Best way to peel a hard-boiled egg?

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Replies

  • TonyB0588
    TonyB0588 Posts: 9,520 Member
    jemhh wrote: »
    I eat a lot of soft boiled eggs and rarely have trouble peeling them. What I do:

    - bring water to boil and then put eggs in
    - once they are done boiling (7 minutes for my purposes) I take them out of the water and run them under cold water for 5-10 seconds
    - Peel immediately. (Yes this means that you are peeling a very hot egg. You will get used to it. Or maybe you already have mom/grandma hands that are impervious to heat and it won't bother you at all. Who knows.) To do this, tap the fatter end of the egg on the counter. This is the air bubble end. Start peeling, being careful to peel off the membrane that lines the shell.

    That's it. That's what I do 3-4 mornings a week. I mess up maybe one egg per week.

    Read this last night. this morning is the first time in my life that I've ever cracked the fatter end of the egg to peel it. Wonderful idea!! Thanks a lot.
  • TonyB0588
    TonyB0588 Posts: 9,520 Member
    robininfl wrote: »
    I can help! We struggled with this for years, no kidding. Best boiled eggs ever, and peel like a dream:

    Boil the water on the stove first.

    Add the cold eggs to the boiling water, return to a boil then reduce heat, simmer ten minutes.

    Immediately plunge eggs into ice water (we drain them and them fill the pot with ice then water). Let them sit in the cold water for ten minutes or so to cool off.

    They will peel easily, much better than starting them in cold water.

    @robininfl Tested this, and it works. :) Didn't leave mine to cool 10 minutes though. Wanted a warm egg to eat for breakfast.
  • CrabNebula
    CrabNebula Posts: 1,119 Member
    Using eggs that were more than two weeks old is the only consistent thing that has worked for me. I don't even bother anymore boiling fresher eggs.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
    JenHuedy wrote: »
    I've tried them all. Baking soda, vinegar, steaming, baking, boiling water, cold water, ice baths, rolling, pin holes... all of them worked - some of the time. Older eggs worked most of the time. The only thing that works 100% of the time for me is using a pressure cooker.

    http://altonbrown.com/pressure-cooker-eggs-recipe/

    That's the only method I've seen on here that I haven't tried. I wouldn't want to fool with the pressure cooker just to cook eggs for breakfast but I may try this the next time I'm making a big batch of deviled eggs.
  • sfcrocker
    sfcrocker Posts: 163 Member
    Use older eggs for sure.

    I second this. I remember reading that very fresh eggs have an extra membrane that makes them tough to peel when hard boiled, but eggs that are 1-2 weeks old don't have this so they peel more easily.

    I peel them underwater in a pot which seems to help
  • srecupid
    srecupid Posts: 660 Member
    I crack it on the side of the garbage and just peel it.
  • extra_medium
    extra_medium Posts: 1,525 Member
    edited August 2016
    pressure cook them rather than boil. They peel when you look at them funny.
  • mrmeza123
    mrmeza123 Posts: 34 Member
    Grab a jar with a lid and keep it filled with 2 ounces of cold tap water. Put two eggs inside with lid on. Shake for about 20 seconds. Open and take them out.
  • TonyB0588
    TonyB0588 Posts: 9,520 Member
    edited August 2016
    Boiled two eggs this morning using the "hot water, cold egg" method outlined here. Easy to peel, but the second one was bad. What a turn off!!
  • azelizabeth
    azelizabeth Posts: 34 Member
    I use my instapot (electric pressure cooker) and it solved the problem.
  • magicpickles
    magicpickles Posts: 286 Member
    I add salt to the pot while its boiling. I don't know if it makes a difference. Also, you could make a hole in the shell once its boiled, then slide a spoon underneath and peel the whole thing off. I usually do this after running the egg under cold water.
  • CooCooPuff
    CooCooPuff Posts: 4,374 Member
    CrabNebula wrote: »
    Using eggs that were more than two weeks old is the only consistent thing that has worked for me. I don't even bother anymore boiling fresher eggs.
    They were pretty easily to peel if i just cooked them in the Instant Pot.

    I migbt make somw today and see if i need to bother with giving them an ice bath

  • castlerobber
    castlerobber Posts: 528 Member
    robininfl wrote: »
    I can help! We struggled with this for years, no kidding. Best boiled eggs ever, and peel like a dream:

    Boil the water on the stove first.

    Add the cold eggs to the boiling water, return to a boil then reduce heat, simmer ten minutes.

    Immediately plunge eggs into ice water (we drain them and them fill the pot with ice then water). Let them sit in the cold water for ten minutes or so to cool off.

    They will peel easily, much better than starting them in cold water.

    +1. I started using this method months ago. It works better than anything else I've ever tried, even with fresh eggs.
  • merges77
    merges77 Posts: 15 Member
    mrmeza123 wrote: »
    Grab a jar with a lid and keep it filled with 2 ounces of cold tap water. Put two eggs inside with lid on. Shake for about 20 seconds. Open and take them out.

    This. I've found it doesn't really matter how fresh my eggs are when I boil them. If I throw a boiled egg in a glass of water, cover the top, and shake for 20-30 seconds, the shell literally just slides off.
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