tips for shelling hard boiled eggs

oregonlady
oregonlady Posts: 2,743 Member
edited September 2024 in Food and Nutrition
i was shelling my easter eggs this morning.:grumble:
lucky me, outta 3 dozen eggs, all but 3 or 4 of the eggs shelled pretty smoothly.:indifferent:

but i have heard of tricks that make that job easy.:bigsmile:

do u have a tried and true method u would share?:wink:

thank you!:flowerforyou:

Replies

  • oregonlady
    oregonlady Posts: 2,743 Member
    i was shelling my easter eggs this morning.:grumble:
    lucky me, outta 3 dozen eggs, all but 3 or 4 of the eggs shelled pretty smoothly.:indifferent:

    but i have heard of tricks that make that job easy.:bigsmile:

    do u have a tried and true method u would share?:wink:

    thank you!:flowerforyou:
  • terri0027
    terri0027 Posts: 51 Member
    I crack them all over then drop them back into the water. This allows water to get under the shell and the shell seems to come off easier.
  • dclarsh
    dclarsh Posts: 364
    I usually peel mine right away, as soon as they are cooled enough to handle. But that's because my husband won't eat them unless they are already peeled. He's kind of a big baby like that. Anyway, the shells always come off nice and easy.

    My mother in law uses a spoon to peel hers, just slides the tip in under the shell.

    I also heard that a little baking soda in the cooking water helps? But I don't know about that one for sure. It might be baking powder.
  • wilted6orchid
    wilted6orchid Posts: 423 Member
    I don't know how that all works out, but I have found that if I cool my eggs they usually peel easier. I guess the whole heat expands and coldness contracts things helps. But I am terrible at peeling freshly boiled...still hot eggs. I have heard that boiling in salt water helps...don't know what the idea behind that is.:flowerforyou:

    Oh yeah when they're freshly boiled and still hot, I crack them and submerge them in cold water...don't know if it's the water or the cold that helps.:laugh:
  • ladyofivy
    ladyofivy Posts: 648
    "Older" eggs peel much more easily... not rotten by any means, but "closer" to the expiration date.

    But here's how I do my eggs (old or new!) :smile:

    Bring the water to a boil, then put the eggs on for egg-zactly ten minutes. (Couldn't resist. :wink: ) Get your strainer into the sink, and grab a grocery bag to put next to the sink.

    Once 10 minutes is up, dump them immediately into the strainer. Run COLD water on them while you crack and shell them. The hot-to-cold causes the whole expansion dealy, and makes them a cinch to peel. Works about 98% of the time for me. :) (and my eggs are always perfectly cooked.)
  • oregonlady
    oregonlady Posts: 2,743 Member
    great tips! i look forward to trying them. thank you:flowerforyou: :flowerforyou:
  • LuckyLeprechaun
    LuckyLeprechaun Posts: 6,296 Member
    yeah, it's the cold, I ice my HB eggs right out of the boiling water, and they always peel really easily
  • astridfeline
    astridfeline Posts: 1,200 Member
    From Jacques Pepin (who learned this trick from his mom)

    Prick the large end of the egg with a thumbtack before putting in to boil. This allows the shell to come off easily when you are peeling it.
  • oregonlady
    oregonlady Posts: 2,743 Member
    i plan to boil more eggs monday.

    thank you all for the tips!

    :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou:
  • librarygirl
    librarygirl Posts: 182 Member
    "Older" eggs peel much more easily... not rotten by any means, but "closer" to the expiration date.

    But here's how I do my eggs (old or new!) :smile:

    Bring the water to a boil, then put the eggs on for egg-zactly ten minutes. (Couldn't resist. :wink: ) Get your strainer into the sink, and grab a grocery bag to put next to the sink.

    Once 10 minutes is up, dump them immediately into the strainer. Run COLD water on them while you crack and shell them. The hot-to-cold causes the whole expansion dealy, and makes them a cinch to peel. Works about 98% of the time for me. :) (and my eggs are always perfectly cooked.)
    I'm going to try your strainer idea! I dump out the hot water and put cold water in (probably not good for the pot) and then I let the eggs sit for a bit in the cold water. Never thought of a strainer...
  • destiny_206
    destiny_206 Posts: 430 Member
    The all time best trick is let the water come to a boil before putting the eggs in the water. It works every time, my uncle taught me.
  • oregonlady
    oregonlady Posts: 2,743 Member
    thank you all!
  • Rottiemama
    Rottiemama Posts: 66
    OK....for hard boiled eggs this is the easy way and you don't have to be there to peel them if you need to just boil them and have other things to do...poke a hole with a pin or ice pick in each egg, put them in cold water and add 1 tbsp of vinegar to the water....then turn up heat and once water starts to boil turn heat off and cover for 25 minutes....rinse in cold water and voila.....shell comes off easy peezy!!!:laugh:
  • Nich0le
    Nich0le Posts: 2,906 Member
    yeah, it's the cold, I ice my HB eggs right out of the boiling water, and they always peel really easily

    I let mine cool and then if time permits I put them in the fridge so they get really cold. When it comes time to peel them gently tap the entire egg so the whole egg shell is broken and then peel under cold running water.
  • oregonlady
    oregonlady Posts: 2,743 Member
    thank you!
    :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou:
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