Why can I not boil a god damned egg? Lemme rephrase- I boil them just fine, but every time I go to peel them, they come out some mangled looking like thing that is basically the hard boiled egg equivalent of Rocky Dennis. I’ve done every damned technique suggested or available on the intertoobs, BUT I STILL CAN NEVER GET AN EGG SHELL TO JUST FALL OFF THE GOD DAMNED EGG.
I can do lots of things in the kitchen, but this is just something I will never master. All I want is an easily peeled hard boiled egg for my salad and instead I have this misshapen mass of crap with shell orts all over the god damned place.
Blerg.
*** Update ***
Should have seen this coming. I buy my eggs from the general store a half block from my house, and they are purchased from a lady about a half mile from town. They are brown, they yolks are delicious and creamy, and I can’t eat eggs anywhere else. It’s just me fucking up the process, not the fault of the eggs.
lamh35
I consider myself a pretty good cook, but I’ve never been able to make a good omelet.
PeakVT
Maybe you can take egg-boiling lessons with all that ill-gotten loot.
Bill
Maybe it’s your eggs. Try getting fresher, better quality ones when you’re hard-boiling them.
Robert
Look into an egg steamer/cooker. I use one and the shells always come off super easy and the eggs are perfectly cooked.
tiny...
you have to use older eggs, eggs left in your fridge a week or two. “Fresh” eggs will never peel easily no matter what the technique.
David Koch
UR not supposed to boil those chocolate easter eggs
James Gary
Fresher eggs are easier to peel: http://culinaryarts.about.com/od/eggsdairy/r/Hard-Boiled-Eggs.htm
While we’re sharing egg woes: the only way *I* can manage to flip a fried egg without breaking the yolk is to use so much oil that the end product is pretty unappetizing. I suppose I could buy a non-stick pan, but that seems like cheating.
The Dangerman
What Bill said; get as fresh as possible. Get some hens and a coop for the yard. Place near Tunch’s favorite window for maximum amusement.
Tehanu
Here’s what you do: first, put the egg in a pan of hot tap water for 5 minutes and drop in a capful (teaspoon) of plain white vinegar. Then turn on the heat. When the water boils, keep it boiling for about 10-12 minutes, then take the pan to the sink, run cold water into it until all the boiling water is gone and the pan is cold, and you can hold the egg in your hand without burning it — it’ll still be hot, but not too hot to hold. With the cold water still running, crack and peel the egg. If the shell doesn’t come off easily after that, you’re just unlucky, that’s all!
rd-AR
easy – pour the water out of the pan, then shake the pan with the eggs in it until the shell(s) slide off.
Irony Abounds
Or you can do like i do, and buy already peeled hard boiled eggs at Costco. They taste fine and are much easy to use. But then I’m not a purist like Cole.
JWL
There comes a point in every man’s life when the fact should be faced, i.e. that: “I am, essentially, an idiot”.
schrodinger's cat
Why are you boiling eggs, the most unimaginative and taste-free method of cooking eggs.
Scramble them or poach them or make an omelet.
BTW where is the mustard? Did the fat kitteh eat it?
condorcet runner up
I put them on for 13 minutes (from the start, not 13 minutes of boiling) then put them under cold running water for about a minute. Then I peel them right away. Never have problems.
I’ve also heard that if you add some baking soda to the water this solves the problem, but I’ve never tried it.
muddy
Get this thing. I don’t usually go for gadgets, but my sister gave me this. The eggs come out perfect, firm yolks but not dry. I keep hardboiled eggs on hand all the time and use this constantly.
Just Some Fuckhead
Wow, your local egg mafia is fast.
saysomething
Put eggs in a deep pan. Fill with COLD water until there is an inch above them. Boil the water. Take pan off the heat. Cover for 12-14 minutes.
Shock the eggs in ice water. The eggs will pull away from the shells. Works every single time.
Mike in NC
Saw a tip that you should microwave them for 15 seconds, wait a minute to cool, and then peel.
Bobby C
Forget all that! Start by putting the eggs in cold water. When the eggs start to boil turn off the heat and cover. After 8 minutes run them under cold water. Done!
Doofus
Blanche them in ice after done boiling. Maybe 10-15 minutes ( longer wont hurt anything).
Doofus
Blanche them in ice after done boiling. Maybe 10-15 minutes ( longer wont hurt anything).
brian
Your eggs are too damn fresh. Ordinary supermarket eggs may be a couple weeks out of the hen before you even buy them; your eggs are a couple of hours out of the hen.
The egg albumen is much more “tight” when the egg is fresh, so it vigorously sticks to the shell when cooked; over time it weakens and thins out a bit, so it’s easier to separate the shell from the white. So, leave your eggs in the fridge for a couple of weeks before boiling.
Also, run under cold water as soon as they’re done cooking and peel them as soon as they’re cool enough to peel.
(Note–the above poster who posited that fresher eggs are easier to peel, and linked to an about.com article–the article actually states fresher eggs are HARDER to peel).
Malraux
@James Gary: your link specifically says fresh eggs are harder.
Use old eggs for hard boiled eggs. Several weeks is best. On a related note, you know your uncooked egg has gone bad when it floats when immursed in water. In a refrigerator that takes a long time.
