2 minutes for soft boiled, 3 minutes for hard boiled, longer if you want to cook them to death.

I "tweeked" my recipe for the perfect hard boiled egg Just for your question. IF you want perfect hard-boiled eggs, increase the cooking time by two minutes for each size egg. Seems like you're trying top make "deviled eggs" - without using mayo or any of the other ingredients to "soften" or "cream" the yolks. As a test, cook just a couple eggs to get the right time. Try cooking the eggs this way and for this amount of time:Timing is critical: The more water you put in a pan/pot: A] the longer the water will take to come to a boil; B] the longer the eggs will have to be in that water C] and cook until they are done. 1] The eggs MUST BE ENTIRELY SUBMERGED IN THE WATER. Add a little table salt to the water. I THINK this helps to make the eggs easier to peel. You don't need a whole lot. MAYBE a tablespoon per 1 dozen eggs. The measurement doesn't have to be exact. From time-to-time you might have to "tweak"/adjust this. 2] Light the burner/element. 3] Bring the water to a boil. 3A] If the water is boiling too fast, turn down the flame/lower the element. When the water boils too violently, you run the risk of egg shells cracking or even breaking, making some of your hard-boiled eggs poached eggs. 5] Turn on your timer for one of these times: For SMALL eggs: 7 minutes - that's all - no more. For MEDIUM eggs: 8 minutes - that's all - no more. For LARGE eggs: 9 minutes - that's all - no more. For EXTRA LARGE eggs: 10 minutes - that's all - no more. For JUMBO eggs: 11 minutes - that's all - no more. As a footnote: I never cooked pee-wee size eggs. This requires experimentation. I would start with 5 minutes. When time is up, take the pan/pot to the sink, take out one egg, run a little cold water over the shell to cool the outer shell, crack it and open it, exposing the yolk to make sure its cooked. If it is cooked, then pour-off the excess water and run cold water over the eggs and/or put ice on the eggs. This stops the cooking process. If you're fortunate enough to have a huge quantity of ice or an ice machine, put one or two scoops of ice on the eggs. If it isn't done, allow the eggs to stand in the hot water for a minute or so, then check another egg. By the way, I never used this step at any time. The eggs I cooked in the time periods I gave you were always perfect. When you cook that size egg in conjunction with the time-table I gave you, you SHOULD boil THE PERFECT hard-boiled egg! The chemical reaction is caused by the conflict of the sulfur from the yolk and the chemicals in the albumen in the white. This is why hard-boiled eggs get that very unappetizing green ring between the white and yolk. What do I mean by "THE Perfect" hard boiled egg? E1] The egg will be cooked through and through. E2] There won't be any raw/runny/dark yellow yolk. E3] There WILL NOT be any blackish-green sulfur ring between the white and the yolk. E4] The yolk will be a bright yellow - very appetizing to the eyes and great tasting. Now, you know HOW TO cook the perfect hard-boiled egg, By the way, the times I gave you are for any amount of eggs. The only adjustment you should have to make is the quantity of water, - enough to cover the eggs - amount of salt AND what the chef prefers in his/her kitchen. When you follow my instructions with the few “tweaks” you’ll make from time-to-time, you will cook the perfect hard-boiled eggs - each and every time! Thanks for asking your Q! I did my best to help answering the way you would prefer having your eggs. Very Truly Yours, Ron Berue Yes, that is my real last name! Sources: My wonderful family! Graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, New Haven, CT campus. Over 26 years in the food and beverage business. "THE University of Hard Knocks" Many years ago I perfected this procedure.