The results are in!

So which method worked best?  I know....its killing you, isn't it? Well you will have to read down to see!  I have rated each method on 4 critieria:

How easy were they to peel?

Did the eggs have divots or flat bottoms?

Were the yolks perfectly cooked?

Was there any sign of nasty grey sulfur ring?

Here's the results!

Method 1 - Oven baking

How easy were they to peel?  The eggs were ok to peel, but I wouldn't say easy and the shells did stick to the eggs making them a bit difficult to remove. 

Did the eggs have divots or flat bottoms?  A few of the eggs were misshapen, mostly on the bottom but that could be due to the age of the eggs. 

Were the yolks perfectly cooked?  The yolks were perfectly cooked.

Was there any sign of nasty grey sulfur ring?  Sadly yes....the nasty grey sulfur ring affected some of the yolks...not always the entire yolk but you could see some grey on every egg.

Method 2 - Boiling from Cold

How easy were they to peel?  These were the hardest to peel, so I don't really think pricking the eggs or adding the baking soda made any difference.

Did the eggs have divots or flat bottoms?  Yes some of the eggs were misshapen but again, I can't attribute that to the method

Were the yolks perfectly cooked? Yolks seemed a bit dry but all were cooked.

Was there any sign of nasty grey sulfur ring?  Boo....grey sulfur ring on every egg.

Method 3 - Steaming

How easy were they to peel?  These peeled like a dream!  Shells came off like nothing.

Did the eggs have divots or flat bottoms?  Nope.  Perfectly round eggs with a nice creamy white.

Were the yolks perfectly cooked?  Yolks were cooked to a perfectly sunny yellow.

Was there any sign of nasty grey sulfur ring?  None what so ever!!!

Method 4 - Cold Eggs to Boiling Water

How easy were they to peel?  Very easy to peel...pretty much as easy as the steamed eggs.

Did the eggs have divots or flat bottoms?  No strange shapes or divots...maybe that was a result of the age of the eggs in the other batch....hmmmmm.

Were the yolks perfectly cooked?  Some were and some were a wee bit under-done but that isn't too much of an issue since they were being mashed.

Was there any sign of nasty grey sulfur ring?  None what so ever!!!

So, hands down the winner was steaming the eggs.  Adding cold eggs to already boiling water came in a close second and I could just cook them for another minute or so and they would have been perfect.

According to Kenji, the steaming method is so successful because steaming is a very gentle cooking method and the steam cooks them evenly.   And a hot start just generally produces easier to peel eggs.

In all cases, plunging the eggs immediately after cooking is supposed to ensure that they come out perfectly shaped with no air space indentation on their fat end.  Hmmmm.  50% success rate there.