YoohooCthulhu
I’ll put this here:
http://www.food.com/recipe/foolproof-hard-boiled-eggs-64854
America’s test kitchen also developed a technique for perfect soft boiled eggs, which just involves putting half an inch of water into a pot, boiling, adding eggs from the fridge, and cooking covered for 6.5 minutes.
The soft-boiled eggs are easier to peel because the whole egg is softer.
Sasha
Fresh eggs do not peel easily but you can get around that by pressure cooking them if you have a pressure cooker. It is actually how the boiled eggs you get at 7-Eleven etc…, are cooked. It’s pretty much never fail and quite a bit faster than boiling.
You can steam them at full pressure for four minutes or half pressure for 6. I leave mine in the pot but it can also run cold water over the pot until the pressure is released, if you are in a hurry or are particular about over cooking (I am not).
Works like a charm!
The Dangerman
@muddy:
Sounds pretty cool except the dangers noted in the reviews. For example:
I’m thinking having one of those things explode, especially if the Blog Boss is mopping the floor au naturale while waiting for dinner to ding, is not the way he wants to go.
Bennett
Ok Cole, I’ve read for years & never written in, but this is too g-d much. Don’t boil your eggs til the yolk is a green rubber ball, as most Americans do. You want the yolks to be like custard, & then the shell comes right off. here’s Alice Waters’ recipe, which the years have shown to be perfect:
Bring water to cover to boil, then gently lower eggs in & turn the flame down a bit. Boil for NO MORE THAN 7 or 8 minutes: experiment to test, I settled at 7min 30 sec. Put them into a bowl of water & ice, prepared & cold, for ONE minute, then crack & put back in the bowl for around 5 minutes. These are perfect eggs, esp if the eggs are fresh.
dance around in your bones
I’ve always heard that the fresher the eggs, the harder they are to peel.
Use old eggs to peel them nice.
More complicated instructions.
Just use old eggs.
Michael G
Reading the advice in this thread, I think it is clear: your eggs are too fresh.
That, or they are not fresh enough.
On second thought this thread has not been very helpful.
Morzer
Have you considered the free market solution?
Hire Mitt Romney’s personal chef’s personal chef to do it for you.
Of course, you might need to borrow money from your parents, but that shouldn’t be a problem, right?
Corner Stone
This may be one of the stupidest fucking blegs I have ever read.
Don’t you have a mother? Or are you a motherless son of a goat?
geg6
Jeebus Cole. Put vinegar in the water. That’s how my mom taught me how to do it. And peel it under running cold water. Voila. Hard boiled egg.
Myself, I prefer poached or fried or scrambled or soft boiled or an omelette. Lost tastier. Hard yolk is only good for devilled eggs.
Morzer
@Michael G:
Both sides do it.
Which is why I blame Obama.
bcinaz
Use older eggs, at room temperature, put in cold water and let come to boil, as soon as they’ve boiled turn off heat, cover and continue to cook while cooling on the hot stove. rinse with cold water after a couple of hours, refrigerate, peal, enjoy
And do not use aluminum cookware, use glass or stainless steel.
bystander
Another vote for week old (or older) eggs here. If I begin with really fresh eggs, I have precisely your experience trying to peel them.
Concur with those who say you begin with cold water, and then shock them with cold water once they’ve finished.
But, in my experience, older eggs really are the key.
muddy
@The Dangerman: I’ve used it a couple of times a week for over a year and never had any problems. My eggs are local and very fresh fwiw. It did take me a few times to get the exact time for my microwave down when I first got it.
Someone told me yesterday about making “golden eggs”. Apparently you shake the egg so violently that it scrambles in the shell, and then you hard cook it. Seems unnatural to me.
Mike E
Luvs me some soft boiled eggs… 2 eggs in my tiny pot, wait until the water just gets to a boil, then I start a 4 minute timer, and when it goes off I immediately dump and replace with cold tap water. Dump and replace again, then peel the 2 eggs while they’re immersed in cold water.
Slice ’em on some mayo slathered bread, all gooey with yolk, with some hot sauce and Italian seasoning, and maybe some cucumber or pickled tomato.
angler
Now I want to subscribe.
Malraux
Ime, the shocking with cold water is to end the cooking process so that the yolks don’t turn green and has no effect on the separation of the shell from the white.
RoonieRoo
One more vote for older eggs. Fresh just don’t peel that well.
different-church-lady
We’re now way beyond white people problems, deep into clear people problems…
The Fat Kate Middleton
For once, I’m not reading all the comments first, ’cause I know this works: Put your eggs in a pan of water, bring them to a boil, and when the water starts bubbling, turn the heat off and let your eggs sit in the hot water for ten minutes. It always works for me.
The Fat Kate Middleton
@The Fat Kate Middleton: Oh .. and what you guys said above: fresh doesn’t work as well – but with my technique, they do.
Comrade Jake
James Hansen is leaving NASA to become a climate change activist.
caune
I make killer deviled eggs but the actual hard boiling eggs part has been a journey! It’s taken years to perfect.
Put eggs in a pan of room temperature water. Boil…and watch them because once it’s a rolling boil you have to cover and remove from the heat, do not over boil.
