The Secret To Making Hard-Boiled Eggs In An Instant Pot
Perhaps you have a surplus of eggs in your fridge after Easter festivities, or maybe you're just looking for a quick and easy snack. Either way, your Instant Pot is the key to perfect hard-boiled eggs — and it only takes a few simple steps, as seen in Taste of Home.
All you need, regardless of whether it's one egg or a whole dozen, is a cup of water, eggs, and your Instant Pot. That's it. And to get your eggs delectably hard-boiled, you can use the 5-5-5 method. This means five minutes pressure cook, five minutes release, and five minutes to cool. This method is great because it's easy to remember and follow. When it comes to hard-boiled eggs, timing is everything.
Once you pour water into the Instant Pot, place a steamer basket or trivet on top of the water. Then place eggs on top of the basket or trivet. Secure the lid and set the pressure release to "Sealing." Select the "Manual" setting and set the cooking time to five minutes.
If you're using extra-large eggs, you should increase the cooking time to seven minutes. For jumbo eggs, increase it to eight minutes. When you want soft-boiled eggs instead, you can instead set the cooking time to three minutes.
Why hard-boiled eggs from an Instant Pot are better
Have an ice bath prepared while your eggs are cooking in the Instant Pot. When it's done cooking, allow the pressure to release for five minutes. Then, move the pressure release to "Venting" to let out all the remaining steam. When this is done, open the Instant Pot and move the eggs into the ice bath and have them cool for five minutes. Then, you can enjoy perfect hard-boiled eggs.
You'll find that the Instant Pot makes hard-boiled eggs that are really easy to peel, more so than eggs boiled on a stovetop. There are actually a few theories for why this happens, according to Simply Recipes. Some say that the pressure from the Instant Pot forces steam inside the egg's shell while cooking, which forces the shell to separate from the egg white. Others, such as Alton Brown, say that it's more to do with the rapid temperature change inside the sealed pot.
We may not know the exact reason why the Instant Pot leads to smoother eggshell removal, but we're glad it happens.