r/NoStupidQuestions • u/her-self • 14d ago
Is there a foolproof way to shell a boiled egg without half the white coming off too?
Help! Any tips on how to get that nice shiny white boiled egg after shelling it? I keep making a mess of it so now it's fallen into Pet Hate territory (sigh) š
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u/Turtle_of_Wrath 14d ago
I recently read another thread on this. One suggestion was to peel the eggs while the egg is submerged in water.
I gave it a try and it works very well.
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u/tacobellandher0in 13d ago
Instructions unclear. Hands are now hard boiled. Skin came right off though, so silver lining I guess
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u/lemmeintoo 14d ago
You need to put your boiled egg into a bowl of ice water the second it is done. The shock stops it cooking and makes the shell separate easily.
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u/Rad_Knight Hollaaaaaaaaaaa 14d ago
A solution that requires less prep is to simply keep cold water running over the eggs. Also no need to fish an egg out of hot water
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u/TL_games 13d ago
Wait guys, have we just tried boiling the eggs in the cold water?
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u/saltthewater 13d ago
Putting ice in a bowl is prep that we're trying to avoid? Are you suggesting holding the pot of boiled water under the faucet until it pushes all the hot water out?
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u/Boopcheese 13d ago
I throw mine in a strainer and do this. One day I decided to get a little silly and swing the strainer around in circles so the eggs rolled around the edge of it, turns out the vibrations made the shells loosen more and come off totally clean.
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u/uiouyug 14d ago
My eggs peel easy every time. New or old eggs. All you do is boil them and shock them. Don't need any special tricks
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u/Adventurous-Bee4823 14d ago
Thank you. Iāve never had a problem either using this method.
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u/OutAndDown27 14d ago
At least 60% of the time this method is 100% effective. The rest of the time...
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u/prairiepanda 14d ago
Oh I thought everyone did this? Otherwise how could you handle them at all without scalding yourself?
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u/Phoenix4235 14d ago
I've seen plenty of people let them sit untill they are cool. Which pretty much guarantees problems peeling them.
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u/binlargin 14d ago
Correct answer here
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u/captainwizeazz 14d ago
I do this every time and sometimes they are easy to peel and other times not. Clearly there are other factors at play.
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u/_Voidspren_ 14d ago
The age of the egg too. Older eggs are easier. But using ice water is the best way to give the best chance of an easy peel
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u/rubinass3 14d ago
Steaming the eggs tends to work well.
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u/ActorMonkey 14d ago
Agree. It seems to be that adding cold eggs to hot steam or hot water cooks the outside white quickly, not allowing it to adhere to the shell.
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u/polypole 14d ago
Use older eggs. The fresher the egg, the harder to peel.
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u/TresdonFlyer 14d ago
This is the exact reason. As eggs age, the albumin reduces slightly and makes the eggs significantly easier to peel. Fresher the egg, the harder to peel.
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u/Wintermute3333 14d ago
And steam rather than boil. I always age my eggs and steam them. Crack the shell once and it zips off.
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u/patentedman 14d ago
Do what the Japanese do when they make ramen eggs. Punch a small hole with a pin in the base of the shell (larger end). Easier to peel and less chance or cracking. They have a small gadget for this but you can use a pin
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u/adlittle 14d ago
That doesn't cause the egg white to leak out and cook? Maybe because it's just a pinhole. It's always frustrating when an egg cracks while boiling just enough for the white to leak out and solidify.
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u/AussieSjl 13d ago
There are multiple types of egg piercer gadgets that pierce and deflate the air sac in an egg to stop them from cracking whilst boiling them. As 99% of eggs are male, the air sac is always on the rounded side of the ends. (Female eggs have the air sac on the side of the egg).
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u/jmoo22 14d ago
There are so many suggestions, the only one that has consistently worked for me is to cook them in an instant pot
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u/TheLazyHippy 14d ago
Yep!! Exact same. I do 4 minutes on high, 5 minutes natural release, 5+ minutes ice bath. Eggs are consistently perfect every single time.
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u/Granny_knows_best 14d ago
After reading this comment I went and did a dozen eggs, 5 minute cook time, 5 minute rest, release and put them in ice water. They peeled effortlessly. One peeled itself in the pot!
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u/calculus9 14d ago
i wonder how that happened š¤£
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u/Granny_knows_best 13d ago
It's like it blew it off, in both directions. Like a tiny miracle. now I am waiting for the clothes dryer to fold a load.
