Easy Deviled Eggs Recipe - w/ Trick for Perfect Hard Boiled Eggs (2024)

FAQs

How do you boil eggs so they peel easily for deviled eggs? ›

Don't overcook eggs. I normally put them in cold water, bring them up to a boil, then pull them off the range, cover them with a lid, and let them sit for 15 minutes. Then, plunge them in cold water until they are cooled, and peel them immediately.

Baking soda is said to raise the pH level of eggs and therefore make them easier to peel. Add 1 teaspoon baking soda to a pot of eggs, as in our Perfect Boiled Eggs recipe.

Lower your eggs straight from the fridge into already-boiling water, or place them in a steamer insert in a covered pot, steaming at full blast on the stovetop. If boiling, lower the heat to the barest simmer. Cook the eggs for 11 minutes for hard or six minutes for soft.

The vinegar in the water makes the eggs easier to peel. Here's why: The vinegar's acid not only dissolves some of the calcium carbonate in the shell, it also helps the whites set faster. Running the hard-boiled eggs under cold running water as you're peeling, meanwhile, helps the shell separate from the membrane.

Hard-cooked eggs may be difficult to peel if they are very fresh. This is because an egg shrinks inside during storage, which pulls the inner membrane away from the inside of the shell. For this reason, a hard-cooked egg will peel more easily if it has been stored for 1 or 2 weeks before it is cooked.

3 minutes for really soft boiled yolk and set white. 4 minutes for slightly set yolk and set white. 5 minutes for a medium cooked firmer yolk and white. 6 minutes for hard boiled with lightly soft yolk.

Peel the eggs under the water. This keeps the pesky shells—which should slip off fairly easily—contained. It also helps if you crack the eggs while they're still slightly warm at the rounder end of each egg, where you'll find the air pocket, and peel from there.

Peeling under running water can help remove small shell pieces. If you're still having trouble, you can try adding a bit of baking soda to the boiling water or placing the boiled eggs in an ice water bath after cooking. These methods might make peeling easier.

Hard-cooked eggs may be difficult to peel if they are very fresh. This is because an egg shrinks inside during storage, which pulls the inner membrane away from the inside of the shell. For this reason, a hard-cooked egg will peel more easily if it has been stored for 1 or 2 weeks before it is cooked.