Depending on the size of the eggs wait 12 to 15 minutes.
Next is key. Put the eggs in an ice bath asap! You can peel them 5 minutes later and the majority (there are always those evil ones) but the majority should peel easily.
Gary
I’m with the “your eggs are too fresh” crowd. As a kid we had chickens in the summer, and the skin stuck to the shell instead of to the eggwhite, so the eggs were impossible to peel. Get some supermarket eggs. They’ll have all been in cold storage for probably a year or more. Treat them the same way you treat your fresh eggs and I bet they’ll peel without any problem.
Fwiffo
I’m a lousy cook, and the ice water trick has always worked for me. I think I go in the ice water, back into the hot water, and then in the ice again.
tiny...
@James Gary:
ummm this link says:
TIP: Fresher eggs are harder to peel. So if you want to make the peeling experience easier, try boiling eggs that have been in your fridge for a week or so.
Kirk
I use a spoon. Oh, I use the “bring them to a boil and then let them sit in hot water for 10 minutes then shock them with cold water” cooking technique. But that’s just the cooking, and I ruined a fair share of eggs peeling them after that.
Instead, when the eggs are cool I put the lid back on and shake vigorously for a few seconds to crack the shell. Then I peel just enough shell to have a clear gap. I end by using a smooth teaspoon and slide it between egg and shell.
I can, and have, popped a couple dozen eggs out of their shells with no mishap when doing it that way.
The Fat Kate Middleton
@caune: There it is. I didn’t mention the cold water bath, because I know you’re all smart enough to know that. But is is just how you do it. Good lord. I really do need to get a life.
Redshirt
First, kill the chicken who laid the eggs, dropping 3 (no more, no less) drops of her blood in the water.
Then start boiling, all the while chanting “NO’SH’ELL” until the water has begun to boil.
Using your sacred spoon (it has been properly blessed, yes?), take the eggs out of the boiling water into more chickens blood, for ten minutes.
Rinse and peel – perfect hard boiled eggs everytime.
Oh yes, this only works on the full moon and the two days on either side of it. Test by balancing an egg first.
muddy
Sometimes I am lazy or rushed and have cheaty deviled egg, I just put a good whack of mustard on the egg and eat it like that.
skeeball
Clearly you don’t watch enough late night tv, just get eggies
https://www.geteggiestv.com/
Or learn how to boil water. Whatever is easier
Mary G
@saysomething: This is the way I do it and they peel perfectly.
Don K
I’m also a fan of putting the eggs in water, bringing the water to a full boil, then turning off the heat and letting them cook. Timing depends on size. The jumbos I get take 17 minutes.
And yes, older is better for easy peeling. A couple weeks old seems about optimum.
Auntie Beak
@brian: this is completely correct. I get my “eating” eggs from my neighbors with chickens. but the dh likes a bowl of hard boiled eggs in the fridge for snacks. I buy those eggs from the supermarket.
Mike E
Heh, Castle is ripping off Rear Window.
James Gary
Re freshness of eggs thing: I stand chastised.
Speaking from experience, I always cool my hard-boiled eggs in cold water for half an hour or so, and the shell always comes off, easy as pie. Irrespective of freshness. I will therefore revise my advice: Cole, soak ’em in cold water for awhile. If that doesn’t work, the problem is probably with yer stubby and much-damaged fingers. Sorry.
Bruce S
April Fools! Right?
Jay C
And just to confuse you some more, John: my preferred method has been, for year, to put the eggs (and yes, older are better) in just enough water to cover, with a splash of white vinegar; bring to a boil, boil for 7 minutes, turn off heat and let sit for 7 minutes, then rinse under cold water til cool.
I use an asparagus pot (with a wire basket): easier to handle the eggs in and out.
Punchy
Put the damn eggs back in her ovary and apologize.
Betsy
You have to use really old eggs. Don’t be afraid, eggs last a reeeeeally long time in the fridge; they usually just dry out before they actually go bad.
The incredible freshness of those local eggs you are getting is accountable for the difficulty in peeling.
Wait many weeks before using them. They’ll work great. And, IT’S OK, I am married to a food sanitation expert and I would not lead you wrong.
eemom
wrt peeling eggs, Robert DeNiro in Angel Heart. That is all.
Betsy
Oh yes and some here have mentioned it but it cannot be repeated too often, that you must never actually BOIL an egg.
Properly speaking, they are “hard-cooked eggs”. Not boiled.
Google it, etc. But never boil an egg. (Cook it in hot water, but at much less than boiling temp.)
Betsy
@Bill: nooooooooooooo
cinesimon
Vinegar in the water. Not only does it help keep the white from leaving the egg if it cracks(vinegar is of course a must for poaching – keeps it all together), but I find it also helps the peeling. Either that, or it’s a coincidence.
I’m a fresh egg person and have never had a problem peeling eggs. I think it may just be the style/breed/whatever of egg – not a fresh vs not fresh thing.
pseudonymous in nc
Ice bath, older eggs. Or: what they all said ^^^.
Yutsano
@Betsy:
A lot of our food wisdom comes from Jolly Olde England, and they (usually) don’t refrigerate their eggs. The French never do. And even then fresh from the hen eggs are good for a month. I have had eggs in my fridge for a goo six months come out perfectly tasty, but then again I have a supplier.
