Just when I thought I had heard all the different ways to cool and peel perfect hard boiled eggs, I find yet another way in a cookbook I was perusing. There's even that wacky "blow the egg out of the shell method" and it actually does work! I've done it several times, though I don't know how your guests would feel about it. I'll share that here too.Shake the Shells Off
So okay, I am pretty impressed with this one. There's a video on You Tube that shows how it's done, but basically you cook the eggs, then run them under cold water. Keep the eggs in about an inch of cold water in a container that has a lid. Place the lid on the container and shake the container vigorously. Shake it to the left, the right, and up and down. Remove the lid, and like magic, the shells are off of the eggs!
Roll, Dip & Slip
Cook eggs and cool in cold water. Crack the egg shell at each end by tapping the egg onto the counter. be sure to crush the air bubble at the large end of the egg. Place the egg on its side on the counter and roll forward for one full turn keeping the palm of your hand firmly down on the top of the egg. Place the egg into a bowl of warm water. The entire shell will slip right off.
Blowing the Egg from the Shell
When I first saw this I watched it over and over, and then of course I had to try it myself! Though I must not be as big a blowhard as this guy, so it took me 2-3 times before my egg came out, but it did! However, not sure if your guests would appreciate this method. ;) Here's the video for this method.
Teaspoon
Peel off a little of the shell and membrane, just enough to gently insert a teaspoon, with the bowl facing the egg. Run the spoon around the curve of the egg, and it will pop right out.
What's your method?
Join me for Kitchen Tip Tuesday over at Tammy's blog. Read the other kitchen tips there as well!
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Ever since we started raising our own laying hens, I can not for the life of me peel an egg! The shell sticks and layers of egg white peel away. I'll have to try some of these new methods and see if that remedies the situation. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI know this is probably too late but, Fresh eggs do not peel as well.
DeleteI find that if I've cooked my eggs right, they're pretty easy to just tap and crack big chunks off... though I do like the shake method if I'm going to be peeling a bunch at once! Thanks for sharing these =)
ReplyDeleteMy suggestion...steam your eggs...fill your pan with about an inch or so of water, and place your steamer basket in. Cover and bring your water to a boil, once it is at a rolling boil, place your eggs (carefully, w/ tongs) on to the steamer basket. Reduce the heat to med-high, and cover. Set your timer for 13-15 minutes (depending on size of eggs) when time is up,pull off heat, pour out what little water you had in the pan, and run cold h2o over the eggs until just cool enough to handle, and voila, the shells generally come off in one tap and peel...(with my large eggs, 13 minutes is perfect.)
ReplyDelete~Jamie
I roll it around on the counter and run it under cool water. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.
ReplyDeleteNo matter what I do, my eggs never peel easily, and usually end up ugly or in the trash. It's so frustrating! I have tried all these methods and then some. I don't know what I'm doing wrong!! They sell pre-peeled hard boiled eggs at some grocery stores and I resorted to that once, but they just weren't very good.
ReplyDeleteHi Jen
ReplyDeleteIt's possible you are cooking them too long or waiting until they are cold to try and peel them. And your best bet is to peel that shortly after you cook them. Try this method:
1) place eggs in cold water in saucepan
2) bring to a rolling boil
3) turn off flame and cover saucepan with a tight fitting lid
4) set timer for 15 minutes
5) after the 15 minutes, remove lid and run cold tap water in the pan. Allow the water to run on the eggs for a couple of minutes, but not much longer than that. You just want to cool them off so you can handle them.
6) remove an egg from the pan, tap both ends of the egg on the counter, this will burst the air bubble.
7) gently roll the egg or tap on the counter to loosen the shell
8) peel
Good luck!
Actually Jen, I would guess you are having this problem because you have laying hens, and are excited about the eggs, and are trying to hard boil "new" eggs. When you are talking farm fresh eggs, you need to let them sit on the counter (unwashed) for at least 1 week or 2, then boil them. They will peel like a dream. (The "time" lets some "air" get between the shell and the membrane, and that space fills up with water when you boil them - thus making them easy to peel.) The reason store bought eggs peel well, is they are NOT "new" eggs.
ReplyDeleteI had only made a few batches of hard-boiled eggs, usually for Easter. Last year, they peeled so perfectly, I thought I had it down. This year, I had to throw most of them away. So now I really want to start having a couple eggs for breakfast. I made a batch last night, and the first test egg peeled okay. But this morning, it took 15 minutes to peel three eggs. I was in Hell.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like the general opinion is that you shouldn't let the eggs get too cold? I'll try not using ice water after cooking, just cool water.....but I'm not doing this for a recipe, I want to keep them in my fridge all week, so they will get cold. Does that make it harder to peel?
Rick
ReplyDeleteYes, definitely don't let them get too cold. I do use ice water, but just to get them cooled off enough to peel. I suggest, for your situation, peeling the eggs right away, then put them into a ziploc type bag and store them in the fridge until you are ready to use them. :)
Thanks again for the help. I boiled another batch last night, and they were certainly easier to peel right after cooking, so I'm going to try to do that from now on. But something was wrong with this batch....they smelled, kind of bad. Almost like they were rotten. What would cause that to happen? Also, the whites are a bit "loose" and slimy, and the yolks are darker and tougher. Did I under/over-cook?
