My request is: does anyone have an easy way to peel hard boiled eggs. I want to use them for egg salad, as an example. I recently got a couple dozen eggs for egg salad. I cooked them, but they were very hard to peel. This was even after being in placed the cold water and then in cold water again. Unfortunately my son found some egg shells in the egg salad. He was not happy. If anyone has any suggestions, please let me know. Thank you in advance.
Fresh eggs stick when you try to peel them. I usually just hit it on the counter or something hard and roll it gently back and forth gently like when your going to juice a lemon or lime. After I peel it I always rinse it off and dry it so you don't have any little pieces of shells left. Hope this helps.
I put 3 or 4 eggs and salt in the water, bring it to a boil, and let cook for approx. 11 minutes. Then I get a container ready with ice and very cold water and put it in the sink. When done, the eggs are put into the cold ice water and I put a small ice pack on top and let sit until cold. Sometimes after they've cooled off I dry them off and put them in the fridge. When I'm ready to make the egg salad I roll them on the counter to crack the shell all over and then peel, starting with the larger end.
Maybe your son could try making his own egg salad and see how well he does! :-)
I've had this problem & my husband is really bad at peeling, so I worked at it. I like my yolks really creamy, so I don't over cook the eggs. When it is done, rinse about 6 times with cold water & remember in the summer the pipe water is warmer. It's the cold that releases the egg. After getting that works pretty well. First rinses done & do them fast, I dump off the water & fill up the pan with ice cubes & top off with cold water till the pan is full & let sit.
The suggestions on using older eggs is correct. The reason for that is that the egg will, ever so slightly, dry and shrink within the shell (not badly, mind you). This way, the shell will not cling so to the egg. I do this all the time. I will keep eggs in my fridge for even a couple weeks after the "sell by" date. Sometimes, you can even get eggs at a marked down price if the sell by date is approaching and the store needs to get them rotated out. Then, you will have beautifully peeled eggs and a bargain to boot.
The cooking process I use is to bring eggs to a boil, turn heat off and cover pot. Let sit on stove unit for 1 hour. Drain water. Put lid on the pot and shake eggs to crack. Pour cold water and let the eggs sit for a few mintues. My eggs peel perfectly every time...only because of the older egg part.
One additional hint: before cooking eggs, pierce broader end with a very clean needle or some such -(don't go deeper than not quite 1/4 inch, and if it is hard to pierce shell, press needle tightly to desired spot and then rotate while applying pressure and it will gradually go deep enough). Prepare pierced eggs as others have advised including thorough cooling immediately. The small hole allows small amount liquid to lubricate inside of shell but does not change texture or taste of eggs. You may have to remove that skin that sometimes forms but the shells slide right off after you crack shells all over. In line with this hint, I find it convenient to keep a certain needle cleaned and ready to use by poking it through a paper napkin or some such and tucking it in a small plastic bag which I then place inside of egg carton,there is more than enough room for it
I agree with the person who said add vegetable oil to the cooking water. I saw that hint somewhere about a month ago and I've done it twice (I also add some salt to the cooking water). They peeled very easily AFTER draining, running cold water over them and then cracking them all over first. Seems like I've read to start peeling at the fat end first, but can't remember.
I do pretty much the same thing dakota1275 does except I peel the eggs in the water they were cooling in instead of using up running water :-) Works like a charm :-)
I add a little vinegar to the cooking water, it leaves no taste.
Also, cool some, drain most of the water and then SHAKE the pan to break the shells, let sit in cold water for another half hour and peel under running water.
If you don't feel like removing the shell immediately, you can store the eggs in the shell in the fridge as long as they are in water. the secret is to never let the membrane between the shell and egg to dry out. they will peel just as easily.
I have always peeled hard boiled eggs pretty easily by draining hot water off eggs then I use a tablespoon to crack the shell of each egg, then run cold water on them and let them cool off for a while. I then crack the shells, roll egg between hands and peel with no problem.When the cold water hits the inside of the egg it draws up a little. pulling it away from the shell.
Not fresh eggs rinse immediately in cold water cover eggs with cold water again and cover with ice cubes let set for 15 minutes always put salt in pan before cooking. Ginger
I just tap them on the counter and roll them around to loosen the shells. After I peel off the shells, I rinse them under water just to make sure the shell is completely off.
I agree NOT fresh eggs. When eggs are done drain off water-shake the pan all around till eggs have lots of cracks in them-peel under cold water. Works for me.
