$14 Electric Egg Cooker

[Kaido]

Courtesy of Slickdeals: (free ship w/ Prime)

http://www.amazon.com/Better-Chef-El...dp/B007PU2CYA/

Got mine in today & gave it a try...the eggs came out great! Shells slid right off. As easy as hardboiled eggs are to do in a pot, I never seem get them to the right consistency that I want. This did a great job...it's basically like a George Foreman grill:

1. Fill the bottom with water (they include a measure cup for soft/medium/hard depending on the number of eggs)
2. Prick the bottom of the eggs on the built-in needle (so they don't explode)
3. Plug in and let it run until the buzzer goes off (you unplug it Foreman-style when the buzzer sounds, which is when the water dries up)

I wish it just turned off when it was done, instead of unplugging it, but for $14, whatever. Also, I'm not from the Alton Brown school of thought when it comes to kitchen tools...this is a unitasker, and on my first run, it did a really good job. I have 20+ appliances because I like consistency, and this seems like it will work out well - hardboiled eggs for breakfast & snacks, sliced hardboiled eggs for salads, egg salad for sandwiches, deviled eggs for a side for dinner, etc. Kind of a lazy man's method, but heck, if it gets me to eat more healthy eggs and less junk food, then more power to it :thumbsup:

 

[Zeze]

Not a fan of unitasker, unless you eat boiled eggs a LOT and OFTEN (similar to needing a rice cooker).

If not, what's wrong with boiling them with your existing pot?

 

[Childs]

I ended up buying the West Bend one for $18. Has an actual on/off switch, no reports of rust, and the poaching tray has a nice oval shape. I hard boil 1-2 dozen eggs a week, so this will be a time saver, especially if the peeling is a easy as reported.

Not a fan of unitasker, unless you eat boiled eggs a LOT and OFTEN (similar to needing a rice cooker).

If not, what's wrong with boiling them with your existing pot?

Takes a long time, 30 min or more to cook and cool, and maybe another 5-10 min to peel, depending on how cooperative your eggs are.

 

[av911]

....30 min or more to cook and cool, and maybe another 5-10 min to peel, depending on how cooperative your eggs are.

30 minutes to cook and cool? Takes me 15 minutes.
5-10 minutes to peel? It takes me 30 seconds.

- Boil the eggs for 15 minutes
- Pour the hot water out and fill the pot with cold water (of course with the eggs still in it).
- Crack one side of the egg
- Submerged in a small pot of cold water, gently squeeze the egg with your hands so the whole shell is cracked
- With the egg still in the cold water, peel the egg .

The water provides the "lubricant" so the shell and skin doesn't stick to the egg, meanwhile it's cooling it down, there's no wasted time waiting for the egg to cool.

 

[Mongoloid]

30 minutes to cook and cool? Takes me 15 minutes.
5-10 minutes to peel? It takes me 30 seconds.

- Boil the eggs for 15 minutes
- Pour the hot water out and fill the pot with cold water (of course with the eggs still in it).
- Crack one side of the egg
- Submerged in a small pot of cold water, gently squeeze the egg with your hands so the whole shell is cracked
- With the egg still in the cold water, peel the egg .

The water provides the "lubricant" so the shell and skin doesn't stick to the egg, meanwhile it's cooling it down, there's no wasted time waiting for the egg to cool.

Thanks for the tip! I struggle with peeling the eggs. Always manage to rip up the eggs sticking to the shell.

 

[wirednuts]

just let the eggs cool before cracking the shells. the egg inside contracts, pulling away from the shell. it will slide right off.

 

[Childs]

30 minutes to cook and cool? Takes me 15 minutes.
5-10 minutes to peel? It takes me 30 seconds.

- Boil the eggs for 15 minutes
- Pour the hot water out and fill the pot with cold water (of course with the eggs still in it).
- Crack one side of the egg
- Submerged in a small pot of cold water, gently squeeze the egg with your hands so the whole shell is cracked
- With the egg still in the cold water, peel the egg .

The water provides the "lubricant" so the shell and skin doesn't stick to the egg, meanwhile it's cooling it down, there's no wasted time waiting for the egg to cool.

From turning on the stove, boil, couple minutes cooking, and cool down period is around 30 min. I've tried several methods, from doing a rolling boil, then simmer 15 minutes, or boil two minutes, remove and cover for 20 min, etc. You cant get around the time it takes to boil the water, and this is using a lid.

And I use running water to peel the eggs. Its wasteful, but its the quickest way. But the last dozen eggs I tried just wouldnt frickin peel smoothly. Maybe they were too fresh, or maybe there is actually a difference using free range organic, but those suckers just wouldnt peel.

Anyways, its worth the $20 just for a shot at a 5 min turnaround time on the eggs.

 

[KingFatty]

I've consistently heard that the fresher the egg, the more difficult it is to peel.

It's gotten worse in modern times, because egg transportation infrastructure has gotten so good that the eggs are super fresh when you buy them (compared to years ago), so that if you boil them, the shells will stick to the egg.

Maybe buy the eggs in advance, and leave them in your fridge for a while before you boil them? I've never experimented to find out, but maybe see if this is true for you the next time you boil your eggs see how close it is to the expiration date.

 

[nickbits]

How easy an egg peels has more to do with the age of the egg more than anything else. Fresher eggs are harder to peel.

 

[Kaido]

I've consistently heard that the fresher the egg, the more difficult it is to peel.

I'm not sure how old/new my eggs are, but I've used the egg cooker a couple times so far and the shell just slides right off. Does a way better job of cooking hardboiled eggs than I do in a pot :biggrin: I cook them, then toss them in the fridge to cool down before peeling so I don't burn my fingers. My only complaint is that it doesn't turn off when it's done - you have to physically unplug it like a George Foreman grill. Definitely worth fourteen bucks for me :thumbsup:

Also, I've found one of the best ways to cook bacon is using a special plastic microwave tray ($13). The bottom acts as a drip tray, then you plug in T-shaped hangers and hang the bacon over it. The fat drips off and the bacon comes out pretty dang good (and crispy):

http://www.amazon.com/A-de-MB-Bacon%...dp/B0002HSFB2/

I like making bacon on the griddle or in the oven, but it takes forever. I also like pre-cooked bacon, but that's expensive for a little box. So this works out pretty well. Just make sure to drain the fat right away, otherwise it gets really nasty to clean out!

 

[texasfury]

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