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Monday, January 30, 2012

World’s Easiest Boiled Eggs {Unless You’re Me}

how to peel boiled eggs

It’s pretty embarrassing when you come across an article online entitled “World’s Easiest Boiled Eggs” and then proceed to totally screw them up! I kid you not. I was SO excited when I found this information at MomOnAMission.com because one of my LEAST favorite things to do when making something that requires hard-boiled eggs (like My Mom’s Famous Potato Salad) is PEELING THE EGGSHELLS OFF!! I always end up disfiguring at least 1/2 of the eggs…which is particularly distressing if you are trying to make Deviled Eggs. It just doesn’t work.

So, you can imagine my eagerness to try making the “World’s Easiest Boiled Eggs”! I mean no one can mess that up! Right?

Directions for making the World’s Easiest Boiled Eggs:

1. Fill a pot with water and set the temp to high. Add desired amount of eggs making sure the water covers the entire egg. Bring it to a boil. DON’T CONTINUE TO BOIL. Once it begins, remove it from the heat and put a lid on it. Set your timer for 15 minutes.

2. Time’s Up! Pour the hot water off and immediately fill your pot with cold water. Add as much ice as you can to this water. If it melts in a few minutes, add more. The water should be icy cold when you put your hand in it. If not, continue adding ice.

3. After about 15 minutes, pour NEARLY all of the water off reserving about an inch.

4. Put the lid on and shake those eggs, bumping them together back and forth. Continue to shake, shake, shake for about a minute and…..

When you remove the lid nearly all of your shell has fallen off the egg and they EASILY peel off without peeling the egg off.

hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm………….THAT doesn’t look quite right. :-/

Nope.  I’m pretty sure that is NOT what they are supposed to look like. *sigh*
Perhaps I was a bit over zealous in my “shake shake shaking”??
I mean she wasn’t really specific about how HARD to shake!

Do you think anyone will notice??   LOL!  ugh!!  Leave it to ME to mess up the “World’s Easiest Boiled Eggs”! :-)

Well, I am nothing if not RELENTLESS (just ask the hubster)….so let’s try this again. 

REWIND!  New batch. REPEAT Steps 1 through 3.  On Step 4:  DO NOT SHAKE TOO HARD! 

Very cautiously take off lid and peek inside………..SUCCESS!!!!!

Honestly, when I took them out to peel them….almost the entire shell came off in one piece! 
See????
Is that a BEAUTIFUL sight or what???

They really ARE the World’s Easiest Boiled Eggs…even if you ARE me! :-)

They looked SO PRETTY that I decided I simply HAD to make Deviled Eggs with them!
Here is a super quick photo tutorial:
Ahhhh….all’s well that ends well…and all that. :-)

Comment | 65 Comments

65 thoughts on “World’s Easiest Boiled Eggs {Unless You’re Me}”

  1. Anonymous

    Another trick to perfectly boiled eggs is to use a "Push Pin" made for a bulletin board and prick the large end of the egg. Put eggs in pot and cover with tap water. Add a few drops of cooking oil and boil for 10 minutes. Shell will peel off with ease.

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  4. Jill Nystul

    Never heard of the push pin technique. Interesting!

    Makes ME feel better TOO… knowing I'm not the only one who has completely destroyed a bunch of unsuspecting eggs. ;-)

    Fresh…not fresh. I'm so confused. :-)

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  5. Nancy

    So, I followed these steps exactly this morning, other than shaking the eggs because I wanted to peel them later in the day. So, I took them out of water and just stored them in the fridge. Unfortunately the were super impossible to peel. I'm guessing it is because I didn't peel them right away. Does anyone have suggestions for what to do if you want to boil them at one point, and peel them later?

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    1. Kitty

      What I do if I want to cook them earlier and peel them later is go ahead and shake them in the water, then cover in water and put the eggs in the fridge in the water. I think it helps if the water got under the membrane while they’re nearly hot. Then you of course, want them to stay wet beneath the shell. if they still don’t peel I put boiling water over them to warm the membrane

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  6. Cindy S.

    Read another pinterest post that suggested mashing the yokes in a zip-loc baggy, add the other ingredients and after mashing them all together, snip off a corner of the bag and squeeze into the egg whites

    Love ur blog!

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    2. Liz

      This is how I make deviled eggs. Also, my daughter has loved smashing the stuff together in the sealed bag ever since she was tiny. (So it’s a bonus kids in the kitchen activity too!)

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  27. Miss Slick One

    LOL : )
    I've never paid any attention to whether my eggs were fresher or older, having any impact on peeling… that said, I always slow-boil mine for 30 minutes with a couple shakes of salt to help seal any cracks, drain off hot water, cover with cold from the tap, let sit 20-30 minutes, carefully tap & roll egg on counter to lightly cause many fracture lines, and then peel gently. Rinse off eggs to remove any residue, dry the egg, wash my hands and then proceed to cut it, etc.

