Peeling Hard Boiled Eggs

I have heard a little vinegar in the water. I just crack and roll them on the counter and them put them in cold water, it has to be really cold. That always works for me. Good luck.

Use a needle to poke a hole in one end before cooking. Then, after it's boiled and cooled a bit, lightly tap it so it cracks a little bit all over. This usually causes the shell to crack but not the skin underneath, and then, onec all the shell is cracked, you can just pull it all off.... And this usually only works with eggs at least 2-3 days old. Fresh eggs are impossible to peel... at least I haven't had any success with fresh eggs.

I also have heard that putting vegetable oil in the water also helps release the shell from the egg.

Hi, this sounds kinda silly but I think I found the best way to make hard boiled eggs that peel easily. Put raw eggs in a saucepan with cold water in it (enough water to cover the eggs), heat it until the water is at a rapid boil, then cover it tightly with a lid and let the pan sit for 12 minutes (or so). The eggs cook perfectly, no green surface on the yolk or rubbery whites from overcooking. Then, put the hot eggs in a bowl and cover them with ice cubes. Let them cool down and they should be super easy to peel in a few minutes. I just discovered this haphazardly, trying to get eggs to cool down faster than just running cold water over 'em. Hope it works for you!

Hi S.,

Placing eggs in cold water causes the shell to stick on the egg. Instead of cooling the eggs, cool your hands before peeling, enabling you to handle the hot egg. Try this:
Drain the water from boiled eggs, run cold water over your hands(keep your hands under water form about 15 seconds), then gentle crack egg in area and the shell should come right off. Do this before peeling each egg. ALWAYS works for me.

Hello, The only thing I've ever known to be of help, is that when they are too fresh, they are harder to peel. Of course, then you can't wait until they are getting too old because then they aren't good.
K. K.

Put some salt in the water while boiling the eggs. :)

Ice cold eggs, direct from fridge to boiling water. Cook to desired doneness.
You can then Run under cold water, then place in fridge for a short time. You can also just peel the suckers. Works every time.
R.

I roll them on the counter with my palm, applying a little pressure, enough to hear them crack. They usually peel quite quickly after that :) Hope that helps!

As weird as it sounds, buy your eggs a few days before you boil them. The freshest eggs are really hard to peel.
C.

I put them in a bowl of cold water, add ice and then stick in the fridge for at least half an hour. Seems to work well.

-M

Pour some salt into the water before you boil them!!!It works everytime, no matter how fresh or old the eggs are. I got this great tip from a Chef that I used to work with!!! Trust me it works.

Sprinkle a little baking soda in the water when it starts to boil!

I do a combo of two other responses:
liberally salt the water, and then with eggs in pot, bring the water to a boil. as soon as you have a rolling boil, put the lid on the pot and turn off the stove. I only wait about 8 minutes before draining the pot, and I peel the eggs right away under a little bit of cold water.

I run them under cold water WHILE I'm peeling them. We eat these everyday, this is the only thing that works for me and it is painless/effortless..finally! I will stay tuned to this post to hear what others do!
M.

S.,

The fresher the egg, the harder it is to peel. If you hardboil eggs often try to stay a week or so ahead with your purchasing. Once your eggs are boiled pour out the hot water and keep them in cold water until the cool down a bit. Make sure that you crack the eggs well and then roll the cracked egg in your hands to loosen the shell. If it's still a bit hard to peel, try peeling under water.

Hope that helps!

K.

Use older eggs, not fresh brand new ones. Also make sure you start peeling it/crack it at the bottom (usually) where the little air pocket it, that makes it easier to get the shell and the membrane and the shell usually slides right off. Also peel the egg while under running water.

Cover eggs with water in pot, bring to boiling, reduce heat to low and cover for 10 minutes. Rinse with cool water immediately. I use a timer and the shells usually come off in one or two pieces. I don't salt the water but you can. Don't forget to cover the eggs. It makes a difference.

Hi S.,

Have you tried rolling them? Roll the egg on it's side, on a hard surface (like your countertop) on top of a paper towel or on a wide plate. It's always worked like a charm for us and my kids like hearing the shell "crunch" when they roll it. The shell usually comes off in 1 or 2 pieces.
The rolling should be done after the eggs have completely cooled to avoid being burned. I hope this helps. Good luck!

Y.

Hi S.,
I use a bring to a boil for a couple minutes, then cover with a lid and just let them sit off the heat for 30 minutes tecninique. Right after that I run cold water over them for a few moinutes and then let them set for a bit with the water covering them and some ice cubes thrown in. when they cool down the peeling is real easy. I peel them in the sink with water running over them so the shels go right back into the pan you cooked them in.Very easy and no big mess to clean up. It works great!

Im a grandma who cooks alot...
Just trying to give tried and true ideas.
B.

yes I have the perfect method. I believe it came from Cooks Illustrated.

fill your pot with cold water and add your cold eggs to it (no need to poke a hole this way). Bring to a boil and remove from heat. Cook eggs in the hot water for 10 minutes. Add cold water to the pot to stop cooking and peel eggs.

First, when you boil them, put a teaspoon or so of vinegar in the water.

Crack the shell a bit and then roll it around the counter so that the whole shell is cracked but not falling apart - the inner membrane should hold it together. The part where the air bubble is inside the shell will break fist, then just peel the whole egg from that spot. You can run it under water to help you, too.

A friend of mine always puts in a little vege oil in the water as they boil, and she says this makes the shell come right off when peeling them. I, myself have never done it, but I hope it works!

I have noticed that the organic/cage free eggs don't peel very well. The regular eggs peel very easily. Keep doing the cold water thing and check what kind of eggs you are using!

I have found that using some baking soda works really well when boiling and the cold water with ice after helps. Recently a friend of mine shared this video with me. It's funny and it does work.

http://www.recipesecrets.net/eggtrick.html

Hi S. after boiling put them in a bowl of water and let them sit in the fridge for a little, once the are cold it shrinks the egg away from the shell, this is what I do everytime I make develied eggs. J. L.

I learned this method from the Food Network years ago and it makes perfect hard-boiled eggs every time with easy to peel shells.

Put eggs in pot with enough water to go about one inch above the eggs. Bring to a full boil, turn heat off and cover. Let sit for 15 minutes, then transfer eggs to iced water for 4-5 minutes.

That's it!! Good luck!