# I tried the viral no-peel boiled egg hack and it changes the egg salad game



## Rafiki (May 29, 2012)

*I tried the viral no-peel boiled egg hack and it changes the egg salad game








I tried the viral no-peel boiled egg hack — and it changes the egg salad game


This hack is supposed to help egg salad come out of its shell. But does it work?




www.today.com




*By Heather Martin 

This hack is supposed to help egg salad come out of its shell. But does it work?









Fielding is a North Carolina mom with a personal interest in health and wellness, and she started sharing recipes, kitchen hacks and nutrition tips on her Instagram and TikTok a few years ago. Her videos don’t push any of the usual fad diets, instead focusing on a balance of fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains and lean proteins. As a registered dietitian, I certainly approve of that overall approach.

Fielding loves egg salad but hates the peeling. A few weeks ago, she got the idea to try baking cracked eggs in a loaf pan in order to avoid the onerous part of the prep. She made the video of her first try, and it worked, so she posted it without giving it much thought. A lot of other people have given it thought, though — it’s been viewed over 14.5 million times on TikTok since its posting on April 6, and several thousand more on Instagram.

It certainly looks easy. In Fielding's under-40 second video, she greases a loaf pan, drops in 7 cracked eggs, and bakes them at 350 F for thirty minutes. The trick? Fielding knew they would dry out without some kind of intervention, so she put them in a water bath for baking so that they heat more evenly and gradually. When they’re done, she just pops the solid loaf out onto the cutting board and chops them for egg salad.

So does it work? The short answer: yes.







Jamie Fielding’s method for no-peel, baked eggs makes an absolutely recognizable egg salad.Heather Martin

But I do have just a couple of notes.
Here’s my setup: a loaf pan, raw eggs and a water bath in a 9-by-13-inch cake pan.







Cracked eggs in a water bath are ready for baking.Heather Martin
The bottom of my loaf pan is angled and smaller, so I used an even six eggs hoping to get a similar thickness. Since breaking the yolks is undesirable if you’re aiming to get a facsimile of boiled eggs, I just let the yolks fall where they may. Fielding's TikTok didn’t specify, so I assumed the eggs were cold right out of the fridge, and I used water straight out of the tap. I baked as instructed in a preheated 350 F oven for 30 minutes.

Fielding takes them out of the pan quickly in her video, and I think that’s a good idea in general, to prevent the dreaded gray-ringed yolk that results from iron and sulfur reacting together with overcooking. They came out of the loaf pan with no problem, much to my surprise; one of my main worries about this hack was that time saved with no peeling would just be transferred to scrubbing.









With just a little oil, there was no problem with sticking.Heather Martin
They are cooked, but perhaps a tad under-done for egg salad.








Eggs baked in a loaf pan really do come out similarly to boiled eggs.Heather Martin
I was afraid to cook them any longer, though, because even with the water bath, there are spots on the surface that are dried and almost plastic-y, especially around the edges.








Portions of the egg came out hard and plastic-like, even with the water bath.Heather Martin
They did chop up really nicely, but if you look closely, you can see a few crunchy bits.








Chopped baked eggs ready for dressing, as long as you don’t look too closely!Heather Martin
Ovens vary a lot, so this exact method probably works perfectly well for some, and a few dried spots may not bother everyone. They bother me, though, so I did a little proof-of-concept experiment with just one more egg. I let it come near to room temperature before cracking it into an oiled dish, and I covered it with foil before baking.








Don’t let the evil eye fool you -- the foil-covered baked egg came out perfectly.Heather Martin
It may be giving us the evil eye, but through a combination of added insulation and moisture retention, this one doesn’t have any hard bits. The yolk was all the way baked this time, too, probably because I let it warm up outside of the fridge first. I suggest using Fielding's loaf-pan method with six or seven eggs, letting them come to room temperature first to make sure the yolks cook all the way and covering tightly with foil to help yield a more even texture. Start checking for doneness about 25 minutes in, and be prepared to re-cover and go a few minutes longer especially if your eggs were cold. If the white is set but the yolks are under-done, leave them in the hot water bath out of the oven for a few more minutes, but be careful about leaving them for too long, lest you court the Gray Ring of Despair.

Fielding said she has gotten lots of comments suggesting their own “foolproof” technique, from steaming in the pressure cooker to dropping regular boiled eggs into cold water to ease their peeling, but like many of us, she said she has had inconsistent results. The shells stick sometimes, or the eggs come out too moist for her taste. That’s the key to navigating these supposedly infallible methods, really: Preferences vary. Some people want those softer, steamed eggs. Some people don’t mind peeling them after boiling. Whatever works for you is best.

As much as I like this egg salad inspo, though, my favorite thing to learn from Fielding is a willingness to experiment even if it results in some failures. She said she’s even tried to come up with a baked method for deviled eggs, so far without success, but I love her gustatory gusto.

Now, ready to try your own hand at baked egg salad? Get cracking!


With just a little oil, there was no problem with sticking.Heather Martin
They are cooked, but perhaps a tad under-done for egg salad.








Eggs baked in a loaf pan really do come out similarly to boiled eggs.Heather Martin
I was afraid to cook them any longer, though, because even with the water bath, there are spots on the surface that are dried and almost plastic-y, especially around the edges.