Genine
I boil the eggs in salt water, drain them, then put them in a bowl of cold water until I’m ready to use them and the shell slides off fine.
skeeball
@cinesimon:
I think that vinegar helps break down the shell. I vaguely remember in elementary school putting an egg in a jar of vinegar for like a week and seeing what happened to it.
skeeball
@cinesimon:
I think that vinegar helps break down the shell. I vaguely remember in elementary school putting an egg in a jar of vinegar for like a week and seeing what happened to it.
Randy G
I’ve found that regardless of how careful I am with timing the boil or chilling the eggs quickly afterwards, the one thing that seems to always result in a perfect peel is letting the eggs sit for a few hours, even overnight, in the refrigerator once they’ve cooled some. In fact, I rarely time the boil anymore — however, at least 12 minutes is necessary — and I often don’t bother to ice them afterwards, just fish them out of the water with a slotted spoon, place them in a bowl, let them sit for a spell, then into the refrigerator.
Wag
@Bill:
Actually older eggs are best. Eggs dry out slightly as they age, and shrink, pulling away from the shell, making the egg easier to peel.
jharp
@Bill:
I have heard the opposite.
Just Some Fuckhead
Alright, so I’ve got eggs. What was the next step?
koalaholik
@James Gary: Trust me, a non-stick pan doesn’t help.
Redshirt
@Just Some Fuckhead: Apparently you’ll need some water. Not very sure, this is all terribly confusing to me.
suzanne
Can all y’all egg-heads give me tips on blowing some eggs out?
MattF
You just need to get tough. Be a man, eat them with the shell.
Joseph Nobles
Here you go, John: http://theworstthingsforsale.com/post/40723416547/i-dont-care-how-many-eggs-you-eat-a-day-you-just
RaflW
@Comrade Jake: James Hansen is leaving NASA to
become a climate change activisthelp Cole boil eggs.joel hanes
*sigh*
here on the west coast,
we don’t get to vote until it’s all over
I spent childhood summers on a traditional mixed-use farm; Aunt Ruby kept her own chickens.
Grandma and Aunt Ruby set eggs aside for a week for deviled eggs — because the fresher the egg, the more difficult to peel cleanly after boiling.
Let me join the consensus:
use older eggs for hard-boiled
don’t over-boil
cold-shock immediately, using ice if you have it.
If you must use fresh eggs, they may peel a bit more easily if you refrigerate them for a day after boiling
Some people find it easier to work the interface between the membrane and the solidified whites with the end of a butterknife blade than with their fingertips.
OTOH, the fresher the better for fried eggs — the yolk of fresh eggs stands high and round, while older eggs go flat; the whites of fresh eggs have less tendency to spread, and fresh eggs are easier to turn without breaking, and taste better.
Phoenix_rising
My sister is down to The Hen That Won’t Die, whom I have dubbed Katniss (she’s small, white and has been the only FTE, long-term, in the coop through raccoons, coyote and the German Shepherd puppy have worked their way through 7 other hens, in 3 incidents). Katniss lays an egg a day, which is the wrong number of eggs for a household of their size. My niece makes 3 dollars every Sat. for finding the eggs and washing them before delivering to the old dude down the block, who boils them all on the day of delivery.
Some of those eggs are fresh out of a chicken’s…whatever part that’s called…and the oldest has sat for 5 days. He has never complained about inconsistency in the product. And he would.
This suggests to me that he has an egg cooking technique not dependent on age of eggs.
sylvan
This understanding extends to all things.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
I think ninety percent of the comments on this open thread are actually on topic. Does that happen with topic-specific threads?
Just Some Fuckhead
@Redshirt:
Water??? Slow down, Julia. I ain’t a trained culinarian for fucks sake.
Yutsano
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Apparently we are all eggs now. Or something.
MattF
@Just Some Fuckhead: Famous story about Irma Rombauer, who wrote the original ‘Joy of Cooking.’ She got a letter from a person who wanted to know ‘how to get started’ with cooking. Rombauer’s reply was “Stand, facing the stove.”
J.W. Hamner
@Sasha:
I was going to suggest pressure cooking, so I will second your post.
Hip Pressure Cooking has a post about it. I prefer poached or sous vide eggs myself, but I have had some success doing it that way.
Note that it takes just as long or longer as doing it the regular way… it’s just that the pressure change is supposed to make the shells come off easier.
angelfoot
Please run out and get some week old eggs and settle this thing right now.
suzanne
@Phoenix_rising:
Cloaca.
My nine-year-old chose an inopportune moment to share that fact with a large group of her friends and their parents.
I was kind of proud.
sylvan
@joel hanes:
I used to buy hipster eggs from a source you never heard of.
Suffern ACE
I will fifth the “your eggs are too fresh”. Also eggs should be room temp and chilled in ice water immediately. And I use my steamer. 18 minutes to steam eggs vs. god knows how long to watch the pot come to a boil.
Bob In Portland
Have you considered ostrich eggs?
