In my last post, I shared my frustration with trying to make a perfectly hard boiled egg using the fresh eggs we gather here at 1840 Farm. I asked Community Chickens readers to share their tricks and tips in the hopes that I would find the perfect solution. You amazed me by leaving over 180 comments!
There was an incredible array of suggestions. I didn’t know where to begin. So, I tried a method that I had stumbled upon shortly after writing the post. The method was written by Julia Child and included in her cookbook, “The Way to Cook”.
The method is simple enough, but involves a unique step. I had never read anything quite like it and wondered if it would help me to finally produce the perfect hard boiled fresh egg. In minutes, I was at the refrigerator removing a dozen eggs to get my kitchen experiment underway.
The recipe calls for a dozen eggs to be placed in a single layer in a large pan and covered with cold water. Enough water should be added to the pan to cover the eggs by one inch. The pot is then set over high heat until the water just begins to come to a boil. Remove the pot from the heat, cover the pot, and set your kitchen timer for 17 minutes. I found that 17 minutes was too long for my taste, so I reduced the time to 15 minutes.
Fill a large bowl with ice water. When the 15 minutes have passed, gently transfer the eggs to the bowl of ice water. Allow the eggs to chill for two minutes. Remove the eggs to a clean kitchen towel.
As the eggs cool, place the boiling pot back on a burner set at high heat. Bring the water to a boil. Transfer the cold eggs a few at a time to the boiling water and boil for 10 seconds. Remove the eggs, placing them back in the ice water. Continue until all of the cool eggs have been returned to the boiling pot and then the ice water bath.
According to Julia’s recipe, rapidly chilling the eggs helps to shrink the body of the egg away from the shell. Returning the chilled egg to the boiling pot creates more space between the egg and shell by expanding the shell slightly.
Julia mentions that leaving the finished eggs in the ice water for 15 to 20 minutes will make them even easier to peel. I would never question Julia, my culinary idol, so I did as she recommended and waited eagerly to attempt peeling that first egg.
My patience was rewarded. The shells slipped rather easily away from the eggs. Out of a dozen eggs, ten were perfectly smooth after I had removed the peel. Two were a little worse for wear, but not to the point of being unusable.
Thanks to your comments, I now have a whole new list of techniques to try. I can’t wait to try them and share the results with you. The most popular suggestions were steaming, baking, and using differing timing and techniques to boil the eggs and chill them.
I will be trying them all and detailing the results in upcoming posts, including some reader comments along the way. I hope that you’ll join me in trying these different techniques and sharing your experience using them with your fresh eggs. Together, we just might master making the perfectly hard boiled fresh egg!Congratulations to Vickie who was randomly selected as the winner of a Small Egg Basket from The 1840 Farm Mercantile Shop on Etsy! Stay tuned. I just might offer another basket giveaway in an upcoming post.
26 Comments
I tried this method and have to tell you that I was skeptical. I had tried just about everything else before. But! Let me tell you it worked like a charm!!! Thanks.
Does different color eggs taste different when boiled? Example: If I boiled a blue egg like you said vs a brown egg boiled in the same water and such, does the color of the egg make a difference on cooking time and taste? Blue or Brown eggs may assorb heat more vs white eggs? Just a thought?
To each their own, right? I think that there are as many methods for making a hard boiled egg as there are for tending the chickens that lay them and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I always enjoy trying a new kitchen experiment and was thrilled when these turned out so perfectly. I am just as glad that you have your own method that works so well for you!
I use (6) eggie’s and get the same eggs in half the time if I want boiled egg for lunch why should I play with it till supper time we always called it Boneless Chicken, why play with water and ice when you can crack the eggs into six eggie’s and boil them slice it put bacon, lettuce, miracle whip, tomato on it as a sandwich eat it put the rest in the ice box for later uses. Egg salad, devil eggs, ETC.
Yes, the eggs I used had been gathered fresh from my coop. A few had been collected on the day that I boiled, a few had been collected the evening before. By returning the eggs to the boiling pot, the small air pocket in a fresh egg expands, making the egg easier to peel.
Your picture shows a pretty large air pocket at the end of the egg. This would indicate that it was not layed that day, but was a few days old. Is this picture from your experiment with fresh eggs?
if it doesnt work , throwing the eggs at the wall helps, and its quicker.
