Hard Boiled Eggs Peel In Layers

[Constance]

First of all, you're right about the fresh eggs, but usually by the time you buy them from the grocery store, they're ready.

Now, here's a hint I heard long ago, and it really helps. After your eggs have cooled in the cold water, tap each on the counter lightly, all around, and give it a gentle squeeze in your hand. Then start peeling at the SMALL END. Press in lightly, being sure to get ahold of the inner membrane, slip your thumb underneath, and slide the shell off.

Sorry to reiterate, but when it comes to hard-boiled eggs, I like mine done, and when I've tried doing them the recommended way, the centers are always soft. I'll live with the green ring.
I put them in a pan of enough cold water to cover and turn the burner on high. When they come to a boil, I set the timer for 15 minutes. When they're done, I dump the boiling off, rinse the eggs in cold water a bit, then let stand at least 30 minutes (usually an hour) in the cold water.

 

[karadekoolaid]

I was told that a sure fire way to have hard boiled eggs peel easily is to dunk them in very chilled water immediately after draining the boiled water off them and continue to chill in the fridge for a couple of more hours. I have done this, I have been told to boil them in salted water to make them peel easily, I have done this. I have been told that fresh eggs won't peel evenly, I buy mine at the grocery store so they certainly are not farm fresh, and they still peel unevenly. If anyone can give me a hint as to why they peel in layers I would love to know what I am doing wrong.

I have the solution.
Make devilled Poached Eggs!!

( Sorry, couldn't resist!)

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

I have the solution.
Make devilled Poached Eggs!!

( Sorry, couldn't resist!)

Actually, Cliveb, I've tried that, using my poaching pan. The problem with this method is that the yolk settles to the cup bottom leaving you with the thinnest membrane of white to hold the filling. That membrane tears very easily and allows the filling to leak out of the otherwise beautiful looking deviled egg. But I do love paoched eggs, with a bit of butter in the cup, and steamed to perfection (that would be runny yolk and firm whites).

 

[Gretchen]

I buy organic, local eggs. The shelf life is one week.

Why? By whose standards?

 

[JGDean]

Hard boiled eggs

I leave the eggs at room temperature for 4-6 hours on countertop. Place in warm tap water in saucepan after lightly tapping the large end of each egg or penetrating the large end of the eggs with a small needle right before putting in warm water. Sprinkle tiny amount of salt in water. Bring water to simmer/light boil and cover with lid, turn off heat, set timer for 13-16 minutes. When removing, pour off hot water, run cool water over, lightly tap large ends of eggs and return to water for about 10 min. they seem to peel easily for me and no green ring. I guess it just depends on how involved you want to be in boiling an egg : 0 )

 

[Ishbel]

Why? By whose standards?

Why? Cos that's what the producer states on his cartons. And HIS standards, presumably.

You sometimes have a very rude way of framing questions. Not direct, rude.

 

[tdejarnette]

Regarding shelf life of eggs (to Ishbel)

ARS food technologists Mike Musgrove and Deana Jones with the agency's Poultry Processing and Meat Quality Research Unit tested the quality and functionality of table eggs during a 10-week storage time, long beyond the current 30-day industry standard for storing eggs on the store shelf. Properly refrigerated and handled, eggs are considered safe for consumption for four to five weeks beyond the sell-by date.

Over time, eggs can lose their ability to fluff up an angel food cake or make creamy mayonnaise, but according to Jones, they didn't show a marked decrease in quality during the 10-week test period.

read more:

http://www.statpub.com/open/94948.html

 

[StirBlue]

My son had an egg salad sandwich at a friend's house and wanted me to make him some egg salad. I had not made it in years. After boiling my eggs, I tried to mash them up and they would not. Maybe they were over done. My egg salad is awful. How can I make a good egg salad for him?

 

[licia]

I haven't read this entire thread so don't know if I'm repeating info or not. I put my eggs in a saucepan - single layer, add water to cover and bring to a boil. I immediately cover them and remove from heat. After 15 minutes I put them in cold water and leave a few minutes. They usually peel very well. The whites will be tender and yolks with no discoloration and they blend well to make good egg salad. Hope this helps. My kids enjoyed egg salad when they were growing up and we had it enough that I'm not that crazy about it anymore. I do like devilled eggs a lot, though.

 

[PBear42]

Hey StirBlue. When you say "mash them up" do you mean the whole eggs or just the yolks? For egg salad, you should halve the eggs and tip out the yolks. The yolks are then mashed into the mayo, etc. The whites are diced (I like a 1/4 inch dice), not mashed. Maybe that's what you're doing, but I wanted to give you a "head's up" in case not. And if that is what you're doing, yolks that won't mash are underdone, not overdone.

 

[Hungry]

This one frustrated me for years. Tried several methods. Most times, they came out fine, but not reliably enough for my tastes. Finally, I worked out one that almost always works. Even with fresh eggs.

Cover with cool tap water; let stand one hour. Bring to a boil; continue to cook at a gentle boil for seven minutes. Take off heat, cover and let stand five minutes. Run cool tap water in the pan until the water is cool, about five minutes; let stand at least twenty minutes. One at a time, rap each egg all over with the back of a spoon, then peel.

I have to say, finally, perfect hard-cooked eggs. Firm whites (peel cleanly), crumbly yolks and no green ring.

PBear42,
Your suggesting for rapping the egg with a spoon to crack the shell before peeling is exactly what I have been doing for years.

However, I carry it one step further and use the spoon to "skin" the shell off the egg.
After the shell is well fractured slip the spoon, starting at the large end, between the membrane and the white of the egg. Then "roll" the egg under the spoon, separting the shell from the egg.
This not only gives you a unblimished egg but it is also a time saver.
Hint: Be sure to keep the spoon wet.
There will be that onery egg that won't let go of the shell and the white may get scared.
That is the one to EAT while you work!
This is probably well known on this Forum. However, I just heard it today.
My new diet:
If it taste good -- Spit it out!

