Few kitchen tasks are more frustrating than trying to peel a resistant hard boiled egg. You know the shell should slide off smoothly in a few unbroken pieces, the way the armor comes off a perfectly cooked shrimp. And yet there you are, flicking off dry bits of shell, chunks of white breaking away, creating a surface as pockmarked as the moon. But don't worry. The BBC has a complete tutorial on the cooking of eggs, including a comment on the "Big Endian versus Little Endian" episode from Swift's Gulliver's Travels (the question of whether to break the boiled egg at the flatter end or the pointy end led the Lilliputians to war, a satire of 18th century Britain's petty and pointless feuds).
As the BBC sees it, there are two valid methods of getting into your boiled egg: the smash and the slice. The smash involves tapping the cooled egg lightly with your teaspoon until the shell is shattered all over, then peeling it off in one go. The slice involves cutting the egg horizontally and eating it with a spoon. This is, apparently, the preferred method for polite company.
I've always let the eggs sit in cold water until cool, then rolled them on the counter to smash the shell into bits before peeling. Leaving them in the fridge for a few days seems to work too. Any favorite tips of your own?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
4-10-2008 @ 4:02PM
kevjohn said...
Neither of your techniques would allow me to enjoy the simple pleasure of a still-warm boiled egg.
I've seen tips advising you to peel the egg under running water. When I tried that I ended up watching a good portion of my egg run down the drain in bits and pieces. So I've settled for the counter smash technique while the egg is still reasonably warm. Getting a perfect peel is rare, but I guess that's the best it's going to get.
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4-10-2008 @ 6:26PM
Elrond said...
Simply drain the water from the pan when the egg(s) are done hard boiling. Toss the hot eggs lightly in the pan until the shells are well cracked. Only then do you cool them with cold water in the pan. The shells will slide off easily.
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4-28-2008 @ 11:42AM
Carol Hoard said...
This is how I make hard boiled eggs, and seems to be most successful for me.
Cover eggs with cold water; bring to a boil; turn off burner and leave eggs sit on hot burner for 20 minutes, covered. Then drain hot water and cool eggs enough to handle. Gentle tap eggs against side of pan and crack well the shell, and peel. This works best on an electric range.
Carol Hoard
http://www.acandleforu.com
http://www.goodiesforus.com
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