I love egg salad but hate peeling eggs. What’s your secret?

[Rusty Heap]

an
Insta pot makes perfect boiled eggs.

[stevej37]

If cooked correctly...there is no need for ice water, shaking in a jar, or ageing.
They will peel fine.

[LeeH]

Steam them instead of boiling. Use a steamer basket. Keep the eggs in the steamer basket in the fridge until the water in the pot is boiling. Go straight from the fridge to the pot... lid on. The sudden change in temp keeps the proteins from binding to the shell.

I steam mine about 11 minutes, then straight from the pot to the ice bath. Even fresher eggs will peel easily.

[cabmandone]

Originally Posted by LeeH

Steam them instead of boiling. Use a steamer basket. Keep the eggs in the steamer basket in the fridge until the water in the pot is boiling. Go straight from the fridge to the pot... lid on. The sudden change in temp keeps the proteins from binding to the shell.

I steam mine about 11 minutes, then straight from the pot to the ice bath. Even fresher eggs will peel easily.

See! Now we're talking egg science!!

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by cantdrv55

How do you age eggs? Won’t they go bad?

No. They’ll sit in the fridge for a month or more. Hens sit on eggs for a month at well above room temp. Just buy them, write the date on them, and put them away for 10 days.
Aging is the only foolproof way I’ve ever found of making hard cooked eggs. When you buy eggs you don’t know how old they are - they may be 10 or 14 days old already or they may be a couple of days. We raise our own eggs so I know their age, and fresh eggs don’t peel worth a damn no matter what you try.

[cabmandone]

Originally Posted by wdfifteen

No. They’ll sit in the fridge for a month or more. Hens sit on eggs for a month at well above room temp. Just buy them, write the date on them, and put them away for 10 days.
Aging is the only foolproof way I’ve ever found of making hard cooked eggs. When you buy eggs you don’t know how old they are - they may be 10 or 14 days old already or they may be a couple of days. We raise our own eggs so I know their age, and fresh eggs don’t peel worth a damn no matter what you try.

Isn't there something about not washing farm fresh eggs till you're ready to eat them? Something about a membrane that you wash off that if you leave on you can basically leave the eggs on the counter?

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by cabmando

Isn't there something about not washing farm fresh eggs till you're ready to eat them? Something about a membrane that you wash off that if you leave on you can basically leave the eggs on the counter?

Yes, the chicken leaves a chemical on the shell that helps preserve it. I'm not sure how much it helps. We wash ours right away because putting chicken pooped-on eggs in the 'fridge with our food is gross.

[cabmandone]

Originally Posted by wdfifteen

Yes, the chicken leaves a chemical on the shell that helps preserve it. I'm not sure how much it helps. We wash ours right away because putting chicken pooped-on eggs in the 'fridge with our food is gross

Aaaaaaaaaaaaand how! First time I opened a carton of eggs and saw chicken poop on one I told my wife and daughter "you're gonna have to put these in the fridge down the basement if you want to leave them like that!"

[wdfifteen]

Here. We probably do 2 dozen boiled eggs a month. Here's the current status of our egg management system. Three hard boiled eggs to go, and a batch put back on Feb. 5th ready to go into the Insta-Pot. I'll probably do them this weekend.

[fintstone]

Originally Posted by stomachmonkey

personally i prefer my egg salad warm over cold which is why i always try to make it fresh and only enough so i don't have leftover.

The texture is so much better.

Cold always feels rubbery to chew.

+1

[cantdrv55]

You guys never cease to amaze me with your knowledge. Thanks all.

[cmccuist]

Originally Posted by LeeH

Steam them instead of boiling....

I steam mine about 11 minutes, then straight from the pot to the ice bath. Even fresher eggs will peel easily.

I have one of those egg cookers that steam the eggs. It holds 10 eggs. You just put about a quarter cup of water in there and turn it on. I let it cool slowly and then put the eggs in cold water. I don’t keep track of the age of the eggs, but they peel easily regardless. Every now and then I get one that sticks.

I make a lot of boiled eggs so I think I’m going to try WD’s method of keeping track of the age.

Also, here is a tip for all you egg salad and deviled egg enthusiasts - candied jalapeños!!! Get a jar of those bad boys, mince them up, drop them into your egg salad or deviled egg filling and you’ll never go back.

