If there is one recipe that I would point to that makes the Instant Pot a “must have” tool, it is hard-boiled eggs. I know, everyone scoffs and says “but those are so easy to do in a pot of boiling water.” But then the first time they do them using the 5-5-5 method, they are true believers, and will never go back. The eggs are cooked absolutely perfectly every time, and the slip out of their shells like a dream. I am not kidding. Read on to find out how you can make easy to peel hard-boiled eggs every single time.
I Get Angry At Other Eggs
I am a huge fan of hard-boiled eggs. The nutritional value is hard to beat (find out more on that here). As part of my diet I have one for breakfast every day (unless I’m having one of my egg bites, of course). I usually buy one at work with my coffee. I can’t tell you how many times I have sat at my desk quietly grumbling at that egg when the shell gets stuck. OH. MY. GAWD.
That is the MOST frustrating thing ever! I have even thrown out an otherwise perfectly good egg because it just wasn’t worth the frustration! And then I sit there hungry, and angry at myself for not making my own damn eggs. I have even contemplated writing to the café chefs to tell them to get an Instant Pot (I’m sure THAT would have been appreciated, lol).
5-5-5 What Now?
Let’s just say this is the first recipe you should learn. It couldn’t be easier. “5-5-5” is the recipe. Literally, it means cook: manual, high for 5 minutes; after that, natural pressure release for 5 minutes; and then drop in ice water for 5 minutes.
This is how that works in practice:
Ingredients
- 1 dozen Eggs
- 1 cup Water
- Salt & pepper
Instructions
- Put a cup of water into the inner pot of your Instant Pot. Place the bottom egg-holding trivet in and fill with eggs. If needed (depending on the number of eggs you are making) put in the second level trivet and add the rest of the eggs.
- Close the lid, shut the vent, and cook on manual, high, for 5 minutes.
- While the eggs are cooking, take your large container and fill it with water. Add the freezer pack and let the water begin to cool. I leave this in the sink.Note: I like to use a freezer pack in place of ice, since I always have a few on hand already frozen, and it seems less wasteful.
- When the timer beeps, set a kitchen (or smartphone) timer to 5 minutes. Let the pot do a natural pressure release.Note: you can just use the count-up warming timer on your Instant Pot, but you really want to be alerted when the 5 minutes is up. This is important.
- When the 5-minutes NPR timer goes off, release the remaining pressure by turning the valve. Be careful, the steam is very hot! Open the pot.
- If you want to check to see if your eggs are cooked properly, you can take one out and slice it in half to check. (I used to do this step, but don’t any more).
- Using silicone gloves, quickly take the eggs out and place in the water-ice bath.Note: If the test egg is under-cooked, you can close the lid and give them another minute to cook, but keep in mind it will take time to get up pressure again. If they are close to done, set the time to 0 minutes.
- Make sure the eggs are completely covered by the ice-water, and agitate slightly to cool the eggs. Set the timer for another 5 minutes.Note: I like to keep moving the eggs around, letting the cold water get to all of the eggs. If the water gets warm, you can pour some off and add more cold water if you want. However, you can just let them sit there while you do other things.
- After the cooling is done, I like to give the eggs a crack on the edge of the sink and drop them back in the water. However, if you are making these for egg-dyeing, or will be serving them in a bowl on a buffet, you can skip this step.
- You can store the eggs in the fridge in their shells (I reuse the egg carton for this), or peel them right away to use in recipes like Pickled Eggs. Enjoy!
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