ReplyDeleteKind of disappointed, as I tried a couple of the whites, but I think this batch just needs to be thrown out.
Hmm that does not sound good. The whites and the yolks should be evenly cooked. I don't think there's anything you could have done to cause this, it sounds like something was wrong with the eggs. Did you check the expiration date on the egg carton? Another way to test if eggs are good is to place them in water. If they float, they are no good.
ReplyDeleteOne last thought though, were the whites slimey all the way through, like after cutting them? Or were they just kind of slimey on the outside? After rinsing them how did they feel? Also, if they smell bad, I would think they aren't any good.
Be sure to always check the expiration date on the egg carton, most people don't. I see people in the grocery store all the time that just open the carton and look for cracks then put them in their cart.
Actually, I'm pretty good about checking the expiration date, and these were supposedly good. The whites were slimy all the way through....nothing good about them at all. I had purchased 24 and only cooked 12, so I'll probably try the other half and see if they come out any better.
ReplyDeleteWhen you say to put them in water to see if they float, is that in or out of the shell?
In the shell. Just place an egg into water. If it rises to the top, it's no good.
ReplyDeleteAre you using this method to cook them?
1) place eggs in cold water in saucepan
2) bring to a rolling boil
3) turn off flame and cover saucepan with a tight fitting lid
4) set timer for 15 minutes
5) after the 15 minutes, remove lid and run cold tap water in the pan. Allow the water to run on the eggs for a couple of minutes, but not much longer than that. You just want to cool them off so you can handle them.
6) remove an egg from the pan, tap both ends of the egg on the counter, this will burst the air bubble.
7) gently roll the egg or tap on the counter to loosen the shell
8) peel
That is more or less how I've done them, except I've been transferring them to ice water, so perhaps I'll just try adding cool water to the pan. That would be easier, anyway.
ReplyDeleteI really appreciate all the advice!
Odd as it may sound, eggs that are too fresh will be nearly impossible to peel without taking some of the white with the shell. Try waiting a week (or more) before cooking the eggs. You'll see a difference!
ReplyDeleteI just tried the "Shake Method" after suffering a complete melt down with the first dozen that my kids are expecting me to bring for Thanksgiving. I was VERY impressed, it was like peeling an apple! The shells just slid off and I had perfect eggs to work with, much to the complete relief of my better half, who was about to split for the coast if these didn't come out!! Thanks so much.
ReplyDeleteThe first comment here mentions that since she started keeping chickens she cant peel an egg..one reason may be the freshness of the eggs, super fresh eggs do not peel as well..but if you leave them unrefrigerated for a few days you will have better luck, they will not spoil, our grandparents did this regularly and they will be good for a week or so..an egg genrally ages one week for each day its left unrefrigerated, and if you think thats too much age consider this: Grade A eggs mean that the egg had to be layed in the past month, AA mean that the egg was layed in the past two weeks, and AAA (which you cant even get in the store) means it was laid in the past week..and I bet you thought it had something to do with quality..but its actually freshness it indicates. Best of Luck!
ReplyDeleteI recently asked my grocer what Grade A means in eggs and he told me it is strictly about the size of the egg, with Grade A being the largest.
ReplyDeleteFresh eggs are harder to peel than older eggs.... The fresher they are, the harder they peel. To easily peel ANY egg.... heavly salt the water and cool the eggs with ICE. After 15 years as a Chef... I have found this the best method.... though I will try that shaking method... it doesn't sound like it will be real sucessfull with a large volume of eggs (8 or more)
ReplyDeleteI recently had the same problem as Rick. I boiled up two dozen to make pickled eggs. From the time I started to peel them the whole house smelled like eggs. Not bad, just a VERY strong sulphur-y egg smell. I'd never had this happen before. It still smelled like eggs in here a day later. And as I peeled them I noticed that the whites, even though thoroughly cooked, seemed kind of soft and wet and kind of shrunken away from the yolks. I pickled them anyway, but the first one I tried just didn't taste right, so I tossed them all. I think that despite the date on the carton, these eggs were either very old, or bad in some way. Definitely weird.
ReplyDeleteI just tried the "roll, dip & slip" method, and it didn't work. Most of the white came off with the shell, and these eggs were a month old, so they weren't "too fresh". I used to make perfect hard-boiled eggs, but I haven't done it in years and can't remember my secret. Glad I only cooked two!
ReplyDeleteI don't even have to bother with peeling off the shell anymore; check out this neat-o little gadget! http://www.squidoo.com/eggies-reviews
ReplyDeleteI have learned that putting some white vineagar in the water makes the shell of the egg peel clean off, with no loss of the egg white.
ReplyDeleteThe tip from my days of making pickled eggs for the Legion: Don't use fresh eggs. "storage eggs' is what my egg lady gave me for eggs I was planning on boiling.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/cuisine/problems-with-peeling-20120307-1uk13.html
ReplyDeleteThis at least tells you why they stick. It seems older eggs peel better which is why Quinn cant peel her freshly peeled eggs.
Take cool boiled egg from fridge, put in hot water for 5 or more minutes. Peel with ease.
ReplyDelete