Easy Peel Perfectly Boiled Eggs
Easter is only 4 weeks away and I know how much everyone loves to color hard boiled eggs, but did you know there is a simple secret to getting easy peel perfectly boiled eggs? It’s called: BAKING SODA! Well, it’s not just baking soda, but the baking soda raises the pH of the water and makes them easier to peel by reducing the albumen’s ability to stick to the shell. I will say, however that you still need to do these according to the proper method or they will stick to the shell anyway.
I have a silly confession… while I was preparing this post for you guys I screwed up 1 dozen eggs. I should have just went with my typical way of boiling eggs, but I wanted to make sure I got it just right, so I looked up several ways of doing these, and my husband has been having boiled eggs for breakfast a lot lately, so I was influenced to try them differently. Well, the first batch stuck to the shell so bad (I had put my eggs in the water first, then brought it to a boil.) The second batch was undercooked (I only did 10 minutes.) So I trashed all those eggs and went with what I know to work, and guess what?! It worked! Can you imagine that? I am never doubting myself again! So here’s how you do it:
Fill a pot 2/3 full of water and add 1 tsp baking soda. If you are boiling a lot of eggs in a stock pot, I would do 2 tsp of baking soda.
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Bring water to a boil. Place egg on a slotted spoon.
Gently lower eggs into water, one at a time, touching the bottom of the spoon to the bottom of the pan and gently rolling the egg off of the spoon.
Repeat with additional eggs. Once all the eggs are in the water, boil them for 15 minutes.
Once eggs have cooked for 15 minutes, place the pan in the sink and run cold water on them for 1 minute or until the water in the pot feels cool.
Allow eggs to rest for 2 minutes.
To peel the eggs, smash one side of the egg and roll it away from you cracking around the entire center of the egg. Start peeling from where the shell is cracked. It should be able to break apart into two halves. Rinse eggs and use them in your favorite recipes or refrigerate them for up to one week.
I hope this helps you with your hard boiled eggs/Easter adventures!
How about a screen basket and drop them all at once?
As long as they don’t bump into each other too much when lowering the basket into the water, that would work great. Thanks for sharing!
I haven’t tried this yet, but so glad to know the secret. A couple of months back I was going to make deviled eggs for a church celebration, and half peeled fine, while the others were like trying to peel a golf ball! In the past I’ve had some luck plucking them right out of boiling water and cracking and peeling them under cold running water. But when you have a lot of eggs (which is what I had for church) it’s a hit and miss… Can’t wait to try this next time. Thanks!
That had to hurt your fingers to peel that many eggs! I hope this technique works for you when you get the chance to try it! Thanks for stopping by Anne!
So no lid at all? I always covered mine and took them off the heat when they came to a boil.
The method you are describing is different than what I did here. No lid, full rolling boil for 15 minutes. You can test it on a few eggs first, if you are nervous about it. Different altitudes may vary the boiling time, but this has been very successful for us and several other readers.
I hate when eggs are hard to peel so I don,t make them a lot .
I can’t believe how this worked. THANK YOU !!! Will tell everyone
I know. : )
So glad you found this post useful Suzan! Thanks for your review!
I love deviled eggs, my motto is “It’s not a party if they’re aren’t any deviled ecggs”!! This is how I started boiling eggs many years ago after seeing Emirl Lagasse (?) do this on his show way back in the day. I’m so glad to see it out here because all of the other tutorials for boiling eggs don’t work- believe I’ve tried them all. One comment I have is that I was told that the yolks will turn gray/green if the eggs sit too long in water, hot or cold. So I boil my eggs 12-15 mins – never longer and pour the water off immediately to let them cool to prevent the yolks from turning. Again thanks for posting this…
Nice! Thanks for the extra tips!
Oh. My. God. THANK YOU!!! I love boiled eggs but gave up on making them because they always just fell apart when I tried to peel them! This worked PERFECTLY! My husband thought I was a little crazy as I cheered with joy after peeling the first one! Boiled eggs for everyone!
This makes me so happy! Thanks for letting me know it worked for you!
This works beautifully! I have chickens who lay brown eggs and have been having a doozey of a time getting the hard boiled eggs to peel. I used 2 tsp. for 12 eggs and just full boiled them for 5 minutes and then turned off the burner and let them sit in the boiling water for bit (like 20 minutes). Other than that I did everything like you said!
I’m so glad to hear they work for fresh brown eggs! Thanks for sharing your experience!
I am making these eggs right now and I’ve just ruined 6 of the 12 eggs I put in…I followed instructions exactly and as soon as the egg touched the boiling water on the spoon, they cracked!! I even had the eggs out on the counter for 20 minutes. I think I will go back to the method of putting them in before the water boils.
I’m sorry to hear that Jill. I wonder if it has something to do with the fact that my spoon is a silicone slotted spoon, so it’s a little softer on the eggs?
We’re in a severe drought (Calif), so I’d chill a soup pot of water for the final cooling off, rather than running cold water for 5 minutes. Can’t wait to try this new method.
Sounds like a good idea! You can also add ice cubes to the water.
Thanks Amber, I will try this. i was told to bring eggs to a boil and then turn off burner and let them sit in the water for about 10 minutes. They are very hard to peel once you let them sit in cold water. My one question I have is why do the egg yolks turn grey sometimes and then sometimes they don’t? Thanks again for your helpful ideas.
Sharon
Egg yolks turn grey if they are over-cooked. Seriously, my method is the perfect doneness. I know a lot of people who think 15 minutes is way too long, but you aren’t putting the eggs in until the water boils, so they aren’t cooking before the boiling starts. I have never tried bringing the water and eggs to a boil first, and letting it rest. Depending on how high your heat setting is, it might take longer or shorter to reach that boil. If the eggs are sitting in there too long waiting for the boil to start, and then resting in the hot water for 10 minutes, that’s probably why they are grey and over-cooked. Hope this information helps!