Hard boiled egg problem

Share your culinary creations, recipes, food knowledge, restaurant recommendations, etc.
User avatar
Drewski
Posts: 1309
Joined: Wed Mar 28, 2018 2:01 am
Location: Manitoba, Canada
Has thanked: 429 times
Been thanked: 46 times

Hard boiled egg problem

Post by Drewski »

Hi all, I know that this is a very rookie request but my partner is desperate and I'm not much of a fan of hard boiled eggs. She buys farm fresh eggs from local farmers directly. She puts them in cold water in a pot, covered by about an inch of water. Brings it to a boil. Boils them for around 15 minutes. Then decants the hot water and rinses the eggs with cold water until they are only warm to the touch. Then cracks the egg against the counter on the top and bottom of the egg, then rolls the egg along its side. When she then attempts to Peel the egg, the shell is very stuck to the egg white and she gets angry. She hasn't tested enough to see if old eggs do the same as new eggs. And not sure if store bought eggs will do the same either.

I would love if anyone had a tip or trick. I'm currently forcing her to read The Food Lab and hoping that might help her. Cheers! 🥂
Bensbites
Posts: 2589
Joined: Mon Jan 30, 2017 7:42 pm
Location: Massachusetts
Has thanked: 342 times
Been thanked: 247 times
Contact:

Re: Hard boiled egg problem

Post by Bensbites »

Try adding a teaspoon of baking soda to the water.

Personally I prefer to add my eggs to boiling water, boil for 10 minutes, then turn off the stove for 10 minutes.
gladius
Posts: 5295
Joined: Sun Jan 29, 2017 7:59 pm
Has thanked: 780 times
Been thanked: 911 times

Re: Hard boiled egg problem

Post by gladius »

Hot start...
have her drop eggs in boiling water for thirteen minutes, then ice chill and peel.

Cook like this...



Peel like this...

Last edited by gladius on Tue May 28, 2019 1:33 am, edited 2 times in total.
Cutuu
Posts: 3533
Joined: Thu Jan 26, 2017 9:00 pm
Has thanked: 285 times
Been thanked: 105 times

Re: Hard boiled egg problem

Post by Cutuu »

I found you only need to boil an egg for about 6 minutes, ice bath them to cool them down so that they are warm, then peel them.
old onion
Posts: 897
Joined: Tue Sep 19, 2017 5:09 pm
Location: N.E. Ohio
Has thanked: 14 times
Been thanked: 4 times

Re: Hard boiled egg problem

Post by old onion »

It helps to let the eggs age in the frig for a couple weeks before boiling them.They will be much easier to peel.
I'm down to boiling them for only 6 minutes,then ice bath.
Bob Z
Posts: 1341
Joined: Wed Feb 01, 2017 8:49 pm
Has thanked: 156 times
Been thanked: 887 times

Re: Hard boiled egg problem

Post by Bob Z »

ATK says cover with an inch of water, bring to boil, remove from heat and cover for 10 minutes (i usually do 11). This always works great every time for perfect eggs.

As eggs age, the air sac grows in size which can make them easier to peel. I bang mine against the counter in several areas then rip off the top or bottom under running water. If some water gets under the membrane between the egg and the shell the shell usually comes right off but Some eggs just wont give it up though and get cratered.
User avatar
lsboogy
Posts: 1486
Joined: Tue Jun 05, 2018 1:23 pm
Location: Minneapolis
Has thanked: 41 times
Been thanked: 132 times

Re: Hard boiled egg problem

Post by lsboogy »

Get the water boiling, and eggs and a teaspoon of vinegar, cover and reduce heat to simmer. Cook for 6-7 minutes and chill immediately in ice bath. They should be easy to peel
nakneker
Posts: 2359
Joined: Thu Feb 22, 2018 8:37 am
Location: Taylor, Az
Has thanked: 185 times
Been thanked: 142 times

Re: Hard boiled egg problem

Post by nakneker »

I’ve always added eggs to boiling water for 12 Minutes and then cooled them down in cold water. If I peel them right away they peel very easy. A couple things I’ve found, store bought eggs peel better than the eggs from my chickens. That may because I don’t let me my fresh chickens eggs age very long. I’ve also found that if I don’t peel them right away they can become difficult to peel down the road. Just my own experience.
“The goal is to die with memories, not dreams.”
Igalor
Posts: 461
Joined: Sun Jan 29, 2017 10:04 pm
Has thanked: 1 time
Been thanked: 3 times

Re: Hard boiled egg problem

Post by Igalor »

Old eggs are easier to peel
JustinP
Posts: 168
Joined: Sun Mar 24, 2019 5:52 pm
Been thanked: 1 time

Re: Hard boiled egg problem

Post by JustinP »

old onion wrote: Tue May 28, 2019 3:01 am It helps to let the eggs age in the frig for a couple weeks before boiling them.They will be much easier to peel.
I'm down to boiling them for only 6 minutes,then ice bath.
Igalor wrote: Tue May 28, 2019 9:56 am Old eggs are easier to peel