When you have to peal eggs, use like eggs at least one to two week old eggs. New eggs do not peal well at all. then crack then eggs some in sink and place in a dish of cold water and dump lots ice in the pan. let them sit a few minutes and the shells slip right off. But new eggs are very hard to peal. Working in kitchens I always make sure we hold, control and rotate eggs with that reason in mind.
If it doesn't matter how they look after they have been peeled (ie: if they are to be mashed etc) then I just chop in half and use a teaspoon to scoop out the egg. If they need to look nice and be quartered etc, then I crack all the shell with gentle tapping and remove under running water. The water gets under the membrane and loosens the egg making it easier to peel. Hope that helps :-)
Use older eggs, not fresh ones right from the store. Also put a tablespoon of vinegar in the water when you boil them. Once they are done, take the pan to the sink and run them under cold water to cool them quickly. Once they are cooled take an egg and gently hit it down on a flat surface on it's side. Then roll it putting gentle pressure with your hand until all sides are crackled. Pinch a section of the broken shell and it should all peel off very easily. The more cracks the easier it is.
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Request: Removing Shells From Hard Boiled Eggs (06/15/2009)
Does anyone have any tips on removing the shells from a hard boiled egg? I just hard boiled 20+ eggs and while shelling them I ended up with a big mess! Thanks! :)
Sue A
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Request: Removing Shells From Hard Boiled Eggs
Archived on 06/15/2009
Does anyone have any tips on removing the shells from a hard boiled egg? I just hard boiled 20+ eggs and while shelling them I ended up with a big mess. Thanks.
Sue A,
Feedback:
RE: Removing Shells From Hard Boiled Eggs
It may be too late but the trick in getting shells to come off easily is to immediately put the hot eggs in cold water. Just keep running the cold water for a while, then the eggs shells will come off easily.
Susan from ThriftyFun (10/14/2004)
If you drop eggs in sink and crack shells good then put back in pan and fill with cold water. Peel them with egg under cold running water. Works every time. (10/14/2004)
Also a great way to get the shell off is to crack the egg all around then place it on a hard surface and roll it with your palm back and forth. The egg shell should slip off without too much difficulty. (10/15/2004)
By Beth
RE: Removing Shells From Hard Boiled Eggs
I know this one. First use something like a thumb tack (this is what I use) and hold the egg gently and push a hole into the large end of the egg. Bring your water to a slow boil and add some salt, don't let the water come to a rolling boil just a slow simmer type boil. Then lower the eggs into the water using a spoon, don't try and place them into the water using your hands only. Only cook the eggs for 10 minutes its very important not to over cook the eggs. Then carefully drain off the water. Shake the eggs around in the pan to start breaking the shells.
Now place the pan under cold water and start removing the shell. Very important, you must start with the large end of the egg. The first time I tried this, I over cooked the eggs and the shells didn't come off too easily. I cooked the eggs longer because I was afraid that the center would not be fully cooked at 10 minutes. On my second attempt I only boiled the eggs for 10 minutes and all of my shells, 10 eggs, came off almost in one piece. Good luck and I hope this helps. (10/15/2004)
By KCarlisle
RE: Removing Shells From Hard Boiled Eggs
Fresh eggs are much harder to peel than older eggs. Air has permeated the shell in older ones and the cooked insides won't stick as much. Hard cook the oldest eggs in your fridge for an easier time. (10/15/2004)
RE: Removing Shells From Hard Boiled Eggs
I have always done this and it works every time, all the time. Take a small spoon and hit the egg all over and it will crack everywhere, then turn the spoon around and slip the tip under a piece of the shell and slip it around the entire egg and the shell just falls off, rinse off if any shell, you're done and you usually won't pull any of the egg away if you are careful.
Kay (10/17/2004)
By Kay N.
RE: Removing Shells From Hard Boiled Eggs
I put a little salt and a little vinegar in the water when the boil the eggs. This keeps them from cracking and makes the shells slip off easily. (02/07/2006)
After boiling the eggs, empty all of the hot water and fill the pan with cold water. Add two bowls of ice and let the eggs sit in the ice water for ten minutes. (11/21/2007)
By Jeannie
RE: Removing Shells From Hard Boiled Eggs
Did anyone say not to put the hot eggs immediately into cold water yet? (03/21/2008)
By lol
RE: Removing Shells From Hard Boiled Eggs
Add a little vegetable oil to the pot while boiling the eggs. The shells absorbs just enough of the oil so that the shells slide right off. (03/18/2009)
