Perfect hard-boiled eggs - every time.

[Winterrider]

We had chickens on the farm. I don't remember how GMA use to do it ( too young ) but I remember after she boiled she cooled slighly. Then poked a small hole in the pointed end of egg and take shell off flat end. Literally blew thru the small end and egg would come out the flat end . Was amazing, the shell remained whole also. Have tried many times since, no go for me

 

[Retired Spook]

We had chickens on the farm. I don't remember how GMA use to do it ( too young ) but I remember after she boiled she cooled slighly. Then poked a small hole in the pointed end of egg and take shell off flat end. Literally blew thru the small end and egg would come out the flat end . Was amazing, the shell remained whole also. Have tried many times since, no go for me

That was back before corporation eggs - before eggs were "engineered" to become the mass-produced low-quality eggs we get today...

Almost impossible to find a high-quality egg today - even the "farmer's market" folks sell poor quality eggs. Egg laying chickens need to be young chickens, that eat bugs and HIGH QUALITY feed - not that cheap feed at Walmart.

This is what a high quality egg looks like in a pan. ORANGE firm plump yolk that sits proud on a thick not-runny white.

This is a junk, garbage egg

 

[zwiller]

Then poked a small hole in the pointed end of egg and take shell off flat end.

Saw that before and tried it too but no dice for me either. You raise a good point, let's talk HOW to peel the egg... For me, I tap and then roll it. 90% of the time I can pull top and bottom halfs apart. Pretty much this way.

 

[Retired Spook]

 

[noboundaries]

My wife asked me yesterday how salting the water affects boiled eggs. Here's what I found on the Allrecipes website:

People add salt to a pot of water before boiling eggs for a few reasons. First, salt helps water reach its boiling point faster, which means the eggs boil at a higher temperature. Second, salt helps seal cracks that may develop as eggs bounce around in bubbling water.

That answer brought up a vinegar question. And I found the answer summarized on the same website:

The vinegar in the water makes the eggs easier to peel. Here's why: The vinegar's acid not only dissolves some of the calcium carbonate in the shell, it also helps the whites set faster.

Inquiring minds...Yada Yada Yada.

Ray

 

[Retired Spook]

My wife asked me yesterday how salting the water affects boiled eggs. Here's what I found on the Allrecipes website:

People add salt to a pot of water before boiling eggs for a few reasons. First, salt helps water reach its boiling point faster, which means the eggs boil at a higher temperature. Second, salt helps seal cracks that may develop as eggs bounce around in bubbling water.

That answer brought up a vinegar question. And I found the answer summarized on the same website:

The vinegar in the water makes the eggs easier to peel. Here's why: The vinegar's acid not only dissolves some of the calcium carbonate in the shell, it also helps the whites set faster.

Inquiring minds...Yada Yada Yada.

Ray

I always use salted water but I never knew why beyond that is what grandma did! I will give the vinegar a try and see if I notice any improvement in the process.

Nevertheless, I would still argue that it is near impossible to get the same quality eggs that grandma did...

 

[fltsfshr]

If you are buying grade A eggs. They are the runny ones. If you buy grade AA the white stays dense. Costco sells AA at a good price.

 

[Retired Spook]

If you are buying grade A eggs. They are the runny ones. If you buy grade AA the white stays dense. Costco sells AA at a good price.

Do you really think that anyone as passionate about eggs as myself, would ever even make-believe I would even look at a Grade A egg?

I buy the best possible eggs I can get, and even they do not live up to my standards.

 

[SmokinEdge]

Just ran an experiment using my usual method. We live at 6400’ elevation so my water boiling is about 200*F we like them just a tad soft so I boil for 12 -13 minutes but 15 minutes makes a traditional boiled egg.

I took two eggs out of the fridge and let them come to room temp. Then boiled them for 13 minutes.
No salt, no vinegar or anything just boiling water.

Then I cooled them in cold tap water maybe 5 minutes and peeled. Same as always.

The cut, wife swiped one piece.

Then I boiled two eggs straight out of the fridge at 37* right into the boiling water, again for 13 minutes then cooled in cold tap water for 5 or so minutes.

Peeled just like I expected as well. Then a cut shot. Notice a more dough like yoke, this is because of the colder IT of the egg coming straight out of the fridge. We like ‘em like this.

No magic to it. Just buy or raise quality eggs and process doesn’t matter much. That’s fact.

 

[chopsaw]

I had to try it . Looks like I did it backwards though .

 

[chopsaw]

Tried it going the right direction . Popped right out . Lol . OK , that's enough of that .

 

[KBFlyer]

We had chickens on the farm. I don't remember how GMA use to do it ( too young ) but I remember after she boiled she cooled slighly. Then poked a small hole in the pointed end of egg and take shell off flat end. Literally blew thru the small end and egg would come out the flat end . Was amazing, the shell remained whole also. Have tried many times since, no go for me

Thats exactly the way my grandfather did it. As a kid I remember seeing egg shells in his garbage with holes in the ends. He came from Ukraine (the old country as he called it)

 

[fltsfshr]

Talked to my wife again. She says it depends on the chicken breed, the feed that you use and how you took care of them. That's what gives you AA eggs. Hard boiling doesn't make difference in eggs but it does in frying, baking etc.
I do remember that the Campbell's soup truck would show up at their ranch and take all the old layers. That's where chicken soup comes from. The chickens were conveyor fed and the coops had a trench down the middle that a Bobcat fit in perfectly. All the chicken s**t was spread on the fields.