CatHairEverywhere
Fresh eggs are really hard to peel. Let them sit in the fridge for a week before you need them. How lucky you are to have such great eggs readily available. I am lucky enough to be able to buy backyard eggs, but it’s less convenient than your situation.
joel hanes
@suzanne:
To blow eggs :
We always used bent-open medium safety-pins to make the holes, because they’re easy to hold onto, and we already had them.
This is not a process you can hurry.
Basic starting technique is to patiently twist back and forth, “drilling” the initial hole in each end by abrasion rather than chipping, big enough for the pin to slide through.
The initial hole is adequate at the small end (the end from which you’ll blow out the contents); make a larger hole on the big end by using the tip of the pin to flake a ring of tiny chips from the edge of the initial hole — I usually crack and thus ruin about one egg in five at this point. There will be a flap of tough membrane that wants to re-seal the larger hole in the bigger end — if you can find a pair of tiny manicure scissors, pry that flap outward with the end of the pin and cut it off — if not, just try to use the pin against the edge of the shell to abrade it.
Once you have your holes made, take a pin nearly as long as the egg, or maybe a thin skewer or bamboo splnt or wire, and stir the insides to break up membranes.
Keeping your cheeks firm, blow from the small end, firmly but not so hard your ears pop, consistently, for what will seem like a long time. If it doesn’t start, try inserting the longest pin in the large end and stirring about while still blowing. If it still doesn’t start, consider enlarging the bigger hole. Membranes and thicker bits that get hung up in the exit hole may likewise be helped along with the pin.
Wash them carefully after blowing (your hands will have left oils that inhibit dyeing), and set big-end down in a carton for a couple hours for whatever drainage may ensue.
Pongo
A little baking soda in the water helps a lot.
Jay C
@James Gary: @koalaholik:
A non-stick pan may not make a fumblesome egg-flipper into an expert, but the right one will certainly help. My wife found a Wolfgang Puck NS skillet (w/ cover) on sale online for $40, and the damn thing has reduced my own egg-turning-disaster ratio into something like one in three or four: and I used to be hopeless. A good NS coating with a LIGHT spray of oil should work.
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
Sometimes, but I think this thread is a fluke: 97+ comments with almost no trollery, OT or flaming? Don’t worry, though: I’m sure we’ll be back to “normal” by tomorrow….
RyMaN600
The first thing that went through my mind when I read the first sentence:
BECAUSE HOW HARD IS IT TO POACH A GODDAMN EGG PROPERLY?
I now imagine your voice as that of H Jon Benjamin’s.
FYI, do ’em scrambled with sriracha mixed in right before they’re completely done cooking.
Some Guy
Vinegar yes, but that is to prevent a cracked egg from making a mess while boiling. Does not make peeling easier.
Cold shock yes, but then crack on the big end where the little air pocket forms and let water under the membrane. Let eggs set for a little bit so the membrane separates from cell mass. Then finish peeling.
Old eggs are better but it still sucks if you don’t get that f#%€£!! membrane to let go.
Also, can try little crack on one end and blow air to separate membrane. Not cool if serving to others, but similar idea to egg water torture.
TooManyJens
@sylvan:
Jesus Christ, hipsters are laying eggs now?
Ash Can
I’m too impatient and too tipsy on champagne (it’s Opening Day, don’tcha know!) to read through the whole thread, so sorry if I’m being repetitious, but the Incredible Edible Egg website recommends older eggs — specifically, approx. 10 days — for easier peeling, and I concur. For Easter eggs, I get the plain old white eggs at the local urban large-chain grocery store. I’m sure those suckers are at least a week out of the hen, and they peel just fine. I would bet that your eggs are too fresh. Get them two dozen at a time — a dozen to fry up for breakfasts for the week, and a dozen to sit in your fridge for a week and a half for hard-boiling.
Comrade Mary
Because I know you have been waiting breathlessly for my advice:
1) I agree with those who have pointed out that:
a) Older eggs peel better
b) Putting your eggs in cold water, bringing them just to a boil, then turning OFF the heat and leaving the covered pot on the element for 8-10 minutes will cook them perfectly.
What’s new: if you want to peel even new eggs with less hassle:
1) After cooking time is over, empty all the hot water, run some cold, then leave the pot full of cold water.
2) Crack and roll each egg in the pot and leave them to sit in the cold water for a few minutes. This lets the water seep in between the shell and the egg white.
3) Peel with less aggro. Not no aggro, but less.
reality-based
@Bill:
um, no. The thing is, the fresher the egg, the harder it is to peel. What creates an easily-peeled egg is air space between the egg and the shell – which means you need an aged egg.. I don’t mean OLD old – but during deviled-egg season in the summer, I keep an extra carton of eggs, at least a week old, in the fridge – just for this purpose –
joel hanes
@sylvan:
If passing on the egg lore of old farm women now counts as an implicit hipper-than-thou claim, I most sincerely apologize for posing as hipper-than-thou.
As I tried to make clear, I’m a hick.
Cathie from Canada
@condorcet runner up: I now use baking soda — about a tsp. — and the shells don’t stick anymore.
I hated boiling eggs, too, until I thought one day to google “how to hardboil an egg” and thats where the baking powder trick was found.
