How to boil eggs so they peel easily?

[fandandy 3,311]

Anyone have a foolproof way?

[Bier Meister 1,514]

A little white distilled vinegar.  

[Strike 3,975]

We make them in the Instapot and they come out perfect every focking time.  It's unbelievable actually.

[Utilit99 4,099]

The freshest eggs don't peel well. Simple as that.  

[dogcows 1,029]

Drop in ice water after boiling. Innards will shrink faster than the shell, making a slight gap, easier to peel.

[Patriotsfatboy1 1,432]

Add vinegar to the water and then immerse them in ice water afterwards.

[Djgb13 2,338]

12 minutes ago, dogcows said:

Drop in ice water after boiling. Innards will shrink faster than the shell, making a slight gap, easier to peel.

Was coming here to post this. Quick freeze usually helps them peel pretty easily. Used to be my breakfast every day in the AF. 2 hard boiled eggs, a fruit, and black coffee 

[Hardcore troubadour 12,646]

WTF? Just get your wife to do it. Why do people always have to complicate things? 

[Cloaca du jour 2,064]

2 hours ago, dogcows said:

Drop in ice water after boiling. Innards will shrink faster than the shell, making a slight gap, easier to peel.

This

[Mike Isles 583]

3 hours ago, fandandy said:

Anyone have a foolproof way?

Steam them. Don’t boil them 

[NorthernVike 2,080]

Egg steamer.  As seen on tv type.  Don't ask me how,  but it works.  You punch a little hole on the top befor steaming them.

[Mike Isles 583]

1 minute ago, NorthernVike said:

Egg steamer.  As seen on tv type.  Don't ask me how,  but it works.  You punch a little hole on the top befor steaming them.

On the moon too. Look up one post. 

[BeenHereBefore 1,332]

The jar hack has worked for me, Just put the egg in the jar and fill the water over the egg and shake for about 15 seconds and usually takes the shell off.

[Bert 1,091]

Steam them. Boil water, place in a steamer basket right out of fridge.  Steam for 15 minutes.  Run cold tap water over them until you can handle. 
 

Forget boiling and vinegar and ice water and all that crap.  Steaming works the best and produces the best most consistent results.  Even Alton Brown finally realized this is the best way to make hard boiled eggs. 

[vuduchile 1,941]

2 minutes ago, Bert said:

Steam them. Boil water, place in a steamer basket right out of fridge.  Steam for 15 minutes.  Run cold tap water over them until you can handle. 
 

Forget boiling and vinegar and ice water and all that crap.  Steaming works the best and produces the best most consistent results.  Even Alton Brown finally realized this is the best way to make hard boiled eggs. 

I’ve never steamed eggs, but I agree. That the other stuff doesn’t work consistently.  

[Cruzer 1,992]

I often hear this question.

Why, do people really find peeling boiled eggs such a challenge they have to trick them up - add stuff? 

Tap-crack and peel under running water - works every time. 

[phillybear 364]

Cook it anyway you want.

But when you want to peel it, start with an initial tap/smack to get an insertion point, then gently ROLL the egg along a flat surface all over, like a cutting board, until the whole outside shell is loosely shattered but still clinging together with inside egg skin. Then, attack. Should take 5 seconds to get the peel off. Easey, Peasey, Japanesey.

[fandandy 3,311]

There is a skin between the shell and the egg.  Sometimes when I peel the egg I can easily get underneath that skin but in others, it is stuck to the white of the egg and I end up tearing the heck out of the egg.  It infuriates me and sometimes I just squish the egg in my hand because I'm so pissed.  I tried the steaming method tonight.  I will see how easy they peel in the morning.  

[Boots11234 107]

Cook in anal cavity 

[Bert 1,091]

9 hours ago, fandandy said:

There is a skin between the shell and the egg.  Sometimes when I peel the egg I can easily get underneath that skin but in others, it is stuck to the white of the egg and I end up tearing the heck out of the egg.  It infuriates me and sometimes I just squish the egg in my hand because I'm so pissed.  I tried the steaming method tonight.  I will see how easy they peel in the morning.  

I peel them immediately after cooking and put them in a ziploc bag. 

[jerryskids 5,206]

21 hours ago, Strike said:

We make them in the Instapot and they come out perfect every focking time.  It's unbelievable actually.

This is what we do.  Put about a dozen eggs in with one cup of water, close, set to 4 minutes.  When done, remove promptly and put in a bowl of ice water to cool.  

We also tend to use older eggs if we have them.  I’m not sure how much that helps with the above method, which like you said works perfectly every time.

[Patriotsfatboy1 1,432]

34 minutes ago, jerryskids said:

This is what we do.  Put about a dozen eggs in with one cup of water, close, set to 4 minutes.  When done, remove promptly and put in a bowl of ice water to cool.  

We also tend to use older eggs if we have them.  I’m not sure how much that helps with the above method, which like you said works perfectly every time.

Not everyone has an Instantpot, though. I have one and use it for eggs. The only thing I don't like about the Instantpot is that the recipes say X minutes, but they don't really tell you that it takes at least 10 minutes for it to get to the right pressure before cooking. So, that 4 minutes is really 15 minutes before you even depressurize. Just a pet peeve. 

[supermike80 1,285]

10 hours ago, Cruzer said:

I often hear this question.

Why, do people really find peeling boiled eggs such a challenge they have to trick them up - add stuff? 

Tap-crack and peel under running water - works every time. 

As HT says easier to just get the wife to do it. 

Done

[Hardcore troubadour 12,646]

Can someone start a shoe tying thread now? 

[Utilit99 4,099]

Crack the egg shells open, put what's in them in the hot water,. When they are cooked, put the eggs on toasted english muffins and add canadien bacon and hollandaise. 

[peenie 1,690]

Running water sometimes makes it worse, especially if you use cold water on hot eggs. The egg shell almost fuses to the egg. The best most truthful answer is that fresh eggs tend to not peel as well as older eggs. 

[Mungwater 588]

5 hours ago, Bert said:

I peel them immediately after cooking and put them in a ziploc bag. 

I put them in my pants, makes a nice musty taste.  Especially in the summer

[Utilit99 4,099]

2 hours ago, peenie said:

Running water sometimes makes it worse, especially if you use cold water on hot eggs. The egg shell almost fuses to the egg. The best most truthful answer is that fresh eggs tend to not peel as well as older eggs. 

Yep. Said this earlier. 100% correct.

[Mungwater 588]

1 minute ago, Utilit99 said:

Yep. Said this earlier. 100% correct.

Tell Bert to keep his eggs longer, I’m sick of stealing his stuff and burning my balls

[BufordT 371]

17 hours ago, Cruzer said:

I often hear this question.

Why, do people really find peeling boiled eggs such a challenge they have to trick them up - add stuff? 

Tap-crack and peel under running water - works every time. 

with a spoon

[peenie 1,690]

Yes, but sometimes the boiled egg white rips off with the shell.

[fandandy 3,311]

14 minutes ago, peenie said:

Yes, but sometimes the boiled egg white rips off with the shell.

Exactly.  That's what I was attempting to remedy with this thread.  I did steam them per someone's suggestion here.  Yesterday and today's eggs (4 total) have all peeled perfectly.

Hopefully, that is the trick.

eta:  I have a Farberware steam pan.  Bring water to boil, add a dozen eggs to steamer basket, lower heat to medium.  Cover for 17 minutes.  SO far so good.