Try adding some baking soda, vinegar and salt to your cold water to boil the eggs, works wonders.
The test is not complete till you try peeling one after it has sat for awhile. I often eat hardboiled with my lunch and do not peel them till lunch time. I find most eggs easier to peel right cooling, but if it is not till peeled till say the next day, that can be a quite different matter
I am so glad to be in the company of so many Julia fans! Yes, you can keep the eggs and peel them as needed. In fact, Julia recommends keeping the eggs in water in the refrigerator. If you give it a try, I would love to hear how it works for you!
The easiest thing I ever learned was from my Grandmother-In-Law who also taught me to cook without burning the Teflon off my pots!
1. Use eggs which are at least 1 week aged.
2. Boil the eggs for 5-7 minutes in salted water. (Higher boiling temp)
3. Pour cool water over the eggs.
4. Crack BOTH ENDS of the eggs on the counter then lay the egg on it’s long side and roll the egg gently back and forth until the entire surface is crackled.
5. The eggs peel easily and smoothly every time!
…..this only goes to show….NEVER question the philosophies of julia child……
Thank you! Hard-boiling eggs is an art! This is one of my go-to GF snacks-great for travel! I can’t wait to try the ice water trick.
I do a quick version of this where I pop the eggs into boiling water for 10 mins, then dump off the water and run cold water over the eggs while still in pan until they are covered, when they are cool enough to remove-a couple minutes?-, I save and peel as I use-up to days later- this does seem to help the shell come off more easily in larger pieces. Works on many different types of eggs.
Also, I have noticed that my blue cochin lays eggs whose shell always comes apart quickly and cleanly, I would recommend blue cochins for those who want an easier egg!
I haven’t had time to read all the suggestions for hard boiling an egg, but….I read a while back about steaming and have been doing it ever since on eggs as fresh as the same day! Never had a problem with any. I just put the eggs in a pot with a steamer basket above the water, bring to boil and cover and let steam for 15 to 20 minutes, remove, cool in some cool water and peel. Works!
Oh my, sounds like an awful lot of work to me for a boiled egg ! I had posted something originally when posed this question. I can’t wait until you get to it…it really, really works. The key is not to use such fresh eggs, minimum of two weeks old. I wonder if Julia used “fresh from the chicken eggs”, or store bought ?
I don’t like to peel them until I am ready to use them. I boil a dz. at a time and take a few to work every day, peeeling them then. Does the method still work if they aren’t peeled immediately?
Definitely gonna try this!!
I never could peel eggs even when I got those old things from the store… but now I have my lovely orange yolks from my girls, it’s nigh impossible – or so I thought… bless you for sharing this.
I bought myself (and a few others) the amazing “Color Changing Eggsact Eggtimer” for Christmas – and it really is amazing. I have been using it a couple times a week since and I have nothing but perfectly cooked eggs!
However, I did notice that they peel easy when I rush the cool-down and peel when they are warm. One of the girls at work saw me having a terrible time peeling then at lunch time straight out of the fridge & suggested I run it under hot tap water – problem solved! =)
I will definitely try the double chill – bc/ easier is better!!!!
I tried this with 4 eggs and they peeled very nice
returning them to the boil is the missing step for me. gotta try it. our backyard eggs are so hard to peel!
Oh, I am going to try this TODAY. Those Eggie things are so much work. Thanks.
Thanks for thinking to check with Julia, Jennifer. I will give this two dip method a try.
I will be trying this today! 🙂
why work URself to death I do a dozen eggs in a microwave in 10 minutes tops of course the eggs are 7 day old and have an air gap too aide peeling. The other method is to use the freezer too aide peeling.
I have an easier way. Using a push pin to poke a hole in the wide end of each egg (eggs should be well chilled). Bring water to a boil and pour in a good swig of vegetable oil. Lower eggs into boiling water. Cover and turn off heat. Time for 17 minutes. Pour out hot water and cover the eggs with ice. Works every time
You don’t need the oil at all and after they are cooked, crack the shells a little before putting in the ice water – helps release the sulphur and eliminates green rings around the yolk. This is basically Jacques Pepin’s method.