Kind of weird that not a single person has mentioned peeling technique. You don’t have to do any of these odd cooking rituals if you just start from the big end where the air space is and make sure you are taking the skin with the shell as you peel.
In my experience, it doesn’t really make all that much a difference. It’s slightly easier to dig in there, but that’s about it. I think maybe the cold-hot-cold theory mentioned above is the trick.
It totally makes a difference as you can get under the skin easily from the beginning. I’m sure some of these techniques makes the skin less adhered but the proper peeling technique is how I described.
It’s easy enough to get under the skin from any angle, in my experience. Obviously, your technique works for you. I use the running water to help make that separation. Do whatever works for you. I prefer starting from the middle of the egg.
I cannot account for your failures, I’m afraid. All I know is that steaming works great for me, and I cook a lot of very fresh, previously-hard-to-peel eggs with this method. I think others have clarified the science behind why it works and it pretty much dovetails with my personal experience.
I hope you find a solution, because peeling a batch of sulky eggs is not a fun way to spend your time!
I just tried this method this evening, using eggs fresh from the store, and the eggs were a dream to peel!
Boiling water dumped directly on three dozen cold eggs, simmer for 5 minutes, steep (on burner but heat off for 7 minutes), then ice water until very cold.
The last time I did this, it took hours to peel them, and I trashed at least a half dozen. The ones I did use were all pretty rough looking.
I am now a believer! Thanks to all for this thread!
I just made a batch using these instructions and the one egg I’ve peeled so far was perfect. I used eggs purchased from a farmers’ market 6 days ago, which I suspect doesn’t qualify as old.
Steam in the basket of a rice cooker for 50 minutes, then put them into ice water until they’re cool enough to peel.
I tried several techniques and initially avoided cooking them this long since most instructions warned it would be too long. But with this method they peel consistently and look and taste good to me.
I put the eggs in boiling water, once they’re done the pan goes in the sink and I run cold water over them for a few minutes.
Then an egg goes in a tall glass with enough water to cover it, cover the glass with one hand and shake up and down vigorously. The shell slips right off after that.
I have the most success cooking the eggs at least the day before and refrigerating them. Then, when it’s time to peel them, I put them in hot water for a little bit first. The theory is that the heat causes the shell to expand enough to not stick. Or I just feel like I’m doing something clever which causes me to think they peel easier.
The article must be wrong on this. There is no way a big commercial egg company is going to have 30 days of perishable inventory sitting in refrigerated warehouses, unless they have 30 days of processing to do, which they don’t. The articles I’ve read suggest maybe 3 days hen–>store, with an allowed 30 days of storage before they pass the sell by date.
I like that idea. There’s a YouTube video on it that I can’t link to right now though.
-sent through my really crappy cellphone
I did some googling, and you are correct. Eggs must have a sell by date assigned the day they are packaged, and the max date is 30 days. Eggs can sit an additional 1 to 3 days during collection and transport to processing facilities prior to processing.
This!
Seriously, though, in my experience, it isn’t the method of cooking that’s determinative. I generally have medium luck with egg peeling: in general about eight of a dozen peel perfectly, about two peel with a small blemish or two, and two are an utter mess. But I’ve lived all over the country, and in one area (Kansas? New Mexico? I can’t remember) it was the complete opposite; I was lucky if two eggs out of the dozen peeled perfectly. I tried every method of steaming, boiling, and coddling in existence (plus I always poke a hole in the top of the egg with a pin) and nothing helped. So I can blame kitchen witches, but it’s more likely something to do with the egg itself: age, breed of hen, pre-carton handling, who knows?
The only 100% success rate for easy peeling is when I make huevos haminados (eggs simmered for hours – or days --in a seasoned onion skin bath) so maybe overcooking the eggs is the trick to easy peeling (actually, that makes sense if my troubles were in New Mexico; since water boils at a lower temperature, I might not have been cooking the eggs long enough).
Thank you! I take eggs cold, straight from the refrigerator directly into boiling water, simmer for exactly 9 minutes, then back into ice water. Easy to peel every time and perfectly cooked.
I can’t even remember my last “laid on” date. I think her name was Tonya.
For a short time there I was buying commercially packed boiled eggs at the local convenience store for eating at my desk. Sometimes they peeled perfectly and sometimes they were a complete disaster with the biggest piece of shell being maybe a 1/4" square and egg white sticking to the shell. I e-mailed the company that made them and complained. I wasn’t expecting to hear anything back. They lived down to my expectations. I started making my own. BTW, the shake it in a glass of water technique works great.