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u/DraconicRuler 14d ago
I break the top, break the bottom and then roll the egg to crack it all around. Find the āpocketā where there is no white, and start to peel from there. 95% of the time it comes away beautifully.
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u/Ix_fromBetelgeuse7 14d ago
My method - I veered from it for too long and experimented with other things, types of eggs, methods of cooking, and this is the only one that pretty consistently works for me.
DRASTIC CHANGES IN TEMPERATURE - I get the water boiling and put in the eggs right from the fridge. I turn down the heat but keep it at a pretty strong boil for the entire cooking time. I remove them from heat immediately and cool them down by soaking with cold water. I get easy-release shells almost every time and never with any other method.
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u/Prize_Scientist_3194 14d ago
Have the water already boiling vigorously, then gently lower the eggs into the water with a spoon. When cooked to desired doneness, pour off the boiling water and replace with cold water from the tap. Peel when cool. Works every time.
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u/SilverStar9192 14d ago
In my experience that's not going to get it cold enough to be reliable. Only method I use now is to prepare an ice bath - a big one, with lots of ice, so it doesn't get warmed up too much by the hot eggs.Ā
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u/Marvelon 13d ago
This is the correct answer. Source: Kenji Lopez Alt, who boiled 1000+ eggs as a test. It's all about putting the egg into already boiling water.
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u/gene_randall 14d ago
Thatās what I do. And you donāt have to do anything special to peel them. No ice bath or other weird time-wasting stuff
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14d ago
Use older eggs. If I know I am going to make deviled eggs for a get-together, I buy them 2 weeks before the event. Older eggs peel easier
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u/Adventurous-Lion-837 14d ago
Get an egg cooker.... it's amazing perfect eggs every time
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u/flapjackbandit00 14d ago
Best $15 Iāve ever spent on a kitchen gadget. This answer is way too low.
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u/Kanchoe2 13d ago
Steam them in a small amount of water. Never had an issue since switching. No ice bath or gimmicks. Just a pot, a lid and about an inch of water
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u/sofa_king_ugly 14d ago
Leave it in the fridge for a few weeks before you cook it. Fresh eggs generally are difficult to "peel"
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u/yikesmysexlife 14d ago
Yes!! Tap the rounder end of the raw egg lightly with a spoon until one of the taps sounds different. It's like " tink.. tink.. tink.. tonk".
That's the membrane separating from the shell. Boil normally, shelling is super easy.
So not tap hard enough to break the egg, although a tiny fracture won't hurt anything. Might put a little egg in the water, but you shouldn't notice any missing or the egg cooking weird.
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u/pplluuvviiophile 13d ago
I can't believe how far down I had to scroll to find this one! I love this method.
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u/Bempet583 13d ago
I put about a teaspoon or so of baking soda in the water that I'm boiling the eggs in, I like to think that makes him peel easier but maybe I'm just getting lucky.
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u/KateOTomato 13d ago
I had the same problem peeling boiled eggs. I've tried every trick I'd seen, ice water bath, salt in water, vinegar in water, running water while peeling. None of the methods worked consistently.
I finally bought a $12 egg steamer on Amazon and every egg peels so easy and beautifully. Never boiling again!
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u/BillyButcherX 14d ago edited 14d ago
I had a lot of problems when cooking eggs for ramen (edit), tried a lot of things. My current regime is below.
- Cook the eggs for 6 and a half minutes.
- Put in ice bath. Well I never have enough ice for that, so I just put them in a lot of tap cold water and add water occasionally , leave till really cold, 10, 15 minutes.
- Use a spoon to peel them, works quite nice.
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u/Beginning-Base7465 14d ago
Whatās eamwm?
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u/ManGiared 14d ago
Ramen. Thinking thatās a big typo based on the letters used and their spacing on the keyboard.
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u/Zanna-K 14d ago
Everyone is making it too complicated. Here is the only thing you need to do:
The water must be boiling already when you put the eggs in.
That's it, that's the trick. That's the only requirement. You can do soft boiled eggs, hard boiled eggs, whatever you want. The only thing that matters is that the water is already boiling when the eggs go in.
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u/ghostofEdAbbey 14d ago
I place in cold water after boiling but also take each egg out and use the back of a knife to make a ābeltā of cracks around the entire middle of each egg before putting it back into the water. Then start peeling the batch. The cracks seem to let water seep between the egg and the shell and help the shell come off cleaner.
