Easy Peel Perfectly Boiled Eggs
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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.
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!
62 Comments on “Easy Peel Perfectly Boiled Eggs”
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!
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!
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 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!
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!
Just a suggestion…
I am about to try this recipe! It’s about a day before Easter. I hope these turn out good! Please write back! Thanks!
I made these eggs exactly as the instructions were written and 75%of the eggs started cracking as soon as I was lowering them in the water with my slotted spoon. They basically turned into scrambled eggs in water. Total failure and wasted 5 eggs.
I’m so sorry that happened Terri. I’m guessing your refrigerator is a lot colder than mine and the shocking contrast of cold eggs to boiling water made them crack.
It’s hard for me to give an exact time for cooking the eggs if you start with the eggs in the water because depending on altitude, and whether you’re using a gas or electric cooktop, the timing will be different. This is why I opt to add the eggs once the water starts to boil.
The baking soda definitely helps keep the eggs from sticking to the peel though. Hopefully you can find a method that works best for you while still using the baking soda.