A few weeks ago, I made deviled eggs for a potluck.
EVERYONE loves deviled eggs, but I have always dreaded making them.
Oh, they are easy to make…one of the simplest recipes to come down the ole Mississippi.
Some people like them sweet…some like them tart and some people like them with avocado in them and salsa and….
Well, you understand.
So, no….it isn’t the recipe that I dread.
So I had a talk with my eggs that day and here is what I said.
“I know you are going to be the perfect hardness because I use my little egg cooker”
Remember this post “Which Came First, The chicken or the egg”? click here if you missed that one.
Cooking them is not the issue.
I continued my dialog with my eggs.
“I am positive you will not look like the planet Saturn with the overcooked green rim(s) around your perfectly bright yellow center…”
No, that is not a problem.
What am I dreading, you may ask.
The peeling!
I know, I know…anyone can peel an egg, right?
And yes, I know the trick of taking each egg, putting it under cold water and rolling it around on the counter until the shell has loosened and is easier to remove.
And I also know the egg should not be fresh off the farm as the shells love to cling to the cooked white almost like Elmer’s glue on that vase handle I broke the other day. 🙁
I…..KNOW….ALL…THIS!
However, there are still times when the egg shell is…
………well, it is stubborn and no matter how careful I am, the pretty smooth white part of the hard cooked egg ends up with craters,… big and small that look like, well carrying on with the solar system analogy, the surface of the moon.
Don’t you hate when that happens?
Well, I used to dread that part of the deviled egg process especially if I made the deviled eggs to take to a potluck.
We all want our dish to be pretty when sitting along side the bubbly, cheesy scalloped potatoes or the pistachio salad loaded with pineapple and mini marshmallows … and If our cooked egg whites have craters..that not only are not pretty…..they don’t taste the same either (in my opinion).
And let’s face it…there are just so many egg whites one can eat to hide the evidence of a bumpy little boat to hold the egg yolk filling.
I mean someone has to dispose of the evidence and eating them works…. until there are so many of them that I end up making egg salad instead of deviled eggs.
Plus….it takes TIME to hand peel each and every egg, one at a time, now doesn’t it?
Until…
Are you ready?
Are you ready for the hack?
Until I found this little gadget, and it is called the egg stripper!
The egg stripper has a few well placed bumps inside the plastic container and can “peel” 5 eggs at a time.
Yes FIVE eggs at a time.
What a time saver as the eggs almost peel themselves as the shells slide off the hard cooked egg…almost in one whole piece.
I can remember when hand peeling a hard cooked egg, that if (a rare occasion) a shell came off in one piece, I felt like I had won the gold medal at the Olympics!!!
I wanted to stand up and accept my flowers in my bib apron, (or as is the case in this year’s Olympics, a stuffed animal), take a bow as the imaginary medal is placed around my neck and show off my slick, pretty white egg with no craters!
Sigh!
NOW…..my dear readers….Now, with my egg stripper….I never have craters. Now, my eggs are as smooth as silk!
HOWEVER….because I love all of you and want only the best for you, I am going to tell you a little secret.
It is true the egg stripper works perfectly with it’s little bumps to aid in cracking the shells of the hard cooked eggs.
The instructions are to add a small bit of water before placing the eggs in the stripper as the water aids in getting those shells off in one piece. The water gets under the shells and magically lifts the shells off.
So I got to thinking.
What if I used a small sealed container of any kind…would it still work?
The answer?
YES, it does.
My small sealed container did not have the little patented bumps, as the sides of my bowl were smooth, but by adding the water to the small sealed bowl holding several eggs…the egg shells worked their magic and slipped right off.
Here is how it works…One adds a bit of water to the bowl, places the eggs in the bowl and then shakes the container several times (make sure your container does not leak) and the agitation along with the water miraculously eases the shells off the boiled eggs.
One word of caution…don’t shake too vigorously or you will have mangled egg salad including the shells. This is also true with the egg stripper I purchased.
‘Be gentle with me’.…. the eggs whisper.
I did this several times with my makeshift “bowl stripper” and only once did I have a little crater….not a big crater or craters, but one little one.
Worth it in my opinion when compared to spending a few dollars $$$ on the egg stripper.
Don’t get me wrong, I am glad I purchased the egg stripper and I would do it again, I am just giving you an alternative to what you might already have in your home.
Experiment please with your own sealed container and let me know your thoughts.
Thanks and remember…
I luv ya!
Have a great week-end, I suddenly have a hankerin’ for a deviled egg….and I am not dreading any part of making them.
I will be trying this for sure. We eat a lot of hard boiled eggs and the worst is peeling them. I have tried using different pans to cook them, different brands and sizes of eggs too. but the only time I have success is peeling them under a running faucet while they’re still hot. Did you peel yours cold or hot? I gave up taking deviled eggs to functions until I discovered my friend’s secret for perfectly peeled eggs…she bought them at the deli already peeled! So that’s what Ive been doing the last few years. My 11 year old granddaughter and I (want to) believe in garden fairies. I have made little gardens for them and she loves it when she visits. One hot summer she came and their garden was all tumbled down and full of weeds and I didn’t want to work on it so I told her the fairies go to our place in Michigan in the summer since it’s cooler! 😉 That’s my story and I’m sticking to it!
I love your sense of humor Pamela! What a great comeback for “sno-bird” fairies! I laughed out loud at that one. Good job!
As for the eggs, I find that it is better to let them cool a bit, remember you are going to put some water in the bowl which helps in slipping under the peel and allowing it to slip off. If the eggs are too warm…(hot) they are more easily mashed a bit and you don’t want that. I also find doing at least two (or more) at a time is easier too. If you only wanted to do one, find a smaller bowl or container so it has the sides to aid in cracking the shells. Try this and see if it helps and let me know how it works for you. Thanks for stopping by.
I will definitely try this with a sealed plastic bowl, will be making deviled eggs this week. You always give good tips, ideas. I have been reading some of your old posts. I love the pictures of your secret garden, it is beautiful and looks so peaceful. I live in California so usually have good weather so I love to garden and be outside to enjoy my patio.
It should work for you Linda, be sure to add a little bit a water to your bowl and then your hard cooked eggs The water helps the shells loosen!!! 😀👍🏼 Let me know how it works out for you.
Thank you for your kind comments regarding my secret Garden. Sounds like you have one too and I’m sure you enjoy the peacefulness you have found there.