John, remember Google is your friend.
suzanne
@joel hanes: Can you use one of those baby snotsucker bulbs or an oral medicine syringe?
sylvan
@Comrade Mary:
This.
joel hanes
@suzanne:
My experience is all in blowing eggs, not sucking them.
Never tried bulbs or syringes, but I kind of doubt that they would work well. If you can get the syringe’s needle into the hole, it’s probably too fine-gauge to suck up albumen and membrane; and I can’t see how you could get a good seal between the snotsucker bulb and the shell without crushing the shell.
Human lips make a remarkably good seal, and you already have them.
Mnemosyne
@suzanne:
I’ve gotta agree with Joel — a syringe or snot bulb would probably create too much pressure in the shell, and you would end up with a shattered egg leaking fluid everywhere.
Just wash them off well in the sink before you start and you’ll be fine.
ETA: Also, too, the point of having pre-adolescent children in the house is so they can do stuff like this for you, because they’ll think it’s hilariously gross and not just plain gross.
suzanne
@joel hanes: I was thinking about the little liquid medicine syringes for blowing the goop out, not sucking it up. Hmmm.
@Mnemosyne: I thought the point was the tax break. I mean, what’s the point of having kids if you can’t mooch off hardworking job creators who held their knees shut?
karen marie
@Bill: No, no, older eggs are better for hardboiling. When they’re fresh, you get the mess that John Cole got.
mattH
Tehanu has the secret, vinegar will keep the egg from sticking to the shell. Learned that a few years ago and haven’t had an issue since.
FlipYrWhig
Have you considered that your ability to do delicate things is hampered by having hands that are like five bratwursts attached to a meatloaf?
sylvan
@joel hanes:
Of course you are. This explains your tendency to be rude and honor dependent.
joel hanes
@sylvan:
Charmed, I’m sure.
I will watch for your comments; perhaps I can learn to be a better person.
JoyceH
I don’t think the issue is how you cook them, it’s how you peel them. Peel them under running water. Once you get a little corner off the shell, and also the skin underneath, the water will get between the skin and the egg and the shell will come off easier.
goblue72
dang you people sure are completely overcooking you eggs.
john – take your eggs, and let them sit in warm water to temper them.
meanwhile, bring a saucepan of water to boil. put tempered eggs in boiling water for 1 minute.
remove from heat and cover with lid. let sit for about 4 minutes for a soft boiled, runny yolk egg. let sit for 6 or 7 minutes for a soft boiled, firm yolk egg. let sit for 10 minutes for hard boiled.
then remove and let sit in an ice bath for a few minutes. then peel.
in all cases, you will note, you are boiling them for no MORE than a minute. Americans over boil their eggs. And its a double shame if you over-boil eggs coming straight from a farmer like yours.
a good boiled egg should be creamy tasting without a hint of sulfur. if you see even the barest hint of green around your yolk, you’ve overcooked your egg.
Chris Wolf
Fill the pot with cold water. Put the eggs in before heating the water. Add a generous amount of salt. After cooking, cool eggs immediately in cold water.
Sgaile-beairt
its not just you….happens to me with supermarket eggs OR farmers market eggs….what I do is shell them under cold water, that seems to reduce the friction of the membrane enuf that it slides right off….plus to rinse away the shell bits….oh another trick, crack it gently on the count er top, then roll it around with your palm, to pre fragment the shell, before putting it under water…..
Booger
@Bill: Ermagerd. Wrong. Fresh eggs DO NOT HARD BOIL WELL. Eggs need to be at least THREE WEEKS OLD in order for the shells to come off easily once hard boiled.
Trust me on this.
Rook
It’s probably the usual mistake everyone makes when they boil eggs; they cool them down too quickly. I allow 20 minutes from time of putting the cold water and eggs on the stove until I place it under the smallest of streams flowing from the facet. Once the water is cool enough for me to tolerate the temperature I remove the eggs.
Just like you can’t put cold, raw eggs into hot boiling water, you can’t put hot, cooked eggs into cold water.
Ramalama
I’ve never seen so many boiled egg recipes in one place, and I’m guessing that they all work. Awesome, even though many of you really love getting cranky on Cole!
Halcyan
@schrodinger’s cat:
Indeed. Inquiring minds want to know: Where IS the mustard?
Halcyan
@Sgaile-beairt:
the other thing I heard and tried once (cuz I only boiled eggs once since I heard it) is to tap the egg to crack on the fat bottom side, as there is a pocket of air there, and it gives you a purchase to get under the membrane, which is what allows the shell to slide off as opposed to being hacked off.
JPL
My son and his SO have a New Year’s eve party and bought a few dozen farm fresh eggs in order to make deviled eggs. I did ask if they ever tried to peel fresh hard cooked eggs and they of course, knew how to peel eggs. Long story short, I get a call at 5 pm asking for help. hahaha. I said go to the grocery store and start over. Since then they have experimented and found that after the ice bath, if you put them in hot water again for a minute, that helps separate the shell.
also, too. the hot water trick was one posted on this very site.
Duhkaman
John,
We raise chickens and sell eggs commercially. The problem is that your eggs are too fresh. If they come from a local grower they are probably not more than a week or so out of the bird. When we have a deviled egg occasion planned, we take our eggs and put them aside for about a month in the refrigerator–about the same age or younger than most mass produced eggs–and they come out fine. Sounds crazy, but what you are doing by letting them get older is developing some space for the egg shell membrane to separate from the egg when its cooked.