This right here. Older eggs are easier to peel.
User avatar
Drewski
Posts: 1309
Joined: Wed Mar 28, 2018 2:01 am
Location: Manitoba, Canada
Has thanked: 429 times
Been thanked: 46 times

Re: Hard boiled egg problem

Post by Drewski »

Wow, thanks for the flood of suggestions. Now I can impress her with "my" vast knowledge of boiled eggs. :lol:
Ut_ron
Posts: 603
Joined: Tue Jan 31, 2017 9:55 am
Location: Ogden Utah
Has thanked: 345 times
Been thanked: 67 times

Re: Hard boiled egg problem

Post by Ut_ron »

Had varying luck with all these methods. What has worked for me is the instant pot. 6 min pressure, 10 minutes natural release. Then cold water, easiest peeling I have found.
Home cook that enjoys sharp knives.
jpjpjp
Posts: 20
Joined: Tue Apr 09, 2019 10:28 am

Re: Hard boiled egg problem

Post by jpjpjp »

Ice bath after boiling should do the trick!
AlbuquerqueDan
Posts: 310
Joined: Sun Oct 22, 2017 1:51 pm
Been thanked: 1 time

Re: Hard boiled egg problem

Post by AlbuquerqueDan »

I've had the best (by far) results from steaming.

In a Dutch oven, bring about two inches of water to a boil. Place eggs in a steamer basket, place in the Dutch oven, cover and cook for 11 minutes. Then transfer eggs to an ice bath. I think I got it from Cook's Illustrated. Works really, really well.
Bluenoser87
Posts: 695
Joined: Sun Jun 17, 2018 12:33 pm
Location: Bay Area, CA
Has thanked: 28 times
Been thanked: 28 times

Re: Hard boiled egg problem

Post by Bluenoser87 »

Bob Z wrote: Tue May 28, 2019 3:23 am ATK says cover with an inch of water, bring to boil, remove from heat and cover for 10 minutes (i usually do 11). This always works great every time for perfect eggs.

As eggs age, the air sac grows in size which can make them easier to peel. I bang mine against the counter in several areas then rip off the top or bottom under running water. If some water gets under the membrane between the egg and the shell the shell usually comes right off but Some eggs just wont give it up though and get cratered.
I’ve had good luck with this method too.
stevem627
Posts: 633
Joined: Sat Apr 21, 2018 11:30 am
Location: Dallas
Has thanked: 869 times
Been thanked: 290 times

Re: Hard boiled egg problem

Post by stevem627 »

I bought a cheap egg cooker off Amazon a couple years back. It only does 7 eggs, but it always works fine and is super easy to pull out and do the eggs. I just take them out of the cooker, and put them in cool water and once cooled peel them easily. One thing she might not be doing right is taking the end and peeling away to get started under the membrane. If you don't do that its always a challenge.
User avatar
Drewski
Posts: 1309
Joined: Wed Mar 28, 2018 2:01 am
Location: Manitoba, Canada
Has thanked: 429 times
Been thanked: 46 times

Re: Hard boiled egg problem

Post by Drewski »

gladius wrote: Mon May 27, 2019 11:14 pm Hot start...
have her drop eggs in boiling water for thirteen minutes, then ice chill and peel.

Cook like this...

YouTube]RV9nz1qlY64[/YouTube

Peel like this...

YouTube]qLjCDNoRC-g[/YouTube
Thanks gladius, I can't see the videos or a link to them on your post, but they show up in this reply. I'll see if I can figure it out.

Edit:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RV9nz1qlY64
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLjCDNoRC-g
Bullman
Posts: 827
Joined: Wed Jun 07, 2017 1:43 pm
Been thanked: 1 time

Re: Hard boiled egg problem

Post by Bullman »

I just boil mine for about 5 minutes, turn the burner off let it sit till water has cooled than peal away. Perfect eggs every time. Peace
miles717
Posts: 9
Joined: Fri Jul 14, 2017 11:55 am

Re: Hard boiled egg problem

Post by miles717 »

Hot start is the key.
Rufus Leaking
Posts: 379
Joined: Sun May 14, 2017 5:51 pm
Been thanked: 1 time

Re: Hard boiled egg problem

Post by Rufus Leaking »

This topic is ubiquitous. Boiling egg technique is click bait on every home page. Regardless of hot starts, baking soda, ice baths, whatever, if the eggs are less than a week old, you’re going to have a problem separating the membrane from the shell. I’ve seen video of commercial settings, and they employ a blast of compressed air to accomplish this feat. Unless you want to have a compressor in your kitchen, there’s no way to make this happen. If you want boiled eggs, they have to sit and deteriorate to the point where the membrane pulls from the shell to the point where the steam generated by boiling can move the dissolved gasses within the egg completely around the shell in order to facilitate peeling. You can safely keep eggs at 40 degrees for over two weeks. Shit, as a kid growing up on a working farm, we kept our eggs wrapped in a towel in a basket on top of the refrigerator. We never refrigerated them. Sometimes, they sat up there for several days, the only limit was the fact that we ate them faster than they could begin to deteriorate.
Post Reply