omg, I love hard boiled eggs, but dont'cha just hate it when the darn things do not peel easily.  what are your reliable, proven techniques that can assure a perfect boiled egg that practically jumps out of the shell when you crack it to peel it. I boiled 25 tonight because Lady Di is making deviled eggs for our poker game tomorrw night. Out of the 25, 20 survived the peeling process.  she makes em  really good but she refuses to boil and attempt to peel them because she always has eggs that don't peel easily.  there's a bazillion recipes online. what are yours?

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Crack em.... then sit them in cool water.... or peel them under a running faucet.... they peel super easy that way.... also you want to start at the bottom (maybe its the top) because there is a directional thing that helps the eggs go easy... I can never remember which way up or down but you figure it out by the first or second shell fragment which direction is best.

I cool them off slightly, then crack the shell all around.  The white membrane-y thing under the shell keeps all the small bits in place.  Then I just pull off a bit of shell, grab the white membrane-y thing, and pull all the way around.  It usually works.

Or I make extra and hope for the best. ;)

The fresher the egg, the harder it is to peel.  So in this case having a difficult time peeling them is a good thing.  ;)

I cool them off in cold water and once they are cool enough to handle I crack and peel them while still submerged in the water.  Or under running water. 

My grandma taught me to only hit them on the counter once, and then peel.  She was right - it's a lot easier that way.  I rinse them off after I peel them to get all the little bitty bits of shell off.

You do not want to buy your eggs the day before you are going to hard boil them - buy them a week (or atleast 3-5 days) in advance (I know it takes planning)
The air needs to be able to get in to seperate the 2 membranes (the inner and the outer membranes) this makes the peeling easier.  Eggs when put in water should stand on end - this means enough air has entered the eggs (fresh eggs will sink to the bottom of the pan)

Salting the water is also another trick for easy peeling - but this can also lead to the whites being rubbery (as you raise the boiling point of the water)

Hope this helps

thanks for all the good tips everybody  8)

Crack em.... then sit them in cool water.... or peel them under a running faucet.... they peel super easy that way....


That's exactly how I do it or make deviled eggs. I don't think I've ever screwed one up (except for those  eggs that burst during the boiling process)

Once they've been boiled I put them in cold water, then in the fridge for an hour or so...after which...I peel them under the running tap...

I then either use them sliced up in a salad, or mash them and make curried egg for sandwiches - YUM!

I put mine in cold water, watch a music video (Prince, because Michael Jasckson does epic long ones  >:( ) and I tap the wider end first, then the smaller end and usuall ythe shell slips right off.  ;D

I put mine in water and when it starts to boil, I wait about 5 minutes, then turn off the heat and let them sit for about 10 minutes. I run them under cool water and then crack them once...and the shell usually peels right off.