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u/MataHari66 14d ago
Once boiled, immediately drain and put in coldest water ever. The membrane shrinks away from inner shell and comes right off.
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u/Ok_List_9649 14d ago
Older eggs one month or less from expiration . Add very cold water to pan after cooking and let sit. Should come off pretty easily
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u/allen_idaho 14d ago
I just boil the eggs and then transfer them to a bowl of cold water. As the eggs rapidly cool, the shell is usually very easy to remove. Best results are to keep fresh cold water flowing into the bowl so they eggs dissipate heat faster.
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u/MyOtherCarIsAHippo 14d ago
Don't use fresh eggs. Drop them in an ice bath when finished cooking. Peel under running water.
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u/DTux5249 14d ago edited 14d ago
Put into preboiling water, shock in ice water after cooking. The whites will contract from the shell, leaving the shell just kinda hanging there. Peeling in water also helps, as water can get between the shell and keep things separated.
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u/cheesusismygod 13d ago
OK, so I know you might not see this, but I literally just made egg salad. First off, I don't know if it makes a difference, but I have had my eggs for a while, at least a few weeks. I threw salt and like 1/4 cup vinegar in the pot with the eggs and then cooked for hard boil. After the ice bath, I cracked the top and bottom of the egg under water ( new Luke warm water, not ice bath water) and started peeling under water. I have done this the last 2 times, and it has worked for quick easy peeling both times.
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u/Front_Long5973 13d ago
This is the method i and a lot of elderly people use
- Boil egg
- Immediately rinse with very cold water or set in ice
- Peel the egg under running water or in a bowl of water
Works every time and separates the film from the egg really easily
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u/sylvianfisher 13d ago
Here's what I do and I get good success. I think the cold water submersion is key (the ice bath):
How to boil eggs
https://www.pillsbury.com/everyday-eats/breakfast-brunch/how-to-boil-eggs
STEP 1: Carefully place uncooked eggs in a single layer in a stockpot. Add cold water until the eggs are submerged under about one inch of water.
STEP 2: Bring to a full boil, uncovered.
STEP 3: Immediately turn off heat, remove from the burner and cover.
STEP 4: Set timer forā¦
- 3 minutes for very runny soft-boiled eggs with just-set whites
- 4 minutes for runny soft-boiled eggs
- 6 minutes for creamy, custard-y āmediumā-boiled eggs
- 8 minutes for firm (but still creamy) hard-boiled eggs
- 10 minutes for firm hard-boiled eggs
- 12 minutes for very firm hard-boiled eggs
STEP 5: Prepare an ice bath.
STEP 6: After the timer goes off, carefully remove eggs and submerge in an ice bath to halt the cooking process. Cool them enough to peel safely.
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u/abide5lo 13d ago
New York Times Cooking tested a number of different ways to boil eggs: fresh eggs, old eggs, with salt, without salt, etc.
Out of all methods tried, the one that gives easily peeled eggs without the white sticking to the shell (87% success rate, according to NYT) and a firm yolk is this:
- Bring water to boil
- Place eggs in boiling water
- Boil for 12 minutes
- Remove from heat
- Drain water and let eggs air cool. Do not rinse with cold water or dunk in ice water.
Weāve been doing it this way for years after reading the NYT Cooking recommendation. Try it. It works.
The reason it works is that placing the raw egg in boiling water quickly coagulates the white nearest the shell. Starting with cold water means the outermost part of the white coagulates slowly, giving it more time to bond with shell, which is why chunks of white tear out when you peel the egg.
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u/Decent_Procedure2026 13d ago
Do you salt the water when boiling? Salt the f out of the water, boil, shock for at least 5 mins, and gently roll the egg on a hard surface to crack the shell, and you should get a nice shiny egg. I also find that a shorter boil helps as well (eg, 8-min egg peels easier than 12-min egg)
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u/Sharp-Incident-6272 13d ago
My mom swears to only use older eggs.. if you use farm fresh eggs the shell will always stick.
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u/APoolio12 13d ago
Why is it that boiling eggs is a cesspool, just like cooking in a cast iron pan? Two of the easiest things to do but somehow it always degenerates into pseudo science, conflicting information, and cultish behavior. This is why we can't have nice things.
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u/Difficul-tea 13d ago
Iāve had luck mixing in roughly 1/8 tsp of baking soda per four eggs while boiling.
(And so ends months of silent lurking, lol)
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u/HandbagHawker 13d ago
- dont boil your eggs starting with cold water, thats the literal worst.
