How To: Cooking hacks for perfecting your eggs

At less than $1 a serve, there's never been a better time to experiment and perfect your egg cooking methods for breakfast, lunch or dinner. We have some tips and tricks up our sleeves to help you nail the basics, from poaching, peeling and cracking an egg to frying, scrambling and boiling.  

HOW TO: THE PERFECT BOILED EGG

What you'll need:

• Fresh eggs (a typical serve is 2 eggs)
• A pan with water
• A bowl of iced water

 

Method:

1. Place eggs in a pan with cold water and bring water to a boil  
2. Let eggs boil for four minutes for soft-boiled, five minutes for medium and eight for hard-boiled.  
3. Take egg out of boiling water and place them in ice water to stop them cooking further.
4. Gently remove shell and enjoy!

 

HOW TO: PERFECTLY PEEL BOILED EGGS

The Bowl Method:

Fill a medium sized bowl with room temperature water. Working one egg at a time, submerge the eggs in water and crack against the side or bottom of the bowl. From there, you'll simply be able to remove the shell.

The Rolling Method:

Gently tap your egg on the benchtop, then roll across the surface while applying gentle pressure with your palm. This will create lots of little fractures all over the shell – pulling the shell away from the clingy membrane. Then just peel and pick away the eggshells.

 

The Shaking Method:

Pop your hard-boiled egg in a glass container. Then fill with cold water and put the lid on. From here, simply give it a good old shake. The egg should crack and start to release from its shell like a snake shedding its skin.

 

The Blowing Method:

Tap the pointy end of your egg on the edge of your hard surface and peel off the small amount of cracked shell. Do the same at the base of your egg, to reveal a slightly larger hole. Then simply blow firmly at the top of the egg, forcing your hard-boiled egg straight from its shell jacket.

 

HOW TO: CRACKING EGGS

Crack On Hard Surface:

When tapping an egg against the edge of your bowl, you often crack both the shell and the protective membrane separating the shell and yolk – leading to bits of shell falling in the bowl. That's not desirable, or hygienic.

To avoid the annoying scoop up, start by holding your egg in one hand and tapping it on a hard surface (like a chopping board or benchtop) until you see a vertical crack appear. Then gently use your fingers to separate the two halves of the shell and pour the whites and yolks into your bowl.

Crack in the Centre:

The rim of your bowl is never the best bet for getting that perfect egg crack, but if that's all you've got, you want to make the best of it.

 

In this case, aim to crack your egg as close to its centre as possible. That way you can use your fingers to create a clean split, separating the two halves with as few shell remnants as possible.

 

Smacking Two Eggs Together:

This one is simple and looks impressive. Hold an egg in each hand. Then aiming for the middle band of the eggs, tap them together. Presto. You'll have two perfectly cracked eggs.

Crack with One Hand:

Use your dominant hand's pinky and ring finger to grip the bottom of the egg – before whacking it on a hard surface. Then simply use your thumb, pointer, and middle fingers to lift off the top.

 

If you're feeling particularly advanced, you could smash-and-bash with an egg in each hand.

 

HOW TO: POACHED EGGS 3 WAYS

 The Whirlpool Method:

1. Reduce boiling water to simmer
2. Create a whirlpool in the water using a spoon
3. Crack the egg into a small ramekin and then gently tip into pot of water
4. With a slotted spoon, gently remove egg when whites are set

The Frying Pan Method:

1. Bring water to boil and turn off heat
2. Crack the egg in a small ramekin and then gently place in water

Close lid on frying pan until whites are set and then gently remove the egg from the pan and serve immediately.

The Oven Method:

1. Crack eggs individually into each slot in a muffin tin and add a little bit of water with each egg
2. Bake eggs at 180 degrees for 7 to 10 minutes, then enjoy!

 

HOW TO: FRIED EGGS 2 WAYS

What you'll need: 

• Olive Oil
• Frying pan
• Fresh egg (as many as you desire)

 

Method:

1. Add olive oil to frying pan on medium heat
2. Crack egg into pan
3. Cook for 3 minutes or until the whites are set. For an over easy egg, flip the egg after 3 minutes to set the yolk.
4. Serve on your favourite toast as a topper

HOW TO: OMELETTES 2 WAYS

What you'll need:

• Eggs
• Milk
• Season of choice
• Frying pan
• Butter to melt on pan

Method: 

1. Combine ingredients in a bowl
2. whisk ingredients with a fork
3. Put pan on medium heat and melt with butter
4. Pour mixture into pan and cook until light and fluffy. For a filled omelette, add your chosen fillings when the eggs are nearly set, then fold over and cook for a further couple of minutes or until desired texture is reached.  

 

HOW TO: CREAMY SCRAMBLED EGGS

What you'll need (serves 2):

• 4 eggs
• ¼ cup of cream
• Chives
• Parmesan
• Salt and Pepper

 

Method:

1. Combine mixture and mix well
2. Tip mixture in medium heat frypan
3. Gently stir until light and fluffy