Nigella Lawson's hack for making perfect devilled eggs is super simple

© Getty Getty It's never easy to attempt stuffing an elegant yolk mixture into the misshapen centre of a hard-boiled egg.

Anyone who makes devilled eggs for brunch (or just because!) knows how delicious they are. But a thin outer layer of egg white that breaks apart under the pressure of a creamy yolk is a sure way to ruin a good thing. It's an Easter meal disaster just waiting to happen.

Before executing a lovely spring-themed menu of honey-baked ham, roasted asparagus and devilled eggs, brush up on Nigella Lawson's classic recipe, which offers the secret to making perfectly centred hard-boiled eggs.

"In order to help the yolk keep centred as they cook, I leave them lying on their sides in a dish (rather than sitting upright in their boxes) overnight out of the fridge before cooking them," Nigella writes in the chef's note. "It’s not a fail-safe guarantee, but it does seem to make a difference."

The key to this hack is lying the eggs on their sides — not leaving them out of the fridge. In the U.K., where Lawson resides, eggs are often kept at room temperature in the grocery store, though it's safer to keep eggs refrigerated to keep the risks of salmonella at bay.

© Getty Images Nigella Lawson/deviled eggs

Several commenters on Chowhound's home cooking forum supported Lawson's tip.

"Last year I made several dozen devilled eggs for a holiday party, (one whole flat) and I turned each one over the day before cooking them. Perfectly centred, every last one of them," one person wrote.

Gallery: 28 brilliant tips for cooking eggs perfectly every time [Lovefood]

A couple home cooks said they kept all the eggs inside the carton and — very carefully — turned the whole carton on its side in the fridge.

Elisa Marshall, chef and owner of Maman, a bakery and restaurant in New York City, also vouched for Lawson's method.

"After packaging, the yolk generally settles at the bottom, large part of the eggs, so our fav tip, like Nigella, is to place the entire carton in the fridge on its side to allow the yolks to slowly shift overnight to the middle of the egg," Marshall told TODAY Food. "You can use two jars to prop these up or place at the side of the fridge. Another great option, in the carton itself, is to turn each of the eggs on their side horizontal as opposed to standing upright."

© Elisa Marshall TODAY, product courtesy of merchant site

Despite the positive feedback for this unconventional tip, not all chefs think it works like a charm.

"I’m intrigued, but apprehensive," Laurence Edelman, chef and owner of Left Bank in New York City told TODAY of the sideways egg effect.

He did, however, offer another hack for centring hard-boiled eggs, which he learned from the French-born chef, TV personality and cookbook author, Jacques Pépin who famously co-hosted “Julia & Jacques Cooking at Home,” with Julia Child for years.

"Pierce the round end of the egg with a thumbtack before boiling it," Edelman told TODAY. "The air escap[ing] helps with consistency. A pro tip I can tell you, cook an egg or two more than you’ll need if [appearance] is important to you. Too often there’s an uncooperative player in the carton."

Whichever hack strikes your fancy, it never hurts to have extra eggs on hand. And, of course, even unruly eggs make for a terrific egg salad.

Gallery: 30 Egg Breakfasts That May Turn You Instantly Into a Morning Person [POPSUGAR]