Do all your hard cooked eggs peel perfectly so they all look glorious at your Seder? I’ve made thousands of hard cooked eggs over a lifetime and although I’ve followed the “foolproof” advice of experts in the media (including making a hole at one end of the egg; cooking the eggs starting with cold water instead of immersing them into boiling water; steaming them, etc.) sometimes the shell is difficult to peel and the eggs look battered.
So here is my “expert advice,” the method that for me, has yielded the highest percentage of Seder-worthy eggs:
1. If possible, use eggs that are at least two weeks before you need to cook them. With time, the shell begins to separate from the insides, making the eggs easier to peel
2. Remove the eggs from the fridge at least an hour before cooking
3. Bring the water to a boil before adding the eggs, then gently spoon the eggs into the water, wait for a second boil, lower the heat and simmer (NOT boil) for 10 minutes. This is for size large eggs; extra-large and jumbo need slightly more time
4. After 10 minutes, immediately drain the water and add ice cubes and cold water to the pot
5. Crack the eggs in several places. One part of the shell may be easier as a starting point, usually the larger rounded bottom
6. Always make more eggs than you need because while this method is the best of more than a dozen other methods that I’ve tried, it seems that no matter how much of an expert you are and no matter how much advice you follow, the shells might not always peel off so well. Nobody really cares, of course. The Seder is not about the eggs
Want to add: don't rush! Sometimes you have to take off tiny pieces!
Chag Pesach Sameach
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