Perfect Boiled Eggs | Kenji's Cooking Show

I've been testing methods for boiling and peeling eggs for a very long time. The best, fastest, easiest-to-peel, and most energy efficient method I've found is to boil an inch or so of water in the bottom of a saucepan or wok. Add the eggs straight from your fridge (the water doesn't need to cover them). Cover with a lid and boil/steam them 3 minutes for extremely soft, 4-5 minutes for soft, 6-7 minutes for medium, and 9-12 minutes for hard. Let them cool naturally or in an ice bath.

[kallisto]

"I actually have, like, the data to back this up." I never doubted you bro.

[zrobeast]

Kenji: “Skip to 9 min in to not hear me talk about the science of boiling eggs.”

All of us: “Why do you ask us to betray you?”

[rangerripcheese]

Kenji actually thought we wouldn’t want to hear him talk about eggs and watch water boil with him for 7 minutes.

[karandilsher]

Why would ANYONE skip Kenji's talking in the video? I literally enjoy your knowledge sharing session amidst the cooking

[jimrobinson]

Kenji: Sit!
Jamón: R U Serious?
Keni: Oh, you don't need to sit.

[PetesGuide]

I was one of your volunteer peelers—that was an awesome experiment to be a part of. It was fun trying to guess what methods you were testing.

[malachilandis]

Kenji's such a good representative of MIT. He didn't necessarily go into the field he studied for, but he has the mindset of always learning what you can and improving whatever can be improved. Thanks for all the "egg-speriments"!

[debbyd]

Yes, I just watched a 12 minute video on how to boil eggs and I learned A LOT! Thanks!

[fduisterwinkel]

Do you know that moment when your friend is an expert in some niche field, and you can listen to them for days, even though you don't have the fuzziest idea about what their talking about? listening to Kenji feels like that, except i do follow the logic for once.

[justinrowan]

"I'm not just saying that, I've got the data to back it up"
"Despite what you've read and despite what I've written in the past."

Why can't everyone be more like Kenji?

[feistycitrus]

Not that Kenji needs little ol’ me to confirm this method works… I am here to say it absolutely works perfectly. AND thank you for sharing yourself, your talent, your vast experiments to help us become better cooks. I have saved a screen shot of the image you include with different cook times and I refer to it depending on what I need from my boiled eggs. Thank you Kenji.

[dokaplan]

Thank you for including that high quality picture at 1:43! That picture really shocked me when I saw it in the food lab and it completely changed how I thought about cooking proteins. I'd always wanted to see a clearer version of it but never went through the trouble of recreating it myself.

[nateroo]

I appreciate that you clarified at the onset that the eggs were straight from the fridge. Also appreciate that you point out that one can never truly get perfectly peeled eggs 100% of the time. I'd been stressing on why I still continue to get at least one or more out my batch of boiled eggs (8 min or 11 min) that would stick to the shells during peeling. The rest wouldn't. So like you said, about an 80% success rate and just come to terms with the fact that one or more may stick while the rest peel just fine. Good stuff brah... thanx... I don't feel so bad now!!!

[ellemdee]

Reading Kenji's NYT column from a couple of years ago (his debut there, if I recall correctly) in which he advocated this method was a game changer for me. It worked so well for me on the first go, plus it's just sooo much easier to remember compared to other less reliable methods, that I signed right up for this YouTube channel.

[SamKogenMusic]

i have watched and read about 100 "things" to help me master this simple technique...FINALLY THE TRUTH!! so simple, so clear, so full of UNDERSTANDING and not just questioning based hope. Thank you, again, Kenji

[SK-iqwv]

This video has saved my life…I am and have been my family’s designated deviled egg maker and bringer for every reunion, event, or holiday. For twenty years, I have been starting ancient eggs in cold water and wanting to smash every intractable egg to the ground. I just finished cooking my first batch with this method, and I could cry - 18 eggs, not a single blemish. Thank you for saving my Thanksgiving (and the rest of my deviled-egg-making days) by sparing me rage quitting five minutes into the peeling time! 😍

[victoriacavaliere]

Kenji, your voice is so calming and I tend to listen to everything you say in your videos while I’m doing my own cooking or even homework and just listen to what you’re doing. It’s very relaxing, and I learned a lot from your egg-testing data. Great video! :)

[TK-csqc]

Ngl EVERY time I’ve boiled eggs (twice in life) I always had to search up how long i should boil them for and even then I’d just guess when I think they’re ready so I appreciate this video

[typezero]

I have been using this method for months now, and I have literally never had a single egg that was difficult to peel. The shells just basically fall right off. I'm so glad you made this video, thanks!

[pollykent]

I just watched this video then promptly went into the kitchen to boil eggs. It works! And so easy to remember! Thank you. You have no idea how many boiled egg videos I have watched in an effort to cook them properly and make them easier to peel. Wow. Mind-blowing stuff.