It’s funny the things your brain chooses to remember. Sometimes it’s even funnier WHEN your brain chooses to remember them.
Like last week. I was at Lindsey’s house for Passover Seder on my Blogger Tour, and she asked me to peel the hard-boiled eggs for the Seder plate. And I just STRUGGLED. I mean struggled to peel these stupid hard-boiled eggs! The white kept on sticking to the shell, which made craters in the eggs. UGH. Just horrible.
“Why can’t I do this?!” I thought to myself. I used to be able to peel an egg no problem. What happened?
Well, the problem is there are too many ways to eat eggs. And also that I go through egg-eating phases. The last time I *made* and ate a hard-boiled egg was probably a few years ago.
Recently, I’ve been eating them non-stop in egg drop soup. And before that, I was only eating them poached with hollandaise sauce. Before that, fried, over-easy. Before that sunny side up.
I get stuck in these egg-eating ruts, man. And I literally forgot how to peel an egg.
Well, I got home from my two-month blogger tour, and we had two month old eggs that Frank hadn’t eaten. Well, two month old eggs are easier to peel (so I’ve heard), so I set out to make deviled eggs with them.
And then they weren’t easier to peel. Six eggs in (SIX?!), a realization smacked me in the side of the head: ROLL THE DANG THINGS, COURTNEY! And I immediately remembered my mom peeling hard-boiled Easter eggs by rolling them across the counter and then peeling the shell off all at once.
Like this!
Crack the egg by rolling it, thus crunching the shell into little bitty pieces all stuck together. They peel off easily after that, and you’re left with beautiful shiny eggs. :)
My point, people?
Sad Eggs
Happy Eggs
The End.
Featured on Party Wave Wednesday.
The fresher the egg, the harder to peel. That’s why store eggs peel so much easier than your own. Another hint-you can poke a small hole [pierce just the shell] with a thumb tack or large needle in the large end of the egg before cooking. Water will go between the 2 layers of membrane and make them easier to peel too. Definitely the rolling trick, then plunge into very cold water. Let sit a few minutes in the cold water & it’s even easier.
http://www.theburlapbag.com/2012/03/make-hard-boiled-eggs-in-the-oven/
I’ve boiled eggs just about every way imaginable and could never get them to peel well except randomly–and then I could never duplicate the method. UNTIL I saw on pinterest to steam them! Two inches of water in the bottom of a large pot; while waiting for it to boil, put as many eggs as you want in the steamer basket. Once water has a good rolling boil, set the steamer basket of eggs in the top and cover. Allow the pot to boil/eggs to steam for 15-18 minutes (18 for a full dozen, subtract minutes proportionally), then remove basket from the water & allow to cool in the sink. You can try cool water on them–I never do. Just let them sit until cool and the shells should come right off. Maybe one in a dozen I will have problems with, but nothing major. I always tap them good on the air end and start peeling from there. And we get farm fresh eggs with the tough shells & membrane. Easy peasy!
Cook for 8 min. Cool in ice water.(I use only eggs from organically raised, free range, bug eating & foraging chickens)I like the yolks still runny. Tap each end to crack, pinch off a little on the ends making sure to break the membrane and then blow in one end while rolling/cracking the shell. If your eggs are fresh (and why wouldn’t they be??/) it works wonderfully.
We use farm eggs too and I have tried every trick in the book…. they are just not good for hard boiled eggs. I think I even tried a vinegar trick one time… stil no luck :(
We have our own chickens and very fresh eggs. I was at my wit’s end when peeling them too. But now I put a TBS or so of baking soda in the water when I boil them. Then drain, shock them with ice, water, and peel them under running water. Works very well, is much easier, and you have nicer eggs in the end.
*ice water
I butter or lightly grease individual silicone muffin tins and crack the eggs in. Place them in cold water, cover, bring to a boil and then shut off. Let sit in the water for 10-or so minutes. (Remove with tongs) you are using the eggs in a recipe (that you are chopping or smashing) I have made deviled eggs like this before. They are just double portion size in the individual muffin cups.
We use our own fresh farm eggs, but I use eggs that are 2 weeks old or older since they peel easier :) If they are too fresh it just doesn’t work right!
Use older eggs! Not expired eggs but older eggs. The older an egg the more air will be in the shell making it so much easier to peel. If an egg floats to the top, it is bad. I always use older eggs and never have a problem peeling them anymore. ;)
FOOL PROOF HB EGGS! Place/start eggs in cold water, bringing them to rolling boil. Start kitchen timer for 5 minutes! After 5 minutes, place WHOLE pan, with hot water and eggs, in the sink with a plate covering them. Allow to sit for 15 minutes covered thus, in hot water, than SHOCK them with ice cubes and cold water! NO need for fancy pealing technique, the shell will practically FALL off the egg! This works for me here at 6,000 plus feet altitude in Colorado Springs, EVERY TIME!
didn’t work!! Any other ways? I get my eggs from a farm and I have tried putting salt in the water too! HELP
Try putting baking soda in the water.
Baking soda in the water helps – so does peeling the eggs under running water. The force of the water stream helps tremendously.
Try adding a few Tbsp white vinegar. Very fresh eggs are hard to peel, but this helps a bit!
Thanks for linking to my hollandaise post! I also used this peeling method this week– works every time!
That just helps keep the yolk from turning green