From Scratch to Scrumptious

Whether you’re getting ready to eat a hard-boiled egg for breakfast or to make a dozen deviled eggs, you’ve got to learn the best way to get past that shell!

I tested a few “kitchen hacks” for getting a hard-boiled egg peeled quickly and easily. Here’s what I’ve found:

This is the classic “method” (I use the term loosely) that most kids start with. Kind of like awkwardly peeling an orange, you try to find a crack in the egg and start peeling the shell off piece by piece.

For years I thought this was the only way to peel an egg. Thank you, friends and internet, for opening my eyes to better ways to peel an egg.

The Struggle is Real Verdict: Clearly the worst way to peel an egg, but it gets the job done.

This is a method that is done after the eggs are cooked.

This method makes cracks all over the eggshell, breaking the whole shell into tiny pieces. Each piece is still connected to the membrane between the shell and the egg, so the shell pieces can be peeled off in (more or less) one large strip.

To do this method: forcefully tap the top of the egg and the bottom of the egg against the table. Roll the side of the egg between your palm and the table. You should be producing cracks around the entire egg.

Start peeling the egg at the top. There is usually a small air pocket at the top that lets you start peeling easily.

Tips: Peeling while the egg is still warm is much easier! See picture comparison below. Also, if you can get beneath the egg’s membrane (a thin layer kind of like a sheet of plastic wrap), it will make peeling easier.

Roll with It Verdict: A step in the right direction. Not the best hack for peeling hard-boiled eggs, but much better than struggling! Easy to do without any extra tools, but could be easier.

Improve this hack for peeling hard-boiled eggs by combining with the Vinegar Method!

This is a method that is done before the eggs are cooked.

This method adds vinegar to the water in the pot in which the eggs will be cooking.

The science: The vinegar has acetic acid in it, which reacts with the calcium in the eggshell, breaking it down and softening it. If you leave the egg in the vinegar for a day or two, the shell will dissolve completely, leaving the egg encased only in the membrane.

Here’s the main problem with this method: you have to have the right amount of vinegar. If you only add a splash, the acid is so diluted that it won’t be able to work on your eggs very much. If you add too many eggs, there won’t be enough acid to react with all the calcium in the eggshells.

Be sure to add enough vinegar. I like to add about 1″ of vinegar in whatever pot I’m cooking eggs in. Then I add the eggs and cold water.

Once the eggs are done cooking, the shells are softer and you’re able to use the Roll with It Method with greater success.

Vinegar Method Verdict: When combined with the Roll with It Method, the Vinegar Method makes it quite easy to peel an egg successfully! Still not the best (prettiest or easiest) results, though.

This is a method that is done after the eggs are cooked.

Place the egg in a pint jar and cover the top of the egg with water. (See below)

Shake the jar hard enough that you feel the egg hitting the top and bottom for about 10-20 seconds.

The science: The water lessens the force applied to the egg upon impact, but still allow the shell to take enough force to cause breaking.

When I first had my daughter try this method when she was 10, I told her to “shake pretty hard”. She took me at my word and shook the heck out of that jar! The egg ended up breaking in half! On that day, we both learned that you can shake too roughly.

She has since mastered the Shake It Up Method and uses it every Saturday when she makes the family her famous Egg and Cheese on Sourdough Sandwiches.

Using this method, some eggs will simply crack all over. (See below) Then, the shells easily slip off the egg.

Sometimes the eggshell falls off! You can see in the picture below that the bottom half of the eggshell has come completely off!

Overall, the eggs are easy to peel whether the shell cracks or starts to come off entirely.

Note: Adding the Vinegar Method to the Shake It Up method makes it less effective. The force through the water is enough to break a brittle shell (no vinegar), but not a softer shell (cooked with vinegar).

Shake it Up Verdict: By far the easiest and most effective hack for peeling hard-boiled eggs! Also, consistently produces the most beautiful eggs with smooth edges (no pits). Shake it Up wins!

Using older eggs makes hard-boiled eggs easier to peel and also prettier when they come out.

Find an article from TheKitchn discussing why older eggs are easier to peel here.