# How to boil an egg



## thericeguy (Jan 3, 2016)

I am frustrated that when I boil fresh eggs (laid yesterday), I cant peel them without losing a lot of white. Old grocery store eggs are no problem. So please, how do you boil a truly fresh egg so you can peel it to eat? I have tried three ways to date.


----------



## painterswife (Jun 7, 2004)

I do them in my pressure cooker. Perfect every time, even fresh from the chicken.


----------



## thericeguy (Jan 3, 2016)

painterswife said:


> I do them in my pressure cooker. Perfect every time, even fresh from the chicken.



Do you start in cold water or boiling to add the eggs? How many minutes of venting until done? Does it matter what weight I use? I will try anything to stop losing half the egg.


----------



## MO_cows (Aug 14, 2010)

I have the best luck steaming them. I start "cold" and once some steam starts coming out, let them go 15 minutes. But - my steamer is a pot that nests on top of another pot. Like a double boiler but with holes for steaming. It loses more steam than a lot of them, so might be a shorter cook time in your steamer. Then, shock them in ice water and peel right away.

We got some of those "eggies" gadgets as a gag gift, and by golly they do work. No peeling whatsoever. But such a pain to assemble, disassemble and wash all the little parts, we seldom use them since discovering the "steam and shock" method.


----------



## painterswife (Jun 7, 2004)

Does not matter hot or cold. I place them above the water on a rack. ^ minutes after they come to pressure. Release pressure and put in ice water.


----------



## WildernesFamily (Mar 11, 2006)

Oddly enough when I was boiling potatoes for potato salad one day I put the eggs in at the end to boil with the potatoes. Those eggs peeled without a problem, so I do them that way now when I make potato salad. :shrug:

I have tried the steaming method, that mostly worked for me, but there were still a few eggs that were messy peelers but that's probably because I just used cold water and not ice water.


----------



## Moboiku (Mar 7, 2014)

Every time this question comes up there are about a hundred different ways that people swear works for them  What I have found is that it is not so much the method but the rapid cool from hot to cold that makes the difference. I boil them and then as soon as the timer goes off, I dump the boiling water, fill the pan with cold water, wait only 10 seconds, dump that, fill it again, wait 30 seconds, dump and refill again. This cools them very quickly and they peel really easily.

I used to save my older eggs for doing hard-boiled eggs but one day wasn't thinking about what I was doing and grabbed a dozen of the eggs that had only just been collected. I figured I was in for a time of it peeling them but by doing the rapid cool, they peeled just as easily as older eggs.


----------



## thericeguy (Jan 3, 2016)

I had already concluded the rapid cool was a common denominator. You sorta cinched it for me. I will try another batch tomorrow. I have plenty for practice. Feeding them to the hogs, but I always peel a few for me.


----------



## Raeven (Oct 11, 2011)

Another big fan of steaming here. I can see how pressure cooking would work as well, but I can't be stuffed to drag out my pressure cooker every time I want to hard cook an egg. I'm lazy like that. 

My own experience is that the radical temperature change isn't what causes the eggs to peel more easily. I always plunged my boiled eggs in ice water as soon as I was done cooking them. If they were fresh, they were still very hard to peel. I think the steaming/pressure cooking methods cause the egg shells to expand a little more due to cooking at higher temperatures, and this creates a slightly more pronounced gap between membrane and egg. That's what makes them easier to peel.

All I know is, there's a world of difference between regular boiling and steaming. As a keeper of chickens for many years, this is important!

Good luck!


----------



## Marcia in MT (May 11, 2002)

I agree with the people who steam then shock the eggs in cold water. Another trick I found is to peel the eggs with a teaspoon. Start a small section, then slide the bowl of the spoon between the egg and the shell. Even with eggs that stick, this method saves quite a lot.


----------



## thericeguy (Jan 3, 2016)

I steamed up some eggs this morning and used the cold shock. They peeled easily. I was able to feel joy instead of frustration. Just wanted to say thank you.


----------



## oneraddad (Jul 20, 2010)

I'm having a egg salad sandwich right now because of the steam method and its so good.


----------



## 7thswan (Nov 18, 2008)

Eggs, water and about 1/2 cup salt. Boil, dump out hot water and put cold water on them, put more cold on them when water warms.They peel easly. I do this with fresh out of the coop with eggs for my dogs. Sometimes the eggs are dirty(muddy chickens) and Im not fond of washing eggs.
The salt also helps the white from comeing out of the egg if any crack.


----------



## grandma12703 (Jan 13, 2011)

Kind of off topic but when my stove quit and we hadn't had time to get a new one yet I decided to microwave boil an egg. The first time it worked great with no problems. The second time lets just say I am glad I was not in the kitchen. It was like a bomb and the microwave door flew open and it took days to get all of the pieces of eggs off of everything. It's not funny it could have been really dangerous but the shell flew right off. 

I am an old lady. I knew better but I really needed a boiled egg.


----------



## thericeguy (Jan 3, 2016)

Grandma, I warned you about them blue pills. Now look.


----------



## grandma12703 (Jan 13, 2011)

1 T baking soda in the water when boiling on the stovetop and then after boiling immediately immerse in cold water. 

LOL, unsure about the blue pill comment, but not sure if advise from someone who would blow up a microwave experimenting with boiled eggs is something anyone would want.


----------



## Lilycatherine (Sep 2, 2011)

I have found a method that has worked every time for me. Cut a slice off of a fresh lemon and add it to the pan of eggs then cover with cold tap water. Cover the pan with a lid and bring the water to a full boil. You need to stay nearby and keep an eye on this. Turn the pan off when it comes to a full boil and leave the pan covered. Set your timer for 15 minutes. At the end of 15 minutes pour off the hot water and cover with cold tap water. Let them sit a little while, 10 minutes or so to cool a bit. Drain and peel. If you do not have fresh lemons on hand use about a scant teaspoon of baking soda. It works too but not quite as well as the fresh lemon. Your eggs should be perfect.


----------



## DKWunlimited (Sep 11, 2006)

painterswife said:


> I do them in my pressure cooker. Perfect every time, even fresh from the chicken.


Same here, 1.5 cups of cold water.. eggs and 6 minutes in the pressure cooker. Shells slide off like a dream, often in 1 piece.


----------



## zuren (Feb 13, 2015)

MO_cows said:


> I have the best luck steaming them. I start "cold" and once some steam starts coming out, let them go 15 minutes. But - my steamer is a pot that nests on top of another pot. Like a double boiler but with holes for steaming. It loses more steam than a lot of them, so might be a shorter cook time in your steamer. Then, shock them in ice water and peel right away.
> 
> We got some of those "eggies" gadgets as a gag gift, and by golly they do work. No peeling whatsoever. But such a pain to assemble, disassemble and wash all the little parts, we seldom use them since discovering the "steam and shock" method.


The wife and I watched a Cooks Country or America's Test Kitchen and steaming .5 eggs was found to be the best way to soft cook or hard cook them. When you boil them, there are hot and cold spots (seems unlikely, but that is what they say). Filling the pot with steam keeps everything a uniform temp. Then immediately run under cold water and they come out perfect!

I forget the timing. I think it was 6.5 min. for soft cooked and 12-15ish for hard cooked.


----------



## Jollyhomestead (Sep 23, 2016)

I am so happy to see this thread. I have always been frustrated with the egg peeling thing. I am going to try the steam/ice water method. Thank you!

Kathie
www.jollyhomesteading.com


----------

