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How to Make Perfect Soft Boiled Eggs

How to Cook Soft Boiled Eggs 01

I first learned about soft boiled eggs from my grandma. She showed us her special egg cups. She talked about cooking the eggs for the perfect amount of time.

Inspired, I decided to try my hand at making soft boiled eggs. To my dismay, it was impossible for me to get consistent results. I threw in the towel and decided it wasn’t meant to be.

After see a tutorial online, I decided to experiment more. To my delight, I was able to get perfectly soft boiled eggs every time.

Let me show you how!

How to Cook Soft Boiled Eggs

Begin by filling a pot with enough water to cover your eggs. Bring it to a full, rolling boil. Gently slip your cold eggs into the water. Cover, turn the heat down a bit, and allow to boil for your preferred amount of time (more on that in a bit).

How to Cook Soft Boiled Eggs 04

Remove egg from pot and place in a bowl of ice water for a minute or two to stop the cooking process. Enjoy with butter and salt.

How to Cook Soft Boiled Eggs 05

So, what’s the proper amount of time to cook your eggs? Well, that all depends on how you like them. Above is a display of eggs cooked for various amounts of time.

From left to right: 5 minutes | 6.5 minutes | 7 minutes | 8 minutes | 9 minutes

My personal favorite is 6.5 minutes. The white is solid, but the yolk is quite runny. 5 minutes is WAY too soft for me: I don’t do the slimy white thing.

TO SUM UP THE PROCESS:

  • * Fill your pot with enough water to cover your eggs. Bring it to a full rolling boil over high heat.
  • * Place your COLD eggs into the water carefully. Cover, set your timer, and turn the heat down a bit.
  • * When the time is up, immediately place your eggs in a bowl of ice water for a minute or two, or run them under cold water. This stops the cooking process. 
  • * Serve with butter and salt. Mmhmm.

How do you like your boiled eggs?

E

Monday 16th of July 2018

You don't 'PEEL' soft boiled eggs- you crack them in HALF, then scoop out the yolk & white with a small spoon. I always have a well-buttered lightly toasted slice of bread cube crumbs waiting for the egg- AND a black peppercorn mill.....

Erica Kastner

Monday 16th of July 2018

I actually do peel them: when I'm serving them with ramen, on a salad, etc. But scooping them out to eat plain is good as well!

E

Monday 16th of July 2018

You don't 'PEEL' soft boiled eggs- you crack them in HALF, then scoop out the yolk & white with a small spoon.

Stacy

Monday 22nd of January 2018

What’s your trick to peeling your 6.5 minute eggs? Mine have been a peeling disaster!

Lonnie

Thursday 31st of January 2019

I struggled with peeling well done deviled eggs for years, and none of the online 'remedies' ever worked very well. Whether it's vinegar in the water, aging the eggs, etc, peeling was usually a disaster. Cooking eggs in a microwave with a plastic gadget seems ridiculous. I discovered, by accident, that the family recipe had a major flaw.

In my opinion, high heat is the real trick for making the membrane separate from the white without making it look pitted and breaking it into pieces. Even when cooked like the photos above, the shell is much easier to remove when BOILED through the entire cooking time, followed by a water or ice bath to prevent overcooking of the yolk. Some recipes suggest turning off the heat and covering the pot for a specific amount of time once a boil is reached, which is a big mistake that makes easy peeling almost impossible!

When cooking eggs in boiling water, inspect them carefully for small cracks and lower them gently into the water with a slotted spoon or spider, If the eggs are intact, they will not split and leak the whites into rapidly boiling water.

Erica Kastner

Thursday 25th of January 2018

Are your eggs really fresh? Fresh eggs are hard to peel. What I do is boil the eggs, then immediately dump out the hot water and fill the pan several times with cold water until the water stays cold. Then I crack the egg shells (you need to be gentle with soft-boiled eggs) against the pan, and let them sit for a little bit. Then they're easier to peel. BUT if you want to eat them warm with butter, I suggest just slicing off 1/4 of the top, adding butter + salt, and scooping the egg out with a small spoon.

Hope that helps! :)

Anonymous

Wednesday 17th of February 2016

Very helpful!!!

Heidi

Monday 15th of February 2016

It's great to see the progression of different cook times, very helpful. Personally, my eggs need to be cooked, no dippy eggs or soft boilds for me :)