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With everyone being on some type of health kick, hard boiled eggs are a big staple in a lot of keto, low carb, high protein diets. My husband is currently on his own weight loss journey so making easy peel hard boiled eggs is a must.
Ever wonder why some eggs are easy to peel while others come out looking like they went through the shredder? It has to do with the pH, acidity level of the egg which changes with age. If the pH level is low it causes the membrane to stick to the egg.
We have our own chickens which means we have an abundance of eggs. I decided to put all the tips for making easy peel hard boiled eggs to the test and reveal the one thing that has given me easy peel hard boiled eggs EVERY time.
EASY PEEL HARD BOILED EGGS: METHODS
#1 ADD BAKING SODA TO THE WATER
I wasn’t sure how much baking soda to add so I went with 1 tablespoon. I boiled the eggs for 10 minutes in the baking soda water.
Baking soda is supposed to increase the alkalinity of eggs and make them easier to peel.
Unfortunately I didn’t see any difference in the ease/difficulty in peeling the eggs.
#2 USE OLD EGGS
Eggs from the supermarket are already old. Some are older than others. By law, an egg can be sold for up to 30 days after the date it was put in the carton.
Anyone with chickens will tell you that fresh eggs are significantly harder to peel than the ones you get from the supermarket.
I boiled eggs from our chickens, eggs we just bought from the supermarket and eggs that were sitting in the fridge for awhile.
While the oldest eggs were the easiest to peel, some still stuck a little to the shell. The fresh eggs were nearly impossible to peel and came out looking like a mangled mess.
Not everyone has “old” eggs sitting around and if I’m in the mood for deviled eggs it’s not realistic to plan a week or so in advance.
#3 ADD VINEGAR TO THE WATER
I thought this might work because in middle school we did a science project where we had an egg sit in a jar of vinegar. The longer it sat the more the vinegar ate away at the shell.
I put the eggs into a pot and added in 1 tablespoon of vinegar.
For the most part the eggs were a little easier to peel. Perhaps because vinegar is acidic and affects the pH level of the egg making the membrane pull away from the eggshell instead of sticking.
#4 START WITH COLD WATER
Put eggs into a pot and cover them with cold water. Boil until desired doneness and peel.
This didn’t make the hard boiled eggs easier to peel, but it does ensure they don’t crack open by gradually coming up to temperature.
Another way to do this is to take your raw eggs from the fridge and let them come to room temperature before boiling. If you don’t have the time or patience put them into warm water for a few minutes.
#5 START WITH BOILING WATER
Once the pot of water starts to boil add in the eggs.
Having the eggs go from the fridge to high heat is supposed to prevent the membrane from sticking to the egg.
This worked most of the time, but not every time.
#6 END WITH ICE COLD WATER
Submerse eggs in ice water so that the temperature change makes the egg separate from the membrane for easy to peel hard boiled eggs.
With older eggs this works well.
#7 USE EGGETTES
At one point I gave up and saw these egg forms that give you hard boiled eggs that don’t need to be peeled. My coworker raves about them. My only complaint is that they come out misshapen and sometimes stick to the sides.
#8 STEAMING YOUR EGGS
Now for the winning method.
To get easy peel hard boiled eggs the trick is not to boil them at all, but to steam them.
I’ve used my Instant Pot to make tender corned beef, chili, mac and cheese, and more. I heard that it also makes easy peel eggs so I had to try it.
If you have an Instant Pot place 1 cup of water into your pot. Place your eggs onto the rack that comes with the Instant Pot as shown. Close the lid and pressure cook on high for 5 minutes. Keep it closed for 5 minutes then quick release. Remove your eggs and quickly place them into ice cold water.
Every single one of the steamed eggs was easy to peel. The ones that were over a week old compared to the ones I got from our chickens that same day were the same.
If you get fresh eggs I would still let your eggs sit at least 2 to 3 days because the texture of the eggs can be mushy or just a little off.
If you don’t have an Instant Pot you’re truly missing out on the greatest kitchen appliance ever invented because it saves both time and money.
No worries, you can always just use a metal strainer/steam tray. Just steam your eggs for 10 minutes and immediately submerse into ice cold water.
Out of all of the methods I’ve tried, steaming the eggs consistently gives me easy to peel eggs every time. I hope you have an easier time peeling your eggs now too.
