Help With Hard Boiled Eggs (yolk, shakes, steaming, boiling)

[ylisa7]

I have been making hard boiled eggs for years. Sometimes the shell comes right off and sometimes I lose half the egg before I'm done peeling it. Is there a sure fire way to peel and egg?

Thanks

[LaceyEx]

YL-that's caused by the freshness of the eggs.

The way I do them is cover with cold water, bring to barely a boil, cover, remove from heat 15-20 min. Drain, shake and keep running cold water over them.

[spiderbear]

Boiling in salt water helps. Bring salt water (with eggs in it) to a boil, cover, then turn the water to low. Ten minutes later, plunge the eggs into ice water. This does two things.

Salt draws out the extra water from the egg, seperating it from the shell. The plunging into cold water also further seperates it, steaming it away from the shell.

Starting your eggs in the water keeps them from cracking. Also, use the oldest eggs you can. They lose water over time, again, seperating the membrane from the shell.

[TexasHorseLady]

LaceyEx is right. Absolutely fresh hard-boiled eggs are just about impossible to peel. For our free-range eggs, I'll age them for a couple of weeks before boiling.

I just saw a Jacques Pepin show in which he showed how he boils eggs, and I've got to try it (right after I finish this post, as a matter of fact).

He brings the water to a boil. He puts a pinhole in the end of the egg (large end). He puts the eggs in the water that is already boiling and cooks them for 10 minutes (he likes his eggs slightly less done in the middle of the yolk than in the outer part of the yolk). He drains the eggs and shakes them around in the pan to crack the shells.

He then peels them under running water. The water gets under the inner membrane and makes it easier to peel them.

He puts the peeled eggs in ice water and leaves them there for a while to get the sulphur out.

[DubbleT]

I like to roll my eggs on the counter to "crackle" the shells, it seems to make it easier to peel them.

[Debsi]

I also use the crack and roll method of peeling.


I very seldom have a problem because I am generally careful not to use eggs I just picked up at the store. It's true, old eggs are better for hard boiled.

[nomoresnow]

I used to crack and roll, but my MIL taught me the roll the eggs around in the saucepan after you've drained them method. Sometimes the shells come right off all by themselves. Just make sure it's not a non-stick pan!

[TexasHorseLady]

The scary thing is, eggs that you've just picked up from the store will generally boil and peel just fine. Now that I have my own really fresh eggs, and know how long they need to be aged to do so, I cast an eye askance at supermarket eggs (though I still buy them).

Just tried Pepin's technique. I'm sold, hook, line and sinker. It worked like a charm, was ridiculously easy, and the shells practically fell off the egg after shaking them up in the pan.

[ylisa7]

Thanks all. I always thought you were supposed to use the "fresh" eggs not the old ones. Who knows how I got that one mixed up, lol.

[Rickers]

The eggs that go expired on the store shelves sometimes go back to the packer to get re-dated and they are returned to the stores with a new date. Lovely practice isn't it ?