Reader Question:
How do you boil and peel an egg?
Let’s jump right back into things with a Reader Question.
I was asked how to perfectly boil and peel an egg. Of course, this is a long answer.
I’ll start with the time tested method used by most cooks. The goal is to gently cook your egg, so as to avoid cracked shells, tough whites or stinky, funky-colored yolks.
- Gently place your eggs in a saucepan and cover (by at least one inch) with cold filtered water.
- Bring water to a full, rolling boil and then cover the saucepan. Remove it from heat, set your timer for 12 minutes, and let stand until timer goes off.
- Drain the pot, and then move the eggs to a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process.
- To peel, tap the eggs on your work surface, and then gently roll the egg under your palm until you hear the shell crackling. Begin peeling, dunking into the cold water as you go. It should be a snap.
Sounds easy enough. So, end of post, right? Of course not.
The above method works with store-bought eggs, precisely because of one of the main reasons not to buy them (confused yet?): They are not fresh. If you get farm-fresh eggs, they can be maddening to peel when hardboiled. In fresh eggs, the albumen (white) sticks to the inner shell membrane more strongly than it sticks to itself, due to the acidity and carbon dioxide content of the fresh egg. After the protective coating is washed off the shell, it becomes more porous and begins to absorb air and lose some carbon dioxide, reducing the acidity. With a higher pH, the inner membrane doesn’t stick to the albumen as much. Also, as the egg ages it shrinks, allowing for more airspace between the shell and the membrane.
So what’s a Real Foodie to do?
You certainly don’t want to give up hard-boiled farm-fresh eggs – a delicious, easy and nutrient-dense go-to snack. And who would want to live in a world without egg salad or (gasp!) deviled eggs?! Fortunately, you don’t have to. Here’s the method I use with my fresh eggs that works every time (and is much easier than the boil-cool-reboil method, if you’ve heard of that).
- Use your oldest eggs, and let them come to at least room temperature. I leave mine out on the counter for at least a day or two. (Yes! Healthy, farm-fresh eggs from pastured hens with healthy feed are fine to leave on the counter!)
- Submerge eggs completely in a pot of well-salted water. (I also add a splash of vinegar, which helps to keep the whites intact should your egg crack.)
- Bring water to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and set timer for 10 minutes. (You can adjust this to your desired done-ness. I like ten minutes.)
- Remove from heat and drain. Shake the pot back and forth to crack the shells fairly well.
- Add ice cubes and cold water to the pot and let the eggs sit until completely chilled. (You can also remove the eggs to a bowl of ice-water, which might make more sense. But I’m lazy.)
- Peel eggs in the submerged water.
- Eat with sea salt and pepper, or make egg salad (try adding small-diced cucumber) or deviled eggs with homemade mayo. YUM.
Further egg trouble-shooting:
- Cracked shells. Using this gentle method should prevent cracked shells. Occasionally, though, shells crack anyway due to an air pocket that all eggs contain. Some cooks suggest pricking the wide end of the egg with a pin (or egg piercer) to allow the air to escape. This is also supposed to result in a perfect oval egg, without a flat bottom. Sounds like crazy-work to me. Instead, use the vinegar as mentioned above in case your egg does crack.
- Un-centered centers. If you are going to slice and display your eggs, or make deviled eggs, you may want nicely centered yolks. Unfortunately, as whites get thinner (making your eggs easier to peel when hard-boiled), they are also less able to hold the yolk in place. Try turning the eggs upside down or on their side a day or so before boiling.
- Green eggs and ham. Or actually, just green (or gray) yolks. They don’t look as pretty, but as long as the colored ring film is fairly thin, they should taste fine. The discoloration is caused by the yolk temperature exceeding 158 degrees (F), which causes hydrogen sulphide from the amino acids in the albumen to react with iron from the yolk, causing ferrous sulphide (which is a tad stinky) to form on the surface of the yolk.
If you’re thinking, ‘Well, since it’s a bit trickier to cook and peel farm-fresh eggs, I think I’ll just stick to store-bought ones,’ don’t miss my next post. I’ll cover why farm-fresh eggs are so important, as well as expose why even those ‘Cage-Free’ organic eggs may not be what you think.
Before I go, check out what you may be eating when you select hard-boiled eggs from the salad bar:
Did this come from a very looooong chicken?
Thanks to A.P. for the question!
Bonus recipe link: Try this Vanilla Steamer if you want a truly delicious, nutrient-dense winter treat!
Unrelated shameless plug: Need some help getting into the Christmas spirit? I highly recommend the instrumental CD Christmas Hymns by my dear (and amazingly talented) friend Sam. Only $10! Check it out here.
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This post was linked to Kelly the Kitchen Kop’s Real Food Wednesday.
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Thanks so much for posting this Jenn! I am currently trying your method – I realize now why I was having so much difficulty, I’ve been using farm fresh eggs! I will report back with how things went for me.
Jenn, this worked fabulously! I can’t believe I have managed to successfully not destroy an egg while peeling it. I am so glad that you pointed out the difference between farm fresh and store bought eggs. The last few times I have made hard boiled eggs I have failed miserably and I didn’t remember it being SO hard in the past, now I know what was going on! lol
Anna – so happy you had success, AND so happy you’re using farm-fresh eggs. Thanks for your support!