Steamed hard-cooked eggs

Fit a foldable steamer basket into a very large pot; it should fit closely.

Add water only to about half an inch, a knuckle, up the side, not up into the steamer, and set it over high heat.

Set up the cooling station in a six liter vessel with ice and water and an aquarium pump to keep the cold water moving against the eggs.

Load the basket, lower it into the already boiling water, put the lid on and set a timer for 13 minutes.

The steam condenses on the cold eggs and delivers its latent heat, setting the outer whites fast so the shell membrane and the albumin are less likely to stick. This is the hot start.

Pour three quarts of cold water into the chilling vessel and add two pounds of ice.

At the end of the cook the internal temperature reads about 180F.

Move them straight into the chill and cool them for as long as they cooked, 13 minutes for eggs averaging 64 grams.

Peel quickly and in the cold water rather than under a running tap. Tap from the back to the front and start peeling at the top, away from the air cell, dunking the egg whenever the peel sticks so water gets under the membrane.

Chilled this way they reach 42F in about twelve minutes, and the chilling is what firms the whites enough to take pressure while peeling.

Store chilled peeled eggs up to seven days in an airtight container with moist, not wet, paper towel above and below and a firm lid.