Shock it in an ice bath immediately after removing from the boiling water. This helps the membrane between the shell and the rest of the egg peel away easier.
Another method I’ve seen recently says to add like half a cup of vinegar to the water you boil them in, tho I have yet to try this one myself. Makes sense tho; dyed easter eggs are usually easier to peel and those are dyed by dipping them in vinegar with dye.
Also don’t let the water come to a boil with the egg in it. Put eggs directly into boiling water.
“The way I peeled this egg” is the correct title.
You didn’t give it the ice bath.
I don’t entirely disagree with you, but I’ve boiled eggs. I’ve peeled boiled eggs. I’ve never once given boiled eggs an ice bath - I didn’t even know that was a thing until I saw a roommate doing it in my early thirties (though to be fair I didn’t have my first boiled egg until my mid twenties).
I’ve definitely peeled eggs poorly, as shown in the OP, but I’ve also peeled them nearly perfectly with no ice bath. I don’t know if it helps, but it’s not necessary.
The ice bath will give you consistency so it’s not such a dice roll. It also helps stop the egg cooking, in case your going for a jammy or soft-boiled egg. And you can peel sooner because it’s not so hot.
“The way I impatiently didn’t follow instructions”*
How has no one responded with correct response: steaming eggs.
Seriously, every egg peels super easy after I steam them for 15 minutes. My grandpa has bought a steamer because I brought mine to his house.
Instant pot 5-5-5 recipe has never let me down.
I tried this once, but stupid me didn’t think it through all the way. My steamer basket is for the microwave… do not steam eggs in a microwave steamer.
A simpler method is to just add a little salt to the water, and they peel easily. Vinegar works too.
It also helps to leave a tiny bit of the egg above water. This will create an air pocket in the egg, and if you start peeling it from there, it will be a lot easier.
The egg always has an air pocket on the bottom, at the blunt end. This is an air pocket that the developing chicken embryo uses for gas exchange. See the diagram:
Source: Bird eggs on Wikipedia.
That egg’s more on the balut phase.
Yes, though the air pocket is there right from the start. If you pierce the bottom of the shell with a pin before boiling then the egg will have less of a dent at the bottom after boiling, giving a more uniform shape.
Also removes the pressure when cooking and helps the shell to separate.
if you fully submerge them, the airpocket will be on the bottom (fat side) of the egg. IIRC, eggs always have an air pocket there.
Haven’t seen this mentioned, best way to prevent this is to fry the egg, make an omelette or even scrambled eggs 👀
I feel like that scene in Forest Gump with the shrimp
I made boiled (well, steamed) eggs in my instant pot and they came out perfect…
Put eggs on trivet/riser. Add 1c water. Lid on, sealed. 5 minutes high pressure. 5 minutes off and sealed. 1 minute venting. 5+ minutes ice bath.
The ice bath is the critical part.
The shells slide off.
I do mine on the stove.
No special prep, just in a pot with a steaming trivet or basket with water up to the basket, eggs in for exactly 10 minutes with a lid on, then immediately transfer over to ice cold water.
Just did 5 dozen in batches in my instapot, game changer for sure. Its the only way id do it now.
60 eggs all at once, or 5 batches of a dozen each?
As I understand it, you should be able to pile the eggs on in there, they shouldn’t move like they would in a full rolling boil.
But at the same time, I had been warned not to put all of my eggs together.
Warned not to put your eggs in one basket, as it were?
The comments are hilarious, as eggspected.
The yolks on you
Aren’t you eggsaggerating a bit here?
What’s worse is my wife never seems to have this problem even when it’s the same damn batch of eggs.
There are a lot of tricks for peeling boiled eggs, but fresh eggs from a chicken coop in your yard are a different ballgame.
We have 30 chickens, we get fresh eggs every day. We can cook them the same day after they’re laid with a dash rapid egg cooker which uses steam. It comes with a little device to poke a hole in the wide end where the air pocket usually is and then we just cook them upside down. They peel easily whether they’ve been in cold water or not.
Dammit! I only have 29 chickens, will this method still work?
Unfortunately no. Id mail you one of mine, but then I’d be in the same boat. You’re just going to have to put a stuffed chicken out there to fool the universe.
Eeeey, we have that machine as well! Device to poke holes that doubled as the measuring cup for the water to put into the steam unit! Cool stuff!
That’s the one, works incredible and the eggs never stick to the shells.
Pressure cooker will force steam between the membrane and egg with no hole needed so you get the same effect with longer shelf life - probably doesn’t matter if you have your own chickens and are in the routine of doing it daily but I prefer no poking of holes so I can make a weeks worth at a time and if I forget them they stay fresh in their unbroken shells
If I was chicken living in a battery, shit conditions, that’s exactly the eggs I would deliver.
The “fuck you” egg.
havent seen anyone add this yet in the comments so here goes: are you adding the eggs to already-boiling water? or adding them to cold water and bringing them to a boil? i switched over to adding them to boiling water, and have had no trouble peeling since. 7mins for over-medium. no ice bath necessary, i just run a little cold water over them so i can handle them easily.
I’ll have to check that out. Thanks unknown stranger.
Don’t expect it to work 100% of the time because it doesn’t. It’s not enough of an improvement (if it even is actually an improvement – debatable) for me to justify the extra electricity cost.
Funnily enough, I add them when the water is cold and never had trouble. Just run the tap for maybe 10 seconds and let it sit for a bit
I always boil the water first, so i can’t speak to that portion. But what I do is add the boils to a sealed container with cold water. Then give it a good shake so that shells crack, but not so hard the eggs themselves are damaged. But after that the shells slide right off
Yeah, the best peeling trick I know is a mason jar with a little water in it and you just shake the egg around like a bartender with a sleeping child next to them.
Riskier with soft boiled eggs though.
This may also signal stress or calcium deficiency or excess in the animal’s diet.
Hens over one year old tend to lay very thick and hard shelled eggs, that break unevenly and peel poorly, even with every single technic to boil it used, when a surplus of calcium is available.
Younger hens, below 6 months of age, tend to lay fin shelled eggs that stick more to the inner membrane.
You’re supposed to break the little skin between the shell and the white and pull on that. You dug past it.
I’m a little late to the party. Did anyone say to use eggs close to the date on the carton. Old eggs peel a whole lot easier than any other. Ice bath too but everyone is saying that already.
The trick is to put the egg directly from fridge into boiling water (not warm or about to be boiled water, it should be already boiling) and boil for about 6.30-7.30mins (depending on size and preference). Then wash it a bit under cold water. This increases the chances your shell might crack (maybe 1 in 10? if you submerge it slowly with a spoon) but magically works %95 of the time. I suppose the shell expands faster than the thin membrane when egg goes directly from cold to hot and thus seperates from it making peeling easier.