Enjoy,
Charlie

 

[PBear42]

What, you don't use the Egg-Stractor? (Google ad at top o' the page.) Anyhoo, good point about using the spoon to peel.

 

[Claire]

I'm chiming in with many others here, but I, too, find "stale" eggs easier to peel than very fresh ones AND I roll them and crack the shell all around, then put them in a pan of water for awhile (maybe 15-25 min), long enough for the water to get between the shell and the egg. As others have said, start at the "hollow" end of the egg -- usually the small end, but not necessarily. When they are in the pan you can tell which end to start with, it will "float" to the top. But .... with all the advice in the world, sometimes you still wind up with an egg that falls apart when you're peeling it!

 

[RPCookin]

I haven't read this entire thread so don't know if I'm repeating info or not. I put my eggs in a saucepan - single layer, add water to cover and bring to a boil. I immediately cover them and remove from heat. After 15 minutes I put them in cold water and leave a few minutes. They usually peel very well. The whites will be tender and yolks with no discoloration and they blend well to make good egg salad. Hope this helps. My kids enjoyed egg salad when they were growing up and we had it enough that I'm not that crazy about it anymore. I do like devilled eggs a lot, though.

This is exactly how we were taught to hard boil eggs in my cooking class. It sounds odd, but it works. As mentioned previously, the green coating on the yolk is a product of overcooking, which most people do when boiling eggs. Since it's kinda hard to correct it if you undercook them initially, most folks just don't take the chance, and end up with green yolks instead... This method ensure that they will never be overcooked.

The second part about putting them in cold water can help to make them easier to peel, but the best guarantee is still using old eggs.

 

[JDP]

I haven't read this entire thread so don't know if I'm repeating info or not. I put my eggs in a saucepan - single layer, add water to cover and bring to a boil. I immediately cover them and remove from heat. After 15 minutes I put them in cold water and leave a few minutes. They usually peel very well. The whites will be tender and yolks with no discoloration and they blend well to make good egg salad. Hope this helps. My kids enjoyed egg salad when they were growing up and we had it enough that I'm not that crazy about it anymore. I do like devilled eggs a lot, though.

I use this same method. The eggs are cooked perfectly. The peeling is the problem. I recently cooked off 18 eggs to be a snack for my dog for our trip to South Dakota for pheasants. It was 50/50. Half the eggs peeled perfectly the other half not so well. Luckily my dog doesn't mind too much.

JDP

 

[Andy M.]

There are several methods of cooking hard cooking eggs that will result in a properly cooked egg without the telltale green coating on the yolk and the rubbery white that signals overcooking. That's not the main issue.

The main issue is peeling. How you cook the eggs has less to do with how they peel than how you handle them before and after cooking.

1. Old eggs peel easier. I bought eggs last week for an open house on the 17th. The eggs are dated for sometime in January so that's not an issue. As eggs age, the dehydrate some. As a result, the thin film between the inside of the shell and the white pulls away from the shell a little - easier peeling.
2. I store the eggs in the original carton. I lay the carton on its side. This tends to center the yolks in the whites, yielding a prettier egg when cut in half. A rubber band around the carton will help keep the carton secure.
3. There is an air pocket at the broader end of the egg. I use a push pin to pierce the shell at the wide end before cooking. This serves to equalize pressure and let some hot water into the egg. The water works its way between the film and shell, making it easier to peel.
4. After the cooking process is complete, I drain the water and shake the pan with the eggs back and forth to crack the shells all over.
5. I add cold water and ice cubes to the pan and leave the eggs to cool. I periodically give the water a stir to keep the water temperature even. The cold water stops the cooking process and aids in the separation of the shell from the egg.
6. When the eggs are cooled, I peel them under slowly running cold water. They peel quite easily.

 

[skilletlicker]

Andy hit it all dead on for me except in #5 I'd rather add the ice water and cooked eggs to a mixing bowl. Ice water added to a hot pan reminds me of the way I ruined a few pans in my youth.

 

[Andy M.]

Andy hit it all dead on for me except in #5 I'd rather add the ice water and cooked eggs to a mixing bowl. Ice water added to a hot pan reminds me of the way I ruined a few pans in my youth.

If the pan had been on high heat and dry, the temperatures could exceed 400 F, and I might agree with you. But it was full of boiling water so it was never hotter than 212F. I've never had a problem with this method, but I don't cook with your pans.

 

[StirBlue]

It's unfortunate to have "rude" eggs. This is a holiday recipe for an egg casserole.

1-2 dozen boiled eggs. (depending on how many didn't come out pretty)
1-2 cups oyster stuffing (leftovers is fine)
several recipes of white sauce.

Coat bottom of casserole dish with white sauce. Cut eggs into pieces and crumble yolks. Sprinkle oyster stuffing in the bottom of the pan add layer of eggs and yolks and sprinkle another layer of stuffing. Add remaining white sauce which should not completely cover top layer. cover and bake until heated through.

As you can tell, this recipe is very flexible to the ingredients you have on hand and the things you like as well.

 

[Aria]

Place the eggs in your pan. Add cool tap water. Place on cooking surface and bring to a boil. Turn off the heat (electric or gas) and let the eggs sit in the pan for 15 minutes. Take pan to sink... drain. Add cool tap water...let eggs sit for 5 mins. If you have problem removing skin. Remove skin of egg under running cool tap water. Messy.(real fresh eggs may be a problem)
Peel under running tap water ONLY if you have a problem