While visiting with friends and family, the subject of peeling hard boiled eggs came up. Sometimes they are nearly impossible to peel, with the shell cracking like a spiderweb and having to peel off tiny little bits of shell. V.S. the eggs that seem to have their shell peel off easily in one giant piece.

The opinion of some was that easy peeling depends on how long you cook the eggs and how they are cooled. It has been my experience that none of that matters - what matters is the freshness of the eggs. If the eggs are very fresh, they are hard to peel once boiled. If they have sat around for a week or two, they are much easier to peel.

Does anyone know of a cooking secret so that ANY hard boiled egg is easy to peel? I still think the age of the egg is the key but...

Instant Pot pressure cooker.

add salt to the boil pot, after 10 mins boil, soak cooked eggs into cold water bowl. It will make hard boiled eggs easy to peel.

Good lucks,

Cool them quickly in ice water and use older eggs. Fresh ones stick no matter what you do.

quote:

Originally posted by Gustofer:
Cool them quickly in ice water and use older eggs. Fresh ones stick no matter what you do.

This! I get mixed results with new eggs and the ice water bath.

quote:

Originally posted by dusty3030:
Instant Pot pressure cooker.

This is the real solution. Cannot believe how easy they are to peel after all the years doing it other ways.

I picked this up watching Pepin on PBS. Prick the shell at the air pocket side (rounder end) with a pin. Obviously try not to break the shell here. Have your water boiling and lower each egg in with tongs. boil for 13-15 minutes, then rinse in cold water. I soak mine in ice water to stop the cooking.
the theory is the sulfur will be foreced out of the egg during heating and then cold water will rush in . Eggs will almost peel themselves.
Luck, kyle

I set mine on the counter for 20 minutes before cooking, then boil for 8 minutes, then ice bath immediately. I don't have issues with peeling the eggs.

Cuisinart egg cooker.

Costs about 30 bucks on amazon.

Trust me, just get one. Can cook between 1 and 7 hard boiled ege (they have a 10 egg version too) in minutes and stupid easy to peel.

I guess I must be the lucky one who gets old eggs from the grocery, as mine are always simple to peel and I don't do anything special. Bring the water to a rolling boil, put eggs in, drop heat to a strong simmer for 12 minutes. dunk in cold water immediately. Put in Fridge.
I can peel them with one hand.

Nothing works on fresh eggs. Nothing is needed with old ones.

quote:

Originally posted by KevinCW:
Cuisinart egg cooker.

Costs about 30 bucks on amazon.

Trust me, just get one. Can cook between 1 and 7 hard boiled ege (they have a 10 egg version too) in minutes and stupid easy to peel.

Works great. I also cook them with the big end up so you have a larger hollow area and you know what side it’s on. Start peeling from the bigger end and it comes off easily, new or old.

The other benefit to the egg cooker is you only use a small amount of water so your eggs are done by the time the water starts to boil with a big pot full of water.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: 1s1k,

I steam them. They peel in two equal parts. Works every time.

Instant Pots work but you can do them on the stove-top as well. Eggs that are fresh are the most difficult.

If the eggs are fresh and have not been refrigerated, you an leave them on the counter at room temp for at least 1 week and they will cook up fine by putting them in a pan with water and placing them on the stove. Set a timer for 20 minutes and turn on the heat and bring them to a boil. Remove after 20 minutes and place in cold water.

If the eggs have been refrigerated and relatively fresh or of unknown age, bring a pot of water to a boil, place an egg on a slotted spoon and lower it into the boiling water. Continue doing this until the number of eggs you are cooking are in the pot. Set a timer to 15 minutes and leave the eggs to boil. After 15 minutes, remove and place the eggs in an ice bath.

I do it both ways depending on the condition of the eggs and they peel easily.

My bride made egg salad & we tried this. Worked very well. We also used the ice bath mentioned a few posts above.

Step 2Add Baking Soda to the Cooking Water
Because older eggs have more alkaline, you shouldn't add vinegar to the cooking water, though some recipes recommend it. Adding about a teaspoon of baking soda to the cooking water increases the alkalinity, which will make the eggs easier to peel later on.

Instant Pot is probably the easiest. Or you can try this...

chip away at both ends about dime size and remove the shell,then crack length wise and just peel the rest of shell in one piece.

Don't remember if this was an Alton Brown or someone else's tip, but it was to put in water, bring to boil, shut off and cover for 60 minutes. Then rinse to cool.

Not only was this supposed to help with peeling but also avoided or minimized the dark ring around the yolk. No, I'm no yoking!

Where the hell were y'all last night?
I made a half dozen. Et the first one this morning and it didn't seem to terrible to peel.

Now I'm wondering how fresh my eggs were and how that makes any difference.

Experimentation is in order.

Cheers~

A good splash of vinegar in the water before you start heating it will make the shells peel easily.