The hard-steamed egg
To me, the most challenging thing about a hard-boiled egg is not cooking it, but smoothly peeling it.
While there are many ways to approach this challenge, I recommend not to boil the egg, but to steam it. Steam for 14 minutes, then transfer to an ice-water bath (at least 50:50) for 15 minutes (Kamozawa and Talbot).
The shells almost fall off, leaving a glisteningly smooth surface.
With these timings, the yolk is cooked through, without discolouration around the outside of the yolk.
Its a reliable and reproducible method, and one that can be scaled up for more eggs.
Because they are not boiled, hard-steamed might be a better term.
Eggs can also be steamed in a pressure cooker — try 5 minutes at full pressure, cool down rapidly and then put in an ice-bath for 15 minutes. It is more delicate and a little more difficult to peel.