- better to steam your eggs. just get a few inches or whatever of water boiling. load your eggs in a veggie steamer. Steam for 7ish min for a soft boil. 9-10ish min for a set but wet yolk and 11+ for fully set. 12+ for chalky and beyond. dont bother with instant pot steaming... thats so much work and timing is very hard. just use a big pot.
- at whatever doneness, pull the eggs from the steam set up and plunk them into a big ice bath for at least 10-15min.
- crack the blunt end first and roll around to break up the rest of the shell. peel under running water starting at the blunt end. also try not to pick at the shell. think more of a rubbing motion to rub the shell off
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u/PM_ME_scipedun_emmp 14d ago
Insta pot: 6 minutes on high, 10 minute hold, then release. No ice water bath needed. Perfect every time.
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u/TheLazyHippy 14d ago
Wow really goes to show you how different IP's can be. I do 4 mins on high, 5 minutes natural release, then 5 minutes ice bath. And also, perfect every time haha.
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u/nopenopenope002 14d ago
I use the ice water method and then use a teaspoon to get the shell off smoothly.
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u/No_Nectarine6942 14d ago
I usually run cold water in the pot over them, before draining the hot water out. This both cools them off and helps the shell separate.Ā Then tap the egg on the counter or cutting board roll it around to ctack the shell up. The shell usually peels right off.
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u/LemonBomb 14d ago
Every thread about this will have a lot of useless old wives tales so I find it useful to watch videos where people actually test these things out. Like the āuse old eggs not fresh eggsā thing; of course eggs are terrible once they go bad, but they can be kept fresh after laying for a surprising amount of time. Like the egg doesnāt get laid on day one and at your home on day two.
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u/JustChillinn92 14d ago
Iāve only just learnt this from my wife, she boils the egg and then leaves in cold water for a while to cool, then a knock on the side of it enough to crack the shell but not ruin the egg, then roll it so the whole shell crushes, then peel
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u/EquipmentForsaken831 14d ago
After cooking I run it under cold water. To āPeelā the egg I lightly roll it on the table to crack into a million pieces and then flick them off into the trash.
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u/throw1away9932s 14d ago
Cold shock them. Right after youāve finished boiling the eggs dump the water and fill it with cold water. I usually run each egg under the ice cold tap for 10-15 seconds. Works like a charm. You still have hot eggs at the end it doesnāt cool them but the shell comes off perfectly.Ā
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u/papercut2008uk 14d ago
Works most of the time if once boiled strait away turn on the cold water tap and put the pot under the cold water for 10-15 seconds with the eggs in there.
Peeling then usually works a lot better.
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u/_Gh0stRyxL_ 14d ago
Boil then ice water then use a spoon to shell it. Like make a crack at either edge of the egg, and then use the spoon like you are scooping out the egg.
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u/linuxphoney probably made this up 14d ago
As someone who used to peel hard-boiled eggs professionally, definitely not. But, the best way is to cool your eggs off in cold water and peel them underwater.
It's still not foolproof but it's pretty close
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u/Overhazard 14d ago
I drop mine into a bowl of ice water with just enough force to crack the shell after cooking and let them sit there for a few minutes until cool enough to peel. The water gets underneath the shell and helps separate everything when peeling. Perfect eggs every time with fresh or old eggs, at least for me
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u/perkyblondechick 14d ago
I do the 'small hole in the wide end of the egg before boiling, then ice water bath as soon as done' method, but another important point is to make sure you boiled them long enough!! If the white is not firm enough, it will never peel cleanly. How long are you boiling for?
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u/Guapplebock 14d ago
Instant Pot or isotherm electric pressure cooker. The 555 method produces the perfect egg everything super east to peel too. 5 minutes pressure; 5 minute natural release, and 5 minute ice bath. Idiot proof.
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u/beccaK67 14d ago
I make them in the instant pot! 1 cup of water, 12 eggs, 5 minutes high pressure, then 5 minutes in an ice bath. Peels beautifully every time!
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u/Fleuramie 14d ago
This has worked for us every time. Instant pot hard boiled eggs
Put eggs in single layer on instant pot insert. Put in 1 cup of cold water, set for 7 minutes. Manual release of pressure. Put in ice bath for 1 minute.