[911 Rod]

How do you know how old your eggs are? If you are buying store bought, they are probably already a couple of weeks old when you buy them.
We buy them locally and they are a day or two old at most.
The fresh ones are a PITA to peel no matter what we do.

[masraum]

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by cabmando

Aaaaaaaaaaaaand how! First time I opened a carton of eggs and saw chicken poop on one I told my wife and daughter "you're gonna have to put these in the fridge down the basement if you want to leave them like that!"

Lenny Bruce told a story about when he was young he sold eggs at a roadside stand. He would smear a little chicken poop on them to help convince buyers that they were fresh.

[gregpark]

Eggs don't need to be refrigerated. They'll keep for many months on the shelf. They just take up space in the fridge. An only in the USA thing. I'm going to try the candied jalapeños in the egg salad, sounds yummy

[masraum]

Originally Posted by gregpark

Eggs don't need to be refrigerated. They'll keep for many months on the shelf. They just take up space in the fridge. An only in the USA thing. I'm going to try the candied jalapeños in the egg salad, sounds yummy

My understanding is that when eggs are laid, they get a coating of "slime" as part of the process. That slime protects them if kept at room temp.

commercial eggs, and even many eggs sold at farmer's markets have had that coating of slime washed off.

Once the coating of slime has been washed off, they are no longer protected and should be refrigerated.

At least, that's how I understand the egg thing.

I spent 2 or 3 weeks in the Amazon several years ago. The temp was hot and super muggy all of the time (day and night). And the cook had a what I suspect was several hundred up to 1000 eggs just sitting on a counter the entire time. That was a little surprising to me.

https://www.betterhensandgardens.com/fresh-eggs-washed-unwashed/

( excerpts from the link above )

many cultures (such as all the EU countries) prohibit washing fresh eggs that are to be sold whereas most places in the US require them to be washed.

Despite what regulations in much of the US say, the answer is, it’s generally better to leave the egg unwashed.

Just before laying an egg, the hen adds a protective layer called “bloom” or cuticle (see Understanding Egg Bloom) to the outside of the egg. This coating seals the shell pores, prevents bacteria from getting inside the shell, and reduces moisture loss from the egg – all designed to make the egg last longer. Washing the eggs removes this protective layer, and does reduce the time that the egg will remain fresh.

So, eggs that are removed from the nest box that are clean, are best left unwashed until just before use. However, eggs that have dirt, feathers, or chicken droppings attached when removed from the nest box should be washed in warm water (eggs should not be washed in cool water as this pushes bacteria into the shell pores) and used first.

To wash homestead eggs, just rinse them under very warm tap water. It’s not necessary to use any soaps or detergents.

Unwashed eggs will last at least two weeks unrefrigerated, and three months if refrigerated. Washed eggs should be refrigerated, and will last at least two months, but won’t taste as fresh as an unwashed egg of the same age.

[aschen]

I have been told that there is a method with instapot where the eggs nearly peel themselves.

[Hugh R]

Google egglets

[gregpark]

Originally Posted by masraum

My understanding is that when eggs are laid, they get a coating of "slime" as part of the process. That slime protects them if kept at room temp.

commercial eggs, and even many eggs sold at farmer's markets have had that coating of slime washed off.

Once the coating of slime has been washed off, they are no longer protected and should be refrigerated.

At least, that's how I understand the egg thing.

I spent 2 or 3 weeks in the Amazon several years ago. The temp was hot and super muggy all of the time (day and night). And the cook had a what I suspect was several hundred up to 1000 eggs just sitting on a counter the entire time. That was a little surprising to me.

https://www.betterhensandgardens.com/fresh-eggs-washed-unwashed/

( excerpts from the link above )

When we first got chickens I read an experiment on keeping eggs. They shelved 100 non store bought eggs for 6 months at room temperature and did the same with 100 store bought eggs. After the 6 months cracked them all. They found one rotten egg among the non store bought batch and 2 among the store bought. The remaining 197 were just fine. They surmised that eggs do not need to be refrigerated and the 3 bad eggs could have been bad before being laid by an older chicken. Eggs don't need refrigeration. The FDA requires commercial egg guys to pressure wash the eggs which destroys the natural coating but apparantly eggs do fine without. I've made several of these egg holders and given them away (full of eggs) to friends for the kitchen counter

This one is 3" redwood burl