[pinnah]

I love the hard boiled egg, but hate a hard to peel, messy egg.

Are there any proven cooking methods that make the shell easy and clean to remove?

What do you know?  Thanks.

[tubercle]

Fresher the egg, easier to peel.
Tablespoon of vinegar added to the boil.
Peel under running water.

[abraxas]

The older the egg, the easier to peel.

Boil three minutes, pull off heat and let sit covered for 8 minutes, then dunk in ice water.

[theDarkSide]

I just cover the eggs in water and put on the stove.  When it gets boiling, remove from heat, cover, and let sit for 20-25 minutes.  Then I let them cool for a bit before putting them in the frdige.  Never had a problem with it except that I hate the things. But I do this for the wife.

[theDarkSide]

and if you use the egg carton to store them in, make sure you mark it Hard Boiled... .  You don't want to get them mixed up.

[dbeechum]

Well that just confusing didn't it?  

In my experience I've had better luck with older eggs due to a weaker membrane.

My method - Eggs into cold water.  Bring to a boil. Turn off heat and cover for 15 minutes.

Although I'd really love to have one of those immersion circulators so you could really set the temperature of the egg and get the perfect just set egg.

[euge]

One has to pierce a small hole in the wide end to allow for the expansion. You'll never have cracked eggs if this is done.

Cool quickly and they are easy to peel.

Vinegar does absolutely nothing AFAIC.

I like my still a little soft in the yolk- yum!

[tubercle]

The older the egg, the easier to peel.

 I stand corrected Ms. Tubercle has already admonished me for this...she's the chief egg boiler. I knew it was one or the other.

Vinegar does absolutely nothing AFAIC.

 Again - according to Ms.Tubercle - the vinegar softens the shells to keep them from cracking making them easier to peel in larger chunks and not having those pesky little shards.

[babalu87]

Yeah definately the older the egg the easier the peel.
When eggs are just laid there is a tiny airspace, that airspace gets larger with time making the peeling process easier.

We originally got chickens because I tired of my over easy eggs having broken yolks
We then realized that fresh eggs are impossible to peel.
No worries, the ones sitting on the counter for near a week or those in the bottom of the fridge get turned into pickeld eggs/egg salad now 

FWIW
"Fresh" Eggs at your local supermarket can be a month old

[euge]

Hmm. I grew up eating loads of hard-boiled eggs. I'd watch my dear old mom and chef-extraordinaire boil eggs. She'd add vinegar to the water and I'd ask why. "To keep them from cracking son..."

Invariably, 3-4 would be cracked. 

Once it was understood why eggs crack in the boil I never added vinegar again.

As to cooking times it varies if the eggs are still cold or at room temp. I prefer room temp.

No sweat though. Just eggs...

[nicneufeld]

Euge, its kind of funny but I can't help but "hear" your posts in an Eli Wallach voice, thanks to your avatar.

"There are two kinds of hard boiled eggs, my friend. Those that come in by the door, and those that come in by the window."

[euge]

LOL 

[capozzoli]

The drop of vinegar works great for poached eggs. A drop in the boiling water before you crack the egg in there. Not sure what happens to make it work but it keeps the egg more intact in the water.

I knew this woman years ago, she could put a hard boiled egg in her mouth and then spit it out peeled. Man, I should have married her.

[abraxas]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PN2gYHJNT3Y

I tried it once and couldn't get it to work.

[glitterbug]

The drop of vinegar works great for poached eggs. A drop in the boiling water before you crack the egg in there. Not sure what happens to make it work but it keeps the egg more intact in the water.

I knew this woman years ago, she could put a hard boiled egg in her mouth and then spit it out peeled. Man, I should have married her.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmxhuTe84lg