Southern Beale
How to hard-boil an egg:
Use COLD water with a teaspoon of salt in it.
Bring pot of water to boil, then turn stove OFF and put lid on pot.
Let pot with eggs sit on the warm stove for 10-15 minutes.
Rinse boiled eggs in COLD water.
Voila, shells will slide off.
And @Duhkaman is right, use less-fresh eggs. Something about the pH level of the protein… read it somewhere on the intertoobz.
Southern Beale
@Morzer:
Ha ha ha ha ha ha
marge
this works for me every time. definately need to use eggs a week old. put them in the pan, cover with cold water and bring to a boil. reduce heat so the water is just barely boiling and keep that temp for about 10 min. then plunge the eggs into cold water. i even add ice to chill quickly. once the eggs are cold they will peal easily.
Richard R
Use a pressure cooker at low pressure – 7 psi. One cup of water, 5 minutes at pressure, 5 to 6 minutes natural release for hard boiled. 4 or 5 minutes and quick release for soft eggs. Shell will peel right off. Works for EVEN THE FRESHEST EGGS. Commercial processors use pressure to make hard boiled eggs ’cause it works every time. It’s also faster because you only boil one cup of water.
Poopyman
OK. This is WAAAAAY after the fact, but I’m going to give you Mrs. P’s way of making hard boiled eggs that always fall out of the shell.
First, get your eggs wherever you want, but in fact you want to keep them a week or so (in the fridge, of course). Dunno why it matters, but it does. Maybe dries out the membrane, or something.
So you take out your week-old eggs and let them warm up on the counter to approach room temperature. I’m a little nervous for this step and don’t really wait more than 4-5 hours, less in the summer. Put them in an 8-quart or more pot and fill nearly full of cool/cold water. Put on the stove on high and bring just to a rolling boil. Immediately cut the heat and bring them down to a simmer. I pull the pan mostly off the active burner at this point to drop the boil quickly. I doubt it makes a difference, but just my OCD acting up.
You let them simmer for about 35 minutes, then, while they’re still simmering, get another pan or container – we use a Rubbermaid storage container about 11 inches square – and fill it with about 2 inches of water, enough to cover the eggs. Then (the important part) fill it with about 2 inches of ice, and stir until the ice water gets down colder than your hand can stand.
At this point the eggs have been cooking about 40 minutes. Bring the pot from the stove to the counter with the ice water, and using tongs pull each egg from the boiling water and plunge into the ice water and leave it there. I imagine the thermal shock is what makes the shell and membrane separate from the eggy part.
After about a half hour the eggs can be pulled out of the still-cold water and put back in the fridge. You should find that they peel with ease. On a good day I can peel an egg and leave the shell in one piece, held together by the membrane.
Good luck!
Barney
Top marks for using the word ‘orts’, John!
greylocks
How to peel a hard-boiled egg…
GENTLY tap all sides of the egg on a plate or other hard surface to crack the shell in multiple places, then…
GENTLY roll it between the palms of your hands, or between your hand and a hard surface, to crack the shell even more. You want lots of little pieces. Don’t apply too much pressure or you’ll break the white. THE MORE LITTLE PIECES, THE BETTER.
PEEL under running water, using the water to help separate the shell bits and membrane from the white.
With a little practice, 97 times out of 100 this will loosen the membrane enough from the egg to produce a perfect or near-perfect peel. Often the entire shell will just come right off.
If the hardboiled egg is refrigerator cold, run it under some hot tap water for a couple seconds to expand the shell a little.
greylocks
@greylocks: Adding… all the crazy, complicated cooking methods that are supposed to make your eggs easier to peel are just more trouble than they’re worth, and often don’t work as advertised.
And don’t use fresh eggs.
Redshirt
Haven’t read the thread but I’ve always been taught you want to use the freshest eggs as possible. Like literally, just dropped out of the hipster chicken’s cloakah.
Emily
@Bill Maybe it’s your eggs. Try getting fresher, better quality ones when you’re hard-boiling them.:
My mother said that fresh eggs NEVER peel well. As an experiment, why not buy some plain old grocery store eggs and let them sit around for at least a week and then boil them and try to peel.
lojasmo
Lo made some awesome eggs yesterday.
Boil eggs.
Crack, but do not peel the shells.
Place them back in water with a tea bag (black tea) Pepper, Soy sauce, spices, and simmer for three hours.
Peel. You will get marbled eggs with a hint of the flavors in the water.
They look AWESOME.
lojasmo
@skeeball:
Yup. Egg shells are largely calcium. Vinegar renders calcium soluable.
In other news, How to make calcium citrate supliments from eggshells.
Fred
Hard boiled eggs chilled in the fridge can be peeled more easily by running hot water over the shell for a bit so the shell expands a bit. As soon as the outside is warmed (20-30 seconds) quickly dry and peel.
Hot eggs should be peeled under running cold water.
It is easier to peel eggs that have been boiled extra hard but most cooks frown on eggs cooked too long. Not me. A 15 minute egg is just fine, thanks.
