The Clever Way To Make Egg Salad Without Any Peeling Involved
Whipping up creamy egg salad for one isn't a big feat. Typically you only need a couple of eggs, plus small portions of the other ingredients (we're talking one teaspoon of Dijon mustard, for example). But when it comes to a backyard barbecue, pool party, or Easter brunch? You'll want to have a lot more of your main ingredient on hand to feed everyone in the crowd. Considering the eggs in egg salad are hard-boiled and then chopped, this can mean a lot of time and legwork when it comes to peeling them. Luckily, there's an easier way to prep them.
You'll need either a cake or loaf pan, but that's basically it. Essentially, you'll be cracking your eggs into the pan, then placing the pan full of the raw eggs in a larger container to hard boil in a little simmering water. It can take from 10 minutes to half an hour until you can pull out fully cooked eggs, but when you do, they'll be ready to chop and mix. Even though the liquid won't be directly touching your eggs, the hot water combined with the steam it releases will be enough to hard boil them sans shells. This means that you can make a ton at once, without having to peel each one individually (or at all).
Crack and simmer your eggs
You'll first want to grease your cake or loaf pan, then crack all your eggs into it. As a rule of thumb, try not to crowd the pan so much that the yolks bleed into each other. Once they're cracked, leave them as-is (aka, don't scramble them). Then you have a few options here, depending on if you want to use your oven, stove, or pressure cooker (like an Instant Pot).
If you're going with the oven, place your pan of raw eggs into a baking dish, ensuring it can comfortably sit inside. Pour water into the larger dish until it reaches the top level of the eggs and cook in the oven for half an hour at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. For the stove option, instead of a baking dish use a large soup pot that is big enough for the pan to fit inside without touching the sides of the pot. First, bring the water in the pot to a simmer, then insert your pan with the eggs and cook with the lid on for about 15 minutes.
With an Instant Pot, you can get freshly hard-boiled eggs in 10 minutes. For this method, pour lukewarm water into your pressure cooker, then cover the pan containing the eggs with foil and place it on the lower rack. Set your device to high for five minutes, then let it naturally release for another five. You'll never go back to laborious peeling techniques again.