How To Hard Boil Eggs In The Oven

Next time you want to hard boil eggs, don't start a pot of water to boil. Instead, turn on the oven. Even though the name of these eggs suggests that they should be boiled, it's so much easier -- and some say better -- when baked.

While you could go through the challenge of poking a pin hole into each egg to get it perfectly hard boiled, wouldn't you rather use Alton Brown's much simpler method? Sure, it takes longer to make boiled eggs in the oven, a whole 30 minutes vs. the nine when boiled, but there are perks to this hands-off method. When baked, hard boiled eggs have a creamier texture. Some say that they're even easier to peel.

But the real appeal of baking eggs rather than boiling them is when you need to make a large amount -- like when feeding a big crowd. It's so much easier to cook two or three dozen on an oven rack than in a huge pot of boiling water.

Photo courtesty of Greetings From The Asylum

To make the eggs, simply bake them in a 325 degree oven for 30 minutes. You can place them directly on the rack or use a muffin tin, which makes it easy move them in and out of the oven in bulk. Once the 30 minutes have passed, remove the eggs from the oven (carefully, because they are hot) and plunge them in cold water for 10 minutes.

The shells may have brown spots where they were in contact with hot metal. Sometimes that discoloration fades away in the water plunge, but sometimes it will leave marks on the whites.

Hungry for eggs now? Check out these recipes.