Nowadays all I get is AI slop articles about “other ways to cook eggs”.
That’s a great question! Break the shell a bit with a spoon, peel under flowing water. The end.
You are absolutely right! Thanks for your insightful answer.
Are you 2 LLMs?
Agree!
I just hit the egg a few times on the sink.
Also best to include the membrane under the shell, so a whole lot can be peeled in one go.
After you boil it, put it in some cool water. This helps the white pull away from the shell a little bit, I think. I use a plain kitchen knife to crack the egg and then slide the end of the knife between the shell and the cooked white. There’s a kind of a film layer in between too. Usually, this helps the shell stick together as you peel it off.
You want to break off pieces at a time, don’t go for the whole thing all at once. Work your way around the egg slowly, breaking off chunks of the shell as you go. Once you’re about halfway done, you can usually hold the egg over a bowl or plate or something and then work the tip of the knife around the rest of the shell, letting the egg fall out onto whatever is below it.
It takes a little practice but you should get it after a few eggs. Hard boiled eggs are easier. Soft boiled eggs aren’t too bad but you have to be careful that you don’t dig too deeply because you’ll break the yolk and it all runs out.
Two thing to add. First slightly older eggs peel better (aka what you get from the supermarket). Second: use the ball of your fingers not the nail to avoid ripping up the white.
This is partially because 90% of the time the cook determines how an egg will peel. The other 10% are eggs that are too fresh and no matter what the shell would stick.
But I am the cook
I put the egg in warm water and crank the heat. Bring to boil for 8 min. Immediately into ice bath to stop further cooking. Peel carefully. You get a cooked white, with a mostly cooked, slightly translucent yolk.
The way I was taught was to place down a paper towel, then crack the side of the egg against the flat surface and roll the egg back-and-forth to mush the shell into much smaller pieces.
Should make it easier to peel bit by bit instead of pulling away large chunks that can cut into the egg “flesh.”
Edit: the paper towel was to make it easier to clean up the shell bits afterwards
Yes! Tap it against the counter to start the first crack, and then somewhat firmly roll it on the counter to break the shell all over. You can also do it by tapping it all over with a spoon or something but the rolling is so much quicker I never bother anymore
That’s my technique as well.
Peeling can be easy or difficult in part due to the cooking method. Here’s a good write up on tests of various cooking methods to make easier peeling hard boiled eggs: https://www.seriouseats.com/the-secrets-to-peeling-hard-boiled-eggs
It is a good write up, but I have a 90+% success rate of easy peeling starting with cold water on an electric stove and then putting them in an ice bath.
Water from the tap, put eggs in and set to high. When it starts a rolling boil turn off the heat and put the lid on, start a timer, but don’t move the pot. This will cause it to continue boiling for a a few more minutes.
At 11 minutes after putting the lid on I run cold water into the pot to bring down the water temp so I can fish out the eggs. When tolerable I put them in an ice bath and leave them there for about 10 minute or so. When doing it this way I only get one or maybe two in a dozen that is hard to peel by just hitting it on a firm surface and then using fingers to pull shell off sideways.
I had much worse results before the ice bath, and I didn’t change anything else.
Funny, that’s exactly how I used to do it. And I still do if I want cool eggs sooner.
Our eggs may be different (US here, working from refrigerated washed eggs) or I am less lucky. I had mostly success, but sometimes had troublesome eggs and would have a few mangy looking ones where the white sticks to the inside of the shell and water doesn’t change it. Chunks of white pull away. After switching to the Kenji method I have more success than before. Still once in a while I get a stuck shell, but less often.
Mit einem eierschalensollbruchstellenverursacher, natürlich
But if you’re headed for deviled eggs or that sort of thing, a cold plunge is what I’ve always been told.
For starters, eggs should be put in already boiling water, as opposed to heating up the eggs and the water together. Otherwise the egg sticks to the white. If you have problems with eggs cracking while boiling, use a needle or a knife to poke a hole in the shell in the end that is the least pointy so that the air bubble inside has an escape.
I usually drop it in the table and roll it around just to get the entire shell to Crack. Then it should come off easily.
I was told to steam my eggs at some point because the temp of the water won’t drop from the cold eggs. They’ve always peeled well cooking them this way.
True. I can’t be arsed, but dedicated egg cookers do this for that reason.
I don’t really understand people getting out an unnecessary utensil to crack the egg. Put the pot you cooked it in in the sink and run cod water on it. Then just knock it against the inside of the pot to crack it. If you like the roll technique, roll it against the pan. Do this in the water; some believe cracking it underwater helps the shell release, tho honestly I’m not sure about that part.
Guess I need to go find some cod water now
Just watch out for the zombie mode.
It definitely helps. I like soft and medium boiled eggs, which are super hard to peel, and eventually found that peeling then under water helps a lot.
There’s so much bullshit out there about this “problem”. They’re mostly crap.
The one thing I found works well is to stop the eggs into an ice water bath and let them cool for at least 10 minutes before peeling. They really seem to hold together quite well almost all the time.
But nothings guaranteed. I remember some chef on Reddit years ago said you can be as good at peeling eggs as anybody - they aren’t all going to peel cleanly. That’s why when they are peeling tons of eggs in a restaurant (for deviled eggs or any dish where appearance matters), the rejects go into the bowl for making egg salad later.
The trick is getting the skin beneath the shell to pull the rest of it
Fresher eggs will be harder to peel tho
You put it in cold water for a few minutes and it’s pretty easy with your fingers, like peeling a brittle orange.
This has to be when it’s still hot… Right?
Put it in the cool or cold water right from the hot water so that it goes from hot to not hot quickly. Peel after it has cooled down.
Yes. When it is done boiling, you put it in cold water for like 10 seconds (i usually put it under the faucet).
Simplest answer?
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While/before the egg is cooking, half fill a suitable container (enough to hold egg + water + ice) and then with cold water, set it aside to get cold.
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Use thumbtack/pin to poke a single hole in round end (not pointier end) to let air escape.
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Cook egg to your preferred doneness, and immediately transfer egg (gently, don’t let it crack) to icy water in said container. Let rest for a few minutes (ie. 5+).
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Run a cold tap until the stream is steady (just barely above separate drops) but not forceful.
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Remove egg from ice bath, and discard contents of container.
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Crack egg onto flat surface on opposite sides and then both ends, in turn. (1 gentle tap on each should do it)
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Under the stream of cold water, begin with the most prominent section of breakage, peel with the underlying membrane the shell back and let the water work its way between the egg white and the membrane while you work your thumbnail/fingertips to remove the shell in multiple shards still attached to said membrane.
Once you get the hang of it, you can often get ~½" of shell off before the rest simply unsleeves. 🥳👩🏼🍳
The thumbtack trick was a game changer for me back when someone shared it with me. I have a dedicated thumbtack in a kitchen drawer now.
The kid in me likes keeping that dedicated thumbtack in the kitchen wall, but the chef in me sanitizes it both before and after. 🤪
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Use old eggs. New eggs sink to bottom of a glass of water and lay on their side, old eggs will sink but stand up, bad eggs float.
Get the water boiling before adding the eggs.
Cook for twelve minutes.
Remove from water and immediately place them in an ice bath.
Tap the flat end and then roll its side on a hard surface to crack.
Pick off bits of shell in a vertical line from the flat to the point making sure to remove the film under the shell.
Peel of the remainder horizontally.
Eat all damaged eggs.
Serious answer: Break it, carefully pry off the bits of shell one at a time. Obviously without damaging the egg.
TIL that putting it in cold water has anything to do with that. I always just figured that’s part of the recipe and has something to do with the way they cook.
