10 of 12 eggs were perfectly shelled using the ice water method; the others go into egg salad.
You’ll get lots of suggestions when you google “best way to peel a hardboiled egg” but this method actually works. Thanks to Laura at the Momables website.
To cook, place eggs in a saucepan sufficient to hold them all without crowding, and cover with 2 inches of water. Add a teaspoon of salt. Bring to a full boil over medium heat, then cover and turn off the heat. Eggs will be perfectly cooked (firm yolks with no green ring, a sign of overcooking) in 14 minutes for large eggs. (If starting with refrigerated eggs, add two minutes.)
Drain eggs and transfer immediately to a generous bowl of ice water (water with ice in it, not just cold water). Gently tap each egg against the side of the bowl, turning and repeating till cracks cover most of its surface. Under water, begin to peel away the shell. In most cases the membrane will come off attached to the shell, leaving a perfect shelled egg.
Eggs peeled under running water had a much poorer success rate.
We discovered this method while working on Sauce Packet Deviled Eggs; we weren’t staying in a motel so didn’t have access to pre-shelled hard boiled eggs. We tested it against the more conventional technique of shelling eggs under running water with dramatically better success: 10 of 12 eggs came out perfect vs 3 of 8 with the running-water method. We also tested an alternate cooking procedure in which eggs are added to boiling water; after water returns to boil turn off the heat, cover and let sit for 16 minutes. Results were similar (both in doneness and ease of shelling) but the cold water method is safer because you don’t run the risk of an egg cracking when exposed to sudden heat.
Why the salt? Momables says “it helps solidify the proteins within the egg” which is probably due to raising the water temperature slightly so the egg becomes firmer faster. If you’re concerned about reducing salt you can do without it; however, eggs cooked in salted water tasted no different than no-salt eggs, suggesting the salt doesn’t penetrate the shell.
Thank you. I use the method of placing eggs in cold water raising it to a boil and leaving it covered for 12 minutes. I peeled the shells using the cold water method too and like you often had shells stuck to the egg. Next time I will use the bowl with ice cubes in it and peel them in that water. Sounds like a good plan.
On a completely different matter.
Do you know how to make “tadik”? When Persians cook basmati rice they use a combination of water, butter, and saffron to make a light crust on the bottom of the pan. Several people I know tell me it is easy to do but I never get the results that I want. Most often I get burned saffron on the bottom of the pan. I use stainless steel pans to make the tadik, maybe I should use some other type of pan such as cast iron. Do you have any ideas? A friend gave my wife a small bag of saffron and I don’t want to waste this valuable spice by burning it. Can you help me?
The ice water works. Just be sure it’s really ice water (with ice in it).
By chance, I’ve been looking at some Iranian recipes and may have an answer for your tadik question. (The term literally refers to the crust on the bottom of the pan.) Stay tuned.