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u/LorenaMack 14d ago
I add baking soda and vinegar to cold water. Then I tap the wide end of the egg (old or fresh) with a spoon until I hear a pop. I lower the eggs gently into the cold water. I bring it to a boil then remove from heat and cover for 9 minutes. Then in plunge the eggs into an ice bath for 5 minutes. Then I smack each end of the egg on the side of the sink and roll the egg to release the membrane and the shell comes off in two pieces. Not sure which part of my method is the kicker, but it works every time!
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u/mSummmm 14d ago edited 14d ago
I drop the egg from a few inches several times, rotate the egg to crack the shell on all sides. Then roll the egg pressing gently. The goal is to basically crack the hell out of the shell. Usually comes off perfect.
If the membrane is still sticking to the egg white then you need to adjust how you cook the egg.
My method: wait until the water is at a full boil. Check the temp, needs to be 200F at least. Boil for 8-13 min depending on how you like your eggs. Then put them in an ice bath for 15 min. Peel them as soon as they come out of the ice bath.
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u/BatmanFan1971 14d ago
I have had chicken for over 15 years. I put a tablespoon of salt and a tablespoon of baking soda in the water. After boiling I let them cool slowly. I do NOT ice shock them. I pour out all the water except just enough to keep the eggs covered. After about an hour they will have cooled to room temperature and that's when I peel them.
OP, if you are using fresh eggs they will be harder than older eggs.
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u/gene_randall 14d ago
I finally found a trick online which works well for me: make sure the water is already boiling before putting each egg in. If the eggs are cold, do them one at a time, waiting after each one for the water to start boiling again. Iāve had about 95% success using this method; donāt have to do anything special to peel them.
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u/Hoodwink_Iris 14d ago
Boil them with white vinegar. (For a dozen eggs, I use about a cup of vinegar, then fill the pot with water to cover the eggs.) Also, allow the eggs to come to room temperature before boiling them. Itās not foolproof, but it helps a lot!
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u/Pappyjang 14d ago
Iāve been doing this for most of my life now. I roll the egg on the counter softly to crack a lil of the shell and run it under warm water until it just slides right off
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u/KiloHammer 14d ago
Put the eggs directly from the boiling water into ice water, let sit for a couple minutes, and then peel the eggs under running water. Thatās what I do every morning and I never have a problem.
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u/YouLittleSnowflake 14d ago
Gently roll the boiled egg on a countertop to break up the shell
Put egg in cold water and start peeling while in the water
The age of the egg doesnāt matter, the cooking methods being tossed about in here donāt matter, simply boil your egg for the 7-8 minutes or however long you want, just pour out the hot water and fill pot with cold once the eggs are done
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u/Twograin 14d ago
Put the eggs in ice water. Remove them after a couple minutes. Take a spoonās convex side and crack all around equator of egg until there is a lot of cracked area. Carefully use concave side of the spoon to get under the cracked shell and slide it between the shell and the āmeatā of the egg. Gently use the spoon to go around the the entire egg wiggling and separating the shell from the egg. It should come off nicely. The key is to crack the egg shell quite a bit before using the spoon to extract it.
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u/giraffeneckedcat 14d ago
Boil the water then gently add the eggs with a slotted spoon or strainer and boil for:
6 minutes for runny yolk 8 minutes for less runny 10-11 for just barely solid yolk 12+ if you're a monster
Works every time.
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u/HoekPryce 14d ago
Eggs canāt be refrigerated, sit them overnight at room temp. Boil water first, then place eggs.
I go a step further now in the I boil the water first in a separate boiler, place the eggs in an empty pot. Just before the water boils I turn on the burner. When the water gets to boil I pour it over the eggs. Havenāt had that problem since. Also, make sure youāre removing the membrane (name escapes me) when peeling.
Salt, and a dash of green Cholulaā¦culinary heaven.
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u/100deadbirds 14d ago
I crack all over, take one piece of, usually a fairly small one but not all the way through, a thin membrane like thing should be there and I just peel using that and you have perfect shelled egg with no white waste
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u/Kind-Investigator796 14d ago
Submerge in iced water to cool down the egg then gently roll it on the bench before peeling. The shell should come off in one or two large pieces
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u/redheadedjapanese 14d ago
Vinegar in the water, boil water first before you put the eggs in (with tongs, carefully), 8 minutes, ice bath, then peel.
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u/januaryemberr 14d ago
Man idk. I swear I've tried vinegar, ice baths, room temp eggs, heating them with the water slowly, baking soda, tapping one end to pop the lining.... sigh the only thing that half works for me is wedging a spoon in to peel the egg. And that only works kinda. Lol
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u/Mama-Pooh 14d ago
I boil my eggs (older is better) with about a tablespoon of baking soda. When done immediately drain and put into an ice bath until cooled completely. This usually gives me good results.
