If you're someone who really likes egg salad, you've probably hard-boiled a tremendous number of eggs in your lifetime. That someone is me. Even beyond my frequent quick lunch plans of egg salad sandwiches, a batch of hard-boiled eggs is always welcome in my refrigerator.
Hard-boiled eggs are one of my favorite ingredients to throw into a layered garden salad, or to have with a healthy breakfast for some extra protein. They're also spectacular strewn throughout a big 'ol bowl of classic, potluck-perfect potato salad. But then there's everyone's favorite springtime snack—classic deviled eggs. While you can get away with some not-so-pretty hard-boiled eggs in salads and in dishes where they're all mashed up, deviled eggs require a bit more patience and perfection to achieve in-tact eggs white to cradle that creamy filling.
Perhaps the biggest barrier to people making hard-boiled eggs is the peeling process. Trying to peel an egg that comes off in the tiniest fragments, ripping out beloved chunks of egg white with it, is truly an aggravating experience that makes even the most calm people a little bit peeved. Okay, let's be real here, it’s the worst! After all that work, who wants to be left with a bowl of mangled eggs?! And if you're making deviled eggs, it's downright detrimental.
There's a lot of information (and egg gadgets) out there on how to make the peeling process easier. In the testing and observation I’ve done, a lot of the factors people deem as important aren’t actually all that relevant. For instance, how old the eggs are doesn’t seem to make much of a difference. I’ve had weeks-old eggs that still didn’t peel well (the bigger problem was that I was using the wrong cooking method at that time).
I'm going to walk you through how to make easy-to-peel eggs, and seriously, the eggs are gloriously easy to peel every single time.
First, you want to give the eggs a hot start. For the longest time I thought a cold start was the way to go (a method my father-in-law swore by), but a cold start makes for difficult peeling. Many of us are used to cooking potatoes with a cold start so they cook evenly, but I’ve found that this doesn’t apply to hard-boiled eggs. A hot start gives you an easier peel, and the eggs will still cook beautifully and evenly.
Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil, then gently lower the eggs into the water. I use a wire basket for this.
Now that the eggs are in, lower the heat so that the water is at a gentle simmer. You don’t want a full rolling boil, just a gentle amount of bubbles. Cook for 13 minutes.
When the eggs are finished cooking, drop them into an ice bath for 5 minutes. I only like to break out the ice bath when it’s absolutely essential, like when blanching vegetables, but I’ve learned that this is one of those essential situations. Don't skip it.
After 5 minutes, the eggs will be cool to the touch. Give them several taps against the countertop, all over.
Then, peel away. You’ll get lovely large pieces of shell that come right off. It’s the best.
After peeling, the eggs should be stored in the refrigerator, for up to five days. Here's how long hard-boiled eggs can last. At this point, you can snack on them, slice them up and toss them into your favorite salads, devil them for an upcoming party (find out how long deviled eggs last in the fridge, or just sit and marvel over how easy that was.
Enjoy!
