will simply turn off the burner, move it away, and call it a day. Like most foods (particularly vegetables), the residual heat will continue to cook the egg, despite the burner being off. My routine is to pour off the hot water, and run the eggs under cool water for a few minutes. Sometimes, I'll pour off the water a second time, and run cool water over them again, especially if I didn't use a timer and am worried they cooked more than 12 minutes. The faster they cool, the better the end result.

At this point, you can either peel the eggs immediately, or refrigerate them in the shell for later use/consumption.My egg salad is very simple, using just a little whole grain mustard, real mayonaise, salt pepper, and a little chive (or minced scallion top if chive isn't available). For that matter, that would be how I do deviled eggs for a barbecue or picnic. I believe I have a draft for my version of salad nicoisé floating around, which I'll try to get finished, as it is an perfect example of using boiled eggs in a composed salad.

Final note, these instructions assume you are using regular chicken eggs you can get at your local market, not quail or duck (or ostrich for that matter). Cooking times obviously would need to be adjusted, though I don't have much experience doing hardboiled duck eggs so I can't give a time for them.