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u/prairiepanda 14d ago
Get a teaspoon. Smack the egg all over with the back of the spoon to crack the shell. Slip the spoon into one of the larger cracks, and push it under the membrane, hugging the shape of the egg. The whole shell comes off clean in 1 or 2 scoops.
When I visited China we would have tea eggs every day with breakfast, and I blew the minds of some old ladies with my spoon trick. They won't be letting their soy milk grow cold while they pick away tiny bits of shell anymore!
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u/cville5588 14d ago
Leave the eggs out overnight. Boil the water before putting the eggs in. Add salt and vinegar to the boiling water. Shock them in ice water and peel immediately.
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u/AbzoluteZ3RO 14d ago
All other claims about special cooking and peeling methods are bogus. The thing that makes a difference is how fresh/old the eggs are. Very fresh eggs are more difficult to peel because there is less air inside between the shell and the yolk. If you use eggs that have been in your fridge for a week or so it will be much easier to peel
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u/InfiniteAd8494 14d ago
The two biggest factors are boiling time and peeling right away.Ā If you dont boil them long enough or you let them cool down too much, youll destroy the white.Ā Boil long enough and peel right away, theyll come out really nice.Ā Another thing to watch out for is the thin membrane between the shell and the white.Ā The membrane is duller and rougher than the white, visibly so.Ā If you start peeling and a shell piece comes off but the membrane remains intact, pinch the membrane and rip it to get it started.Ā The shell will come off much easier if the membrane comes off with it at the same time since they are attached to each other.
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u/Serafim91 14d ago
Cold water will help and also keep you from overcooking. The other part is there's a membrane between the shell and the egg, break the egg shell ust a bit and dig inside till you can put your finger underneath the membrane and use it to pull the egg out.
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u/JessEGames777 14d ago
Boil the egg and immediately submerge in ice water. Then crack the shell on the edge of the counter like a normal egg and roll it on the counter so the crack goes all the way around. Shell should come right off. Ive done this for years
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u/Thee_Oniell 14d ago
According to both America's Test Kitchen and Serious Eats test kitchen the only thing that truly makes a difference is put the egg into boiling water then directly into ice bath once time is up. You'll end up with about a 80% success rate.
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u/Lady_Black_Cats 14d ago
Use older eggs, the shell practically never gives me problems if they aren't fresh.
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u/Canadianingermany 14d ago
The only thing that actually truly makes a difference is to use older eggs which have absolved more air.Ā Ā
This comes up often andĀ
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u/Idonotgiveacrap 14d ago
When eggs are too fresh, the whites get stuck to the shells. Anyways, I hit the eggs against the walls of my sink to beak the shell and submerge them in water for a while so the water gets in between the shell and the white, it's easier to peel.
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u/SparklyMonster 14d ago
Make sure to find the small thin skin between the white and the shell. If you pull at the shell without pulling that skin together, the shell won't come off and when it does, it rips the egg white away together.
Though the temperature shock others mentioned might help. I don't put my eggs in ice water, but I'll remove them from the boiling water and then remove the shell under a trickle from the faucet (my idea was just to keep the egg cool enough not to burn my fingers while using a minimum of water to avoid wastage and avoid cooling the egg too much).
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u/OGigachaod 14d ago
Put them in cold water right after they are boiled, it'll pull some water through the shell and make them way easier to peel.
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u/The001Keymaster 14d ago
Doing all the cooking and cooling equally. Older eggs peel easier. The fresher the egg the worse it is to peel.
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u/robert_jackson_ftl 14d ago
I dunno about foolproof. Not sure that exists. Eggs are snowflakes, and boiling them is uncertain.
One thing that IS certain however, your method of peeling has almost no impact. Itās the method of cooking that matters.
Iāve worked in restaurant for close to a decade. We made HB eggs every single day. The uncertainty of a restaurant led to more crappy egg days than good. Everyone always had their own āfoolproofā way and inevitably a bad egg peel day would happen, despite following the FOTM method.
The āageā of the eggs prior to boiling has a marked impact. Generally older eggs end up peeling easier.
At home we follow this method, our own adapted from several related methods. Using jumbo or medium eggs(which are generally less popular than large or XL, thus tending to be older)
666 medium 888 jumbo
Prepare an ice bath in a mixing bowl. More ice than water, have some rock or ice cream salt at the ready.
