How hard can it be to boil an egg???

[lisas3575]

Grrr... just need to vent and ask for ideas.

Every time I hard boil eggs, the egg sticks to the inside of the shell and I end up with a *huge* mess! Anywhere from 1/8" to 1/4" of the white sticks to the inside of the shell. I've tried cooking them longer, not as long, in salt, cooling them slowly, cooling them quickly... what am I doing wrong? I swear, it's a wonder I can boil water! :confused:

[SandyM]

The way I understand it, they're not peeling easily because they're fresh eggs!!! :D

[Wendy w]

Try boiling the water, turn off the stove, add the eggs and cover for 20 minutes. Sandy also has a point about the eggs being fresh.

[lisas3575]

So I should wait until they're almost expired before trying to HB them?

Wendy, I've tried that method too with no success. :(

[Leanne]

I have always found that the egg white sticks when the eggs are still hot/warm, but that the shell comes right off if I've had them in the fridge overnight. Maybe it's a temperature thing too?

[aggie94]

I hard-boil eggs pretty often, and I usually don't have a problem with them sticking to their shells. I've never believed in the turn-off-the-heat-and-cover-for-20-minutes method (although I do have to admit that I haven't actually tried it). I place the eggs in cold water in a large saucepan, bring the water to a boil, and boil for at least 15 minutes. (My hard-boiled eggs have to be REALLY well done). Then, I turn off the heat, pour off the boiling water, and immediately rinse the eggs with cold water until they're not too hot to handle. Then, I soak them in cold water for another 15 minutes or so, and then peel. It usually works pretty well for me.

[SandyM]

Check out this thread for a fool-proof method, thanks to Cooks Illustrated - it's in the middle of the thread:

http://www.cookinglight.com/vbb/showthread.php?threadid=7039&highlight=hard+boiled+eggs

[Laura B]

I have also heard that the fresher the egg, the harder to peel. I believe a little birdie named Martha told me. :o

As far as acheiving perfect hard boiled eggs, bringing to a boil, then removing and covering for 12 minutes is fool-proof. Perfect eggs everytime and NEVER any gray or greenish coloring around the yolk. I was skeptical, too, but now I am a believer.

[lisas3575]

Thanks for all the tips! I'll let you know if I have better success...
xoxo