    Phyllis Adelle in SC

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  28. goeke24

    Ha, ha! My first attempt at these eggs (after seeing them on pinterest) ended in the same demise. Now that I see your successful attempt, I MAY have to try it again!

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  32. Jill Nystul

    hmmmm….steaming eggs! Never thought of that! I'm going to have to give that a try!

    Lindsey…making mistakes IS normal! At least in my world! lol. :-) Glad you got a laugh!

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  33. Sandra

    Oh my goodness!!! So here I am reading your post, calmly drinking a glass of water, twist of lime added, and I get to the “shaken” picture…and promptly snort lime-laced water through my nose!!!!!!!! FYI…water with lime does NOT belong in nasal passages. Note to self: remove all dangerous objects (like water) from the area when reading Jill’s blog!! LOLOLOLOLOLOLOL

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  34. Kitty

    one thing I’ve noticed. if you cover the bottom of the pan with eggs the shaking thing doesn’t work as well. you need more movement. LOL I was in the habit of doing at least a dozen at a time and you have to have some wiggle room in the pan to make this work.

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    1. Kalissa

      I’ve tried this and I’ll do it no other way now! Preheat to 325, put eggs directly on oven rack for 30 minutes. put in ice water and peel when cold. They’re perfect! And super easy!!!

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  36. Pia

    Hey Ladies! Another great way to make perfect hard boiled eggs, steam them! Just found this on accident, treid it out on a whim, and perfect!!! I used one of those pots that have the pasta strainer built in. Good luck!

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    1. Holly P

      I LOVE steaming eggs. I use one of those “Flower” things in the bottom of the pot. Just enough water to reach the bottom of the eggs covering the flower. Cover and steam for 20 to 25 minutes. One handed peeling! I am a total failure at standard methods, but I can do this all the time.

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  37. Catherines not naturally crafty

    Older eggs boil better. Why? As eggs age, air migrates through the shell and forms a larger space between the egg an membrane. So once cooked the should be easier to peel.

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  39. Mary Jane

    I think the trick is the water, when I try to peel dry eggs the shells stick to the eggs. After the eggs are done, whether hot or cold, crack the shells in several areas, run water over the shell for a few seconds, my shells peel right off. I use this for fresh or older eggs, freshly boiled or ones that have been sitting in the fridge for a few days. I found out this trick when I was in a hurry and trying to cool down freshly boiled eggs and I had cracked the shells and was peeling them under cold running water. Tried it again the next day on the leftovers, so far it works great every time.

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  40. Tara

    Holy cow! This actually worked! :) I have tried every “trick” in the book to peel eggs easier and I’ve never had one work for me until now. Your tip worked great! I now have a whole plate of deviled eggs sitting in the fridge waiting for my husband. He is going to be so happy! Thanks so much for sharing!

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  41. Joyce from So. Hutchinson

    This does work and I have another hint from a friend blogger I read today-her chef brother in law said if using fresh eggs take a spoon and give the side of the egg a good thump to slightly crack the egg Before boiling. This will let a bit of water in between the membrane and the shell making fresh eggs much easier to peel. I just tried it with eggs I bought yesterday-using the thump method along with your suggestions-and EVERY egg almost peeled itself-couldn’t believe how easy it was! You don’t want to overcrack the egg, and break it, but do give it a pretty good whack! love your site, Jillie!!

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  42. Pingback: How to Make Perfect Hard Boiled Eggs . . . Without Boiling! | One Good Thing by Jillee

  43. Trudy

    I’ve used the steam technique before and it’s great! But I now know the secret to peeling them without half the egg white coming off in chunks. And great tip on using a ziplock bag to mash and mix the yolks for deviled eggs. Gotta try this soon!

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  44. Susie

    Warm eggs are easier to peel because the membrane sticks to the egg as it cools. I devil eggs for church meals all the time. It takes too long on Sunday morning, so I cook the eggs and peel them on Saturday then put the peeled eggs in a bowl of water in the fridge over night. This is another Alton Brown trick.

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  49. Kitten Bordeaux

    My way is easy to remember, also. Place cold eggs in cold water, place on almost high till it comes to boil, ten minutes on boil, cover, shut off, ten minutes done. My burner brings it to boil in ten minutes, so it’s 10-10-10..the eggs one buys from the grocery store are already “older” . I roll my eggs (gently) then peel from the fat end..really simple.

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  50. Linda

    Tried this last night. Warning! Don’t attempt this if you have a lot of eggs in the pan. There needs to be a little room in the pan for it to work properly. I had boiled a dozen eggs. The shaking, however, did make it a lot easier to remove the shells. Thanks again, Jillee!!!

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