Hard boiled egg timer

A hard boiled egg takes between 10:05 and 11:25 in boiling water, depending on how big it is. A medium egg needs 10:30. The table below covers every size, and the Chef Labs egg timer counts down the same numbers and rings when the egg is done.

What a hard boiled egg looks like inside

The white is firm and opaque and the yolk is set right through: pale yellow, dry to the touch, and it crumbles when you press it with a fork. It should still be bright rather than chalky. A green-grey ring around the yolk and a sulphurous smell mean the egg went too long or cooled too slowly, which is what the times here and the ice bath are meant to avoid.

Hard boiled egg time by size

Small is about 45 to 53 g, medium 53 to 63 g, large 63 to 73 g, and XL 73 g and up. Times assume eggs straight from the fridge, lowered into water that is already boiling, at sea level.

How to cook them

Use a pan deep enough to cover the eggs by a couple of centimetres and bring the water to a full boil. Ease the heat back until the surface is still bubbling but no longer rattling the eggs against each other, then lower each egg onto the bottom on a spoon rather than dropping it in. Keep the eggs in one layer. A crowded pan drops the water temperature when the eggs go in and cooks them unevenly. Start the timer as soon as the last egg is down.

Eggs that are not fridge cold

Every time here assumes an egg straight from the fridge. An egg that has been sitting on the counter starts warmer and sets sooner, so take off roughly 30 seconds. That is an estimate rather than a fixed rule, since it depends on how long the egg was out and how warm the kitchen is. Hard eggs are the most forgiving of the three donenesses, so a few seconds either way will not ruin them.

Cooking above sea level

Water boils at a lower temperature as you climb, so the same time leaves the yolk softer than you expect. Above roughly 1,000 m, add time, and add more the higher you are. Test with a single egg the first time you cook at a new altitude, then keep the time that worked.

Stop the cooking

Have a bowl of water and ice ready before you start, move the eggs into it the moment the timer rings, and leave them for 5 minutes. This is where the grey ring is won or lost: an egg left to cool slowly in hot water keeps cooking, and the yolk turns dull. The ice bath also cools the egg enough to peel straight away.

Peeling and storing

Crack the wide end first, where the air pocket sits, then roll the egg gently under your palm to craze the shell all over and peel it under a thin stream of cold water, sliding your thumb under the membrane. Eggs that are a few days old peel more cleanly than very fresh ones. Hard boiled eggs keep in the shell in the fridge for up to a week. Peel them as you need them, since a peeled egg dries out and picks up smells. Do not leave cooked eggs at room temperature for more than a couple of hours.

What to use them for

Chopped with mayonnaise, mustard and chives for egg salad or sandwiches, quartered into a niçoise, or grated over steamed greens. For devilled eggs, halve them, mash the yolks with mayonnaise and vinegar, and spoon the mixture back in. Batch cook a week of them on a Sunday and keep them in their shells for breakfasts and lunchboxes.

Other guides: soft boiled egg timer and medium boiled egg timer.