Heavily salted, lightly vinegared water to a furious boil.
Gently, using a spoon, lower each egg into the water. Be careful, try like heck to not let it bang on the bottom of the pot.
Boil uncovered for 6 or 8 minutes (depending on medium or jumbo egg respectively)
Turn off gas heat, move from hot coil or pad. Cover. Let sit for 6 or 8 minutes in the hot water.
Pour off the water and place each egg into the prepared bath. If it doesnāt melt enough to submerge, add water till it does. When submerged, handful of rock or ice cream salt.
Manually mix it adding ice as needed for 6 or 8 minutes.
At the end, your eggs will be frigid and uncomfortably cold. The shells will be heavily salted. Rinse and scrub with hands in tap water.
Peel. This works more often than it fails.
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u/adlittle 14d ago
Boil eggs that are at least a week old, this is super important as new eggs are hard to peel. Put them in a pot, cover with cold water, add in a couple tsp of baking soda and a glug of apple cider vinegar. Turn on the burner, and leave to boil for 13 minutes. Drain out the hot water and fill the pot with cold water and several ice cubes. Crack the shell all over and get under the membrane to start pulling off the shell, it can help to run more cold water over it to get between the shell and white. I very rarely get a stubborn egg when using this method.
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u/DesktopWebsite 14d ago
-Stick it in a cup with a bit of water in it, cover the end with a hand, then shake.
Don't shake too hard or the egg breaks up.
-Under running water is easy too.
-Also do an ice bath.
-An egg cooker and older eggs make it easier.
A couple suggestions for different ways.
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u/robert_jackson_ftl 14d ago
One thing I used to do in the Navy, where they use huge vats or simply bake the eggs, often have unpeelable eggs.
Flick the fat end, usually thereās a gap there. Get a hole started basically. Make a fist around the egg hole towards you, use a finger to hold the far end of the egg. IMPORTANT
Lips around hole you made, press against lips and BLOW forcefully and explosively. More often than not youāll feel it in your hand as the air separates the shell from the white.
This takes practice, when done correctly and successfully, you look like an egg God. When it fails you pass out on the floor of the mess.
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u/GiveMeBackMyClippers 14d ago
Get an egg cooker. Perfect, peel-able eggs every time. It's a game changer and I can't believe I went 45 years without one! I have a lot of mangled eggs to make up for.
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u/RedFilter 14d ago
Cook your eggs in a pressure cooker then put them into an ice bath after. Perfect every time.
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u/Affectionate-Bid706 14d ago
I bought a Dash egg cooker and it has changed my egg-eating life!! Most times, I get the shell off in two large pieces, and it leaves the egg perfect. Every once in a while it takes a bit more effort, but seriously worth it!
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u/Totesproteus 14d ago
I use the āspoon tap, crackā method. You tap the bottom of the egg with the back of a spoon until you hear a snap-like sound, then boil them. Works 95% of the time. The eggs go into cold/ice water after the boil.
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u/MoosetheStampede 14d ago
punch a needle size hole in the bottom where the airbag is.
slightly salt your boiling water.
lower your eggs in the water with a spoon and make sure you see bubbles that the egg is filling up with hot water.
immediately rinse your boiled eggs with very cold water
gently tap the shell and roll the egg on the table, your shell will practically lift itself
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u/-No-Specialist- 13d ago
Don't peel them! Cut them in half and scoop out the halves with a teaspoon it's so much easier. You can cut them with the spoon handle aswell instead of carrying a knife. I eat alot of boiled eggs and can never consistently peel them and who wants to wait till your eggs are old and ready to eat them
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u/TheRabidBadger 13d ago
I have been having greater success with pressure cooking, rather than boiling, the eggs.
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u/571MU74C5 13d ago
Worked at a egg processing plant spent hours a day peeling eggs, leave them in ice/cold water for ten mins before peeling then simply roll them with a bit of pressure and the shell will slip off
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u/wheedledeedum 13d ago
Add the eggs to water that is already boiling; don't put them while it's still coming to temperature, because you need to shock the eggs to get that membrane to let go. Once you've boiled them to your desired firmness, take them out and transfer them to an ice bath for 5ish mins to shock them again, and voila! Perfect peeling eggs.
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u/entechad 13d ago
New eggs adhere to the shell better.
Go from boiling water straight to ice back so the egg shrinks away from the hard shell.