 

[noboundaries]

My wife's 7-egg cooker has a water measuring cup with a push-pin thingamabob on the bottom. You are supposed to puncture one end of the egg with the pin which is supposed to make peeling easier. I wanted to test that claim, so I marked 3 eggs with a permanent marker and punctured them. Then I loaded 13 unpunctured eggs in my cooking pot with them.

The eggs were purchased at the grocer yesterday. Gentle boiled for 14 minutes today (timer starts when the cold eggs are placed in the boiling salted water. The water cools then retuns to a gentle boil after 4-5 minutes).

All peeled quickly without a single stuck membrane. There was zero difference in how the punctured eggs peeled compared to the unpunctured ones.

Maybe puncturing works for steamed eggs, which is what her cooker is. Last time I used that cooker though, all were punctured and 2 of the 7 were a beaach to peel.

No need to puncture.

Ray

Edit: she said it is also to prevent eggs from cracking if they have air inside. The only egg of the 16 that cracked was unpunctured with a huge air dimple when I peeled it. Hmmm...

 

[rbstern]

Take a push pin and put a tiny hole on top of the egg. Shells don't crack and the hard boiled egg won't have a dimple on the top.

This is my go to method. We started raising chickens a few years ago. The fresh eggs are incredible, but we had a heck of a time getting a clean peel for hard boiled eggs.

We poke a hole in the base with a thumb tack, and then immerse in boiling water. Water gets between the egg membrane and the shell during boiling, and they peel quick and easy when ready.

 

[Saintsslav]

Must

After going nuts reading every easy-peel hard-boiled egg solution ever dreamed up by humankind, I came up with this, and it works every time I have tried it, no matter the source, pedigree, or age of the eggs.

I love hard boiled eggs.

Use a large pot (large because you do not want it to take long for the water to come back up to temperature after you add the eggs) of salted water (I just use a 3-finger pinch) that will generously cover the eggs by an inch at least. Heat the water until "right before the boil" and add your eggs with a spoon so they do not crack when they hit the bottom of the pot. Let the water come back to a boil and cook 9-minutes (cook time will vary depending on your altitude). Then remove the eggs to a bowl of water in the sink with cool tap water running over them for at least 15-minutes and then refrigerate.

You will know that you got things just right when you see small streams of bubbles rising up from your eggs right after you add them to the water. Some of the eggs might crack slightly but that is OK - they may not look perfect when finished but will still be cooked perfect and be easy to peel. Once you get your water temperature technique down, you will get very few cracked eggs.

This is an egg from a batch I cooked yesterday for some red potato salad. I always add a few extra to the pot to eat, and this one cracked, so I used it for this photo - about 10-minutes after placing in the bowl of running water in the sink - still warm and perfectly delicious! I peeled it extra careful to demonstrate how easy they are to peel when using this cooking method.

View attachment 671884

This is an egg that sat in the fridge for a few hours - peeled perfect.

View attachment 671885

And this is that same egg cut in half to show the perfectly cooked yolk (no green outside of yolk that is the result of overcooking).

View attachment 671886

A pinch of salt and down the hatch - delicious.

My theory is that placing the eggs in almost boiling water shocks that membrane between the shell and the egg making them peel clean and easy. Eggs added to full boiling water often crack badly and while they may not look perfect, they still peel easy and taste great.

Give the cook technique a try and let me know your results

After going nuts reading every easy-peel hard-boiled egg solution ever dreamed up by humankind, I came up with this, and it works every time I have tried it, no matter the source, pedigree, or age of the eggs.

I love hard boiled eggs.

Use a large pot (large because you do not want it to take long for the water to come back up to temperature after you add the eggs) of salted water (I just use a 3-finger pinch) that will generously cover the eggs by an inch at least. Heat the water until "right before the boil" and add your eggs with a spoon so they do not crack when they hit the bottom of the pot. Let the water come back to a boil and cook 9-minutes (cook time will vary depending on your altitude). Then remove the eggs to a bowl of water in the sink with cool tap water running over them for at least 15-minutes and then refrigerate.

You will know that you got things just right when you see small streams of bubbles rising up from your eggs right after you add them to the water. Some of the eggs might crack slightly but that is OK - they may not look perfect when finished but will still be cooked perfect and be easy to peel. Once you get your water temperature technique down, you will get very few cracked eggs.

This is an egg from a batch I cooked yesterday for some red potato salad. I always add a few extra to the pot to eat, and this one cracked, so I used it for this photo - about 10-minutes after placing in the bowl of running water in the sink - still warm and perfectly delicious! I peeled it extra careful to demonstrate how easy they are to peel when using this cooking method.

View attachment 671884

This is an egg that sat in the fridge for a few hours - peeled perfect.

View attachment 671885

And this is that same egg cut in half to show the perfectly cooked yolk (no green outside of yolk that is the result of overcooking).

View attachment 671886

A pinch of salt and down the hatch - delicious.

My theory is that placing the eggs in almost boiling water shocks that membrane between the shell and the egg making them peel clean and easy. Eggs added to full boiling water often crack badly and while they may not look perfect, they still peel easy and taste great.

Give the cook technique a try and let me know your results.

Must try