Finally, A Trick for Peeling Hardboiled Eggs That Works!

One of the greatest joys of this twee, pastoral/urban Portland life is going out to the backyard and, hearing the triumphant eggsong of one of your friendly heirloom-breed chickens, reaching into that box of still-warm straw and retrieving a new-laid egg. “Puh, puh-puh,” your hen coos sweetly. “Fuck yes. This is the life,” you reply.

But as cool springtime mornings turn to long summer days, you find your three hens producing more than two dozen eggs a week. You’re eating them as fast as you can, but frankly, you’re starting to worry about your cholesterol. They start piling up in the cheese drawer in your fridge, in baskets on the counter. You decide to just make a bunch of deviled eggs. That’ll get rid of a lot of ’em, you think. People love deviled eggs. They’re a picnic staple for a reason.

Unfortunately, one of the reasons people love them is because peeling hardboiled eggs is a goddamn nightmare. Especially fresh ones. Bits of shell stick to the whites and tear hunks out at every turn. Now you’re just wasting your beautiful eggs, and everything is ugly and horrible, and you want to slit your fucking wrists.

Back away from the razor, and try this instead. Boil your eggs for six minutes, then shock the eggs in ice water. Take a jar, add a splash of water and one of the eggs, and then close the lid. Shake the jar so the egg shell gets all cracked up all over, about 20 seconds or so (don’t kill the egg with rage, just shake the jar like you’re a normal person). Remove the egg, gently pinch open the part where there’s a little bit of give, then carefully peel the egg. It should come off mostly in a couple long pieces, like peeling a mandarin orange. Then rinse off your egg and voila! A perfectly peeled hardboiled egg.

Your summer is saved.