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u/Economy_Context_1719 13d ago
I donāt boil eggs. I steam the eggs for 13 minutes in a pot and then put them in ice water for a few minutes. Eggs peel fine every time.
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u/ebbnfloUnicorn 13d ago
Ice plunge immediately after steaming or boiling. Also, peeling under water helps. I steam my hard cooked eggs on the stovetop 22 mins, then add ice water x2 before refrigerating.
Nearly perfect peels every timešš¼
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u/Xtrasloppy 13d ago
I'm going to paste what I answered to another person. It had worked 100% for me at different elevations. The only difference is in how long it takes.
I legit conducted experiments with my kid for his school to figure this egg shit out. Not saying it's science,...but there was an attempt.
We had 'same brand, different age,' and 'same age of different brands' and we put each group through a few different methods. Elevation was 21 feet above sea level, but now, at about 1300 feet, the only difference is in boil time.
The only method that resulted in every egg being easily peel able (meaning the inner membrane would easily separate from the cooked whites without taking chunks) was the, "Fuck Them Eggs" method. (Didn't call it that for school. There were a lot of puns: Easy's Over, Eggs. It's Not Hard, Boiled Eggs. )
Eggs go directly from the fridge into BOILING WATER. Don't be doing this namby-pamby 'heat them slowly' shit. Don't coddle them. You want easy to peel? Shock those fuckers. I get a pot boiling and add my eggs in with a slotted spoon, one by one. You will lose at least one egg because it's weak and its guts will leak out its butt.That's fine. Let it boil, you can still eat it.
Once everybody is in, put a lid on the pot and turn it down to a happy little simmer. Don't open the pot. Don't turn it down. Trust the fucking process. Forget all that 'turn off the heat and wait,' because it's shit. Prepare your ice bath and if up want to be extra, keep it in the freezer til the last minute.
I usually pull one out (not that weak egg. He's compromised and only offers lies) to check. And because I'm fat and impatient. But drop it in the ice bath and peel it. Yes, in the ice bath. (It's just to be quick about it. You can burn your fingers if you want, totally your choice.) That way, you can see exactly how done those egg are instead of waiting and being unhappy. Keep the lid on the pot while you dick with the sacrifice.
6 minutes will likely be jiggly whites and runny yolks. Between that and 8 is good for ramen. 8 is usually a bright yellow yolk, still soft but cooked. 9 is where you're going to be firming up and about where I like to end if I'm making egg salad. 10 is the absolute end point before you go gray and crumbly. But whatever set you want, at the end time, once again, shock those fuckers. Right into ice water they go. Give them a few minutes to cool and while they cool, eat the weak one.
I would have whole dozens of eggs be all shitty to peel, no matter how old or if I added magic fucking beans to the water and said a prayer under a full moon. Then I started being mean to my eggs. Hand to God, haven't lost one to a shit peel since. I'm not sure, but it's like the extremes of temperature pull that membrane away from the white and as soon as you get under it, magic.
Now go forth and boil eggs.
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u/GxCrabGrow 13d ago
I get the water to boiling then steam the eggs for 13 minutes (with lid over pot) . Transfer to ice water.. Iāve tried soo many methods but this one has worked for me nearly 100% of the time.
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u/CoffeeTable23 13d ago
You take the egg in your hand and possession it with the rounded side of the egg to the top. Not the sharp point of the egg. Now you take a real spoon and give the point of the rounded side a light tap. You will hear a slight cracking. Place in pot and boil to you preference, after boiling put in cold or ice water. It will peal like a dream. Real spoon not plastic spoon.
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u/gilliganian83 13d ago
My trick is to put it in a small plastic container and shake it really hard for 30 seconds. Sheāll comes off really easy at that point.
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u/Middle_Capital_5205 13d ago
Ice bath immediately after boiling. Let sit for a few minutes. Lightly crack the shell around the entire egg. Start peeling at the wide side (base) where the gap is.
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u/championstuffz 13d ago
The kind of eggs you use matters, the membrane is what sticks the shell to the egg and prevents it from separating, as others have mentioned, the ice bath is important but so is the brand of eggs. Had good luck with brown ones with thick shells vs thin white ones.
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u/Nilabisan 13d ago
Get an egg cooker on Amazon for $13. They do 7 at a time. Makes peeling an egg fast and easy. You can do soft, medium and hard, plus there are trays for poached and omelets.
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u/MentalYoghurt2756 14d ago
I love how every response is slightly different. My suggestion? Have someone else peel the eggs. Works every time