Let’s be honest:
You love hard-boiled eggs.
But you hate peeling them.
One minute you’re gently tapping the shell… the next, you’re in a full-on battle with nature, clawing at stubborn bits of egg white like you’re defusing a bomb. By the time you’re done, your eggs look like they survived a war — pockmarked, shredded, barely holding it together.
And if you’re making deviled eggs? Forget presentation. You might as well serve them in a paper bag.
But what if you could peel a hard-boiled egg so cleanly it practically slides out of its shell?
Enter Jacques Pépin — legendary French chef, culinary icon, and quiet hero of home cooks everywhere — who revealed a decades-old trick that makes peeling boiled eggs effortless.
Spoiler: It takes 5 seconds, requires no special tools, and works every single time.
The Secret? Poke a Tiny Hole Before Boiling
The Secret? Poke a Tiny Hole Before Boiling
That’s it.
Before you drop your eggs into the pot, pierce the wide end (the rounder bottom) with a push pin, thumbtack, or safety pin.
Why this tiny move is genius:
The air pocket inside the egg expands when heated, creating pressure that fuses the inner membrane to the shell.
Poking a hole releases that pressure, so the membrane separates naturally during cooking.
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