As I was making mayo yesterday afternoon, I decided on a whim to try and crack the eggs like Giada De Laurentiis on Food Network.
Have you ever seen Giada crack eggs? I saw her making a cheesecake over the weekend and watched in amazement as she effortlessly pushed her thumbs simultaneously into each egg creating a small hole that was easily pulled apart into 2 egg halves.
This approach didn’t work so well for me.
As I started to apply pressure to the egg, I realized that the shell was so hard that my thumbs couldn’t make any headway.
I should have stopped right there. Taking a step back for a moment to contemplate the situation would clearly have been the smart thing to do.
But noooooo.
My stubborn side kicked in and I pushed even harder and then HARDER until finally my thumbs lobotomized the egg creating a small explosion of egg white and yolk into my hair, blouse, and face as well as the kitchen counter and the floor!
Smart move, I thought sheepishly. Why in the world was this so difficult? Giada made it look so easy!
Then, it hit me. Giada’s eggs are not the quality, local, free-range eggs I get where the shells are quite hard. Effortlessly pushing one’s thumbs into the shell to crack these types of eggs is basically not a possibility (unless, of course, making a mess is your goal).
Giada’s eggs are most likely regular old store eggs with soft shells where a made for TV demonstration showing how to crack an egg is quick and easy.
At least, that’s what I told myself to soothe my sore ego.
So, the next time you see Giada crack her eggs so perfectly on Food Network, remember: “Don’t try this at home! This stunt is strictly for Food Network professionals who use grocery store eggs!”
Oh, and white sugar.
Hmmm. White salt too, come to think about it.
Oh, yeah. Almost forgot about the Teflon pan with the metal spatula and the Springform pans. YIKES!
I’ll stick with being an amateur, thank you. At least I know how to not poison myself while cooking.
Lol, I’ve had more than my share of egg cracking mishaps since I switched to local eggs. Free-range, local duck eggs are even tougher than the toughest chicken egg. The membrane is even harder to open than the shell! I’ve discovered that if you make a couple slits with a small, sharp knife in between the cracked shell in the membrane about half a cm apart, the egg will crack much more easily.
himalayan crystal salt from americanbluegreen.com is on sale right now. buy 2 boxes get 1 free.
Sarah, if you want to use a showy cracking method, study this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfHqdc4pbbs
it works with my hen’s eggs. Still practicing until I am consistent
Here are two methods to peel fresh boiled eggs
a.. Put the eggs in pot
b.. Cover eggs with tap water (cold) and a T of vinegar
c.. Cover pot with a lid
d.. Bring to a boil
e.. turn off ….let sit for 15 minutes
f.. Immediately drain hot water add ice cold water
g.. immediately crack and remove shell….
Or,..as someone suggested after finding this tip in a Civil War cookbook (when everyone had fresh eggs). Boil the water before adding eggs. Really. Have them at room temperature, then slip them into the water with a slotted spoon. Boil your regular time (about 10 minutes) then immediately empty the hot water, and rinse the eggs in cold water (you can add a few ice cubes). Leave them site for at least 60 seconds, then peel.
Others swear by adding vinegar or salt to the water. I think the trick is to make the egg contents shrink away from the membrane and break it so it is released. The temp change will do this. Hope this helps!
Marianne
Great tips, Marianne! I’ve definitely been having trouble peeling my boiled eggs. I’ll have to try this next time. From what I understand, cooling the eggs quickly like you suggest helps a lot.
hilarious. At least you know how not to poison yourself. hehe.
If you steam your eggs instead of boil them, they peel very easily!
How long do you steam to get the eggs done? I havent tried this method and I will soon.
Andrea, really truly? We’ve been befuddled and bamboozled by the pastured hard boiled egg peeling predicament, so this would be eggcelent! How long do you steam them for, and do you start the timing when the water begins to boil or from the start?
So funny! The first store bought egg I cracked after using pastured eggs for a while got smashed to smithereens because I had become used to hitting them harder on the bowl. That poor egg was overpowered!
I was at a relative’s house a few weeks ago while she was baking a cake. I was cracking open the eggs for her. Apparently I had become accustomed to the force one must use when cracking open a pastured egg and forgot how gentle one must be when opening battery-produced supermarket eggs. I slammed the egg into the counter and totally flattened it. I had egg all over my hand and the counter.
This is so funny! I was just wondering the same thing recently (if there is any way to peel a pastured hardboiled egg) Does anyone have any ideas/tricks. WE love deviled eggs and have so many eggs. It is a shame someone doemt have a trick to get these fresh eggs peeled correctly after boiling. Someone Help!!!
See my trick above to peeling hard boiled eggs
I finally figured out that if you put them in cold ice water right after you boil them it’s much easier to peel.
This is too funny! Just last night I was talking with DH about how I couldn’t seem to crack an egg without having to pick out pieces of shell. The shell is harder and the layer just under the shell is thicker. Just as nature intended. I love how they’re all multicolored, too.
SO TRUE!!! At Easter my family was complaining about me not making deviled eggs…I quit making them about a year ago because I was frustrated every time I tried to peel them. I recently realized that it was a little over a year ago that I found a great source for pastured eggs! 🙂