Just Some Fuckhead
Ok, so I got eggs and a pot. What was the next step?
gluon1
How is it possible that no one has suggested the Crazy Russian Hacker’s “How to Peel an Egg Russian Way!”?!?! This is actually about how to peel eggs, in a manner that might appeal to JohnGCole, and it’s brilliant and it’s what I kept thinking everyone was going to talk about when they wrote of blowing eggs but never was.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opK1Py1Zkt4
Redshirt
@Just Some Fuckhead: Pray, my friend. Pray to Jesus to show you the way.
Deb T
@Bobby C:
I just read this advice in a Pinterest cooking tip. Amazing. Also, for peeling, find the hollow end and start peeling from there. Or gently crack the shell all over into finer pieces and use the skin of the the egg to peel it off.
Just Some Fuckhead
@Redshirt:
WHY IS THIS SO HARD? MAYBE JESUS DOESN’T WANT US BOILING LITTLE CHICKIES?
Jilli
Don’t know if someone has already suggested this, but if you add some salt to the water, the shells will peel of in large pieces. For some reason the salt makes eggs much easier to peel.
dance around in your bones
@gluon1: That was fucking hysterical.
I’mma gonna try the Russian method. In Mother Russia, egg blows you!
Betsy
@Redshirt: Noooooo Wrong Wrong Wrong
Death Panel Truck
1. Don’t use fresh eggs.
2. Use a pin (I use a diabetes lancet) to poke a small hole in the larger end of the egg. This lets water come between the inner membrane and the shell. Tiny bubbles will come out of the pinholes when you put the eggs in water.
3. Put eggs in cold water, bring to a boil.
4. Remove pot from burner, cover it and wait 15 minutes. Never, ever, ever let eggs boil for 10-15 minutes. You’ll ruin them. The outer edges of the yolks will turn green.
5. Drain the hot water and replace with cold water. Peel them as soon as the eggs are no longer too hot to handle,
Foolproof, easy-to-peel eggs every time.
John M. Burt
Vinegar, yes, but not diluted.
Cook the eggs in plain water and allow them to cool.
Transfer them to a dish of undiluted vinegar and leave it on the counter.
Two days later, the fairies will have removed the shells for you. They love to huff vinegar, and will reward you for putting some out for them.
Older
Here’s how I do it.
1. Use older eggs. We don’t use a lot of eggs, but when we get down to half a carton, I hard boil them for snacks.
2. Puncture the large ends. A teeny hole will do. I have a gadget for this, but a pin will do. Don’t push, chip.
3. Put them in cold water to cover, heat the pan on high until it comes to a rolling boil. Boil a minute (more or less).
4. Turn off heat, set pan aside.
5. An hour later, or when you think of it, or when it’s cool, dump the eggs out in a drainer and let them dry.
6. Put in refrigerator. When you want to eat one or otherwise make use of it, take the egg, roll it against the table top, so that the shell cracks all over. Not too hard now. Drop in a pan of cold water.
7. Peel. You can skip the water if you’re in a hurry, but it helps some. For greatest ease, cave in the shell around the large end and slip a teaspoon under the edge of the shell that still adheres to the egg. Pry with the spoon. It is exactly the shape of a segment of eggshell, so it’s the ideal tool.
This will yield an egg with a firm but not tough white and a firm but not hard yolk, with no green color around the edge.
One reason you should use older eggs is that the eggs breathe, they respire, and the airspace in the large end grows gradually larger with time. If the egg doesn’t fit quite so tightly in its shell, it’s easier to get it out. (Or so I’ve been told.)
As to keeping eggs, I know it’s hard to believe, but refrigeration contributes nothing at all to the keeping quality of eggs, so long as they have not been washed. My daughter and I spent a summer once studying this, after we read it somewhere, and we kept eggs outdoors in the shade, under the house, in the house, and in the refrigerator. In all of these locations the eggs kept very much the same length of time. They were good for two months, some up to three months, although by then we were running into the occasional bad one. So we had to break them into a bowl separately, like my grandmother did every egg.
If they have been washed, the natural membrane is removed and they don’t keep as long. But again, refrigeration made no difference.
Dand
I hear that a pressure cooker is the trick. Compresses the shell and cooks through.
Pete Mack
If all you want are boiled eggs for breakfast, do them just like soft-boiled eggs: Break them in half, and scoop them out with a small spoon.
dsale
@lamh35: Omelets are tricky – running the spatula around the perimeter while it’s firming helps, and breaking the bubbles is key, but you really need to have a skillet that’s the right shape. Look for one where the sides *curve* down, like a shallow bowl.
And, If all else fails, just chop it up and call it an “egg scramble.” Still tastes good :-)
dsale
@lamh35: Omelets are tricky – running the spatula around the perimeter while it’s firming helps, and breaking the bubbles is key, but you really need to have a skillet that’s the right shape. Look for one where the sides *curve* down, like a shallow bowl.
And, If all else fails, just chop it up and call it a “(whatever) scramble.” Still tastes good :-)
gerry
Julia Child said that if the eggs are too fresh, they are hard to peel. Try less-fresh eggs.
dfra
@tiny…: That’s right…fresh eggs will not peel easily when hard boiled.