Portions of the egg came out hard and plastic-like, even with the water bath.Heather Martin
They did chop up really nicely, but if you look closely, you can see a few crunchy bits.








Chopped baked eggs ready for dressing, as long as you don’t look too closely!Heather Martin
Ovens vary a lot, so this exact method probably works perfectly well for some, and a few dried spots may not bother everyone. They bother me, though, so I did a little proof-of-concept experiment with just one more egg. I let it come near to room temperature before cracking it into an oiled dish, and I covered it with foil before baking.








Don’t let the evil eye fool you -- the foil-covered baked egg came out perfectly.Heather Martin
It may be giving us the evil eye, but through a combination of added insulation and moisture retention, this one doesn’t have any hard bits. The yolk was all the way baked this time, too, probably because I let it warm up outside of the fridge first. I suggest using Fielding's loaf-pan method with six or seven eggs, letting them come to room temperature first to make sure the yolks cook all the way and covering tightly with foil to help yield a more even texture. Start checking for doneness about 25 minutes in, and be prepared to re-cover and go a few minutes longer especially if your eggs were cold. If the white is set but the yolks are under-done, leave them in the hot water bath out of the oven for a few more minutes, but be careful about leaving them for too long, lest you court the Gray Ring of Despair.

Fielding said she has gotten lots of comments suggesting their own “foolproof” technique, from steaming in the pressure cooker to dropping regular boiled eggs into cold water to ease their peeling, but like many of us, she said she has had inconsistent results. The shells stick sometimes, or the eggs come out too moist for her taste. That’s the key to navigating these supposedly infallible methods, really: Preferences vary. Some people want those softer, steamed eggs. Some people don’t mind peeling them after boiling. Whatever works for you is best.

As much as I like this egg salad inspo, though, my favorite thing to learn from Fielding is a willingness to experiment even if it results in some failures. She said she’s even tried to come up with a baked method for deviled eggs, so far without success, but I love her gustatory gusto.

Now, ready to try your own hand at baked egg salad? Get cracking!


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## shepherd (Feb 25, 2012)

I still say, as an egg producer (yes, I am an old hen, but I refer to my "girls" in the coop) the simple way to make "hard-boiled"eggs is to steam them for 15-18 minutes in a vegetable steamer. They are perfect for egg salad. However for deviled eggs they have their yolks "off-center" because they do not move around and the yolks settle to a side. Otherwise, it is simple and works every time, even when you are using super-fresh eggs.


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## Rafiki (May 29, 2012)

shepherd said:


> I still say, as an egg producer (yes, I am an old hen, but I refer to my "girls" in the coop) the simple way to make "hard-boiled" eggs is to steam them for 15-18 minutes in a vegetable steamer. They are perfect for egg salad. However for deviled eggs they have their yolks "off-center" because they do not move around and the yolks settle to a side. Otherwise, it is simple and works every time, even when you are using super-fresh eggs.


Thanks for the valuable feedback ... very helpful information indeed ...


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## chickkie (Oct 26, 2011)

shepherd said:


> I still say, as an egg producer (yes, I am an old hen, but I refer to my "girls" in the coop) the simple way to make "hard-boiled"eggs is to steam them for 15-18 minutes in a vegetable steamer. They are perfect for egg salad. However for deviled eggs they have their yolks "off-center" because they do not move around and the yolks settle to a side. Otherwise, it is simple and works every time, even when you are using super-fresh eggs.


I always steam my eggs in the microwave, but wondered why the yolks are always off center. Do they stay in the middle if I boil the eggs so I can make deviled eggs?


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## Carlavine (Oct 31, 2011)

I have a Krupps egg cooker, and it makes perfect eggs every time. I don’t mind peeling the eggs. But this idea is clever.


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## wendyinwonderland (Dec 28, 2013)

Rafiki said:


> *I tried the viral no-peel boiled egg hack and it changes the egg salad game
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Sounds like an interesting method I might try. Here's another hack for peeling eggs. Boil the eggs, drain them and cover with cold water. Take each egg and smack it to crack the end. Put the eggs back in the pan and let sit a few minutes in the cold water. The water will get between the membrane and the egg and make them simple and easy to peel. It works!!


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## MoCoop (Feb 17, 2014)

I usually put eggs in a pan of cold water, bring it to a boil, cover it, and let it sit for 20 minutes. I shock them with cold water to stop them cooking and it's done. Unless the eggs are super fresh, they peel quite easily. As I have hens, I usually know how old my eggs are, the super fresh ones I fry or poach or make tiramasu or something else nummy that needs the freshness, so I don't often boil really fresh eggs.
Should I ever need to hard boil fresh eggs, I will try the steaming method. I can't see heating the oven up for a couple of eggs. I usually hard boil 10 or 12 eggs at a time, but they keep quite nicely in the shell (refrigerated of course. But with the oven method I wouldn't be able to do that many as they wouldn't keep so well and we don't eat them very fast.
If you cook a lot of eggs often, the oven thing would be a nice solution, but I like the way I've been cooking them for half a century just fine, they taste great.


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## chooksnpinkroses (Aug 23, 2012)

Sounds to me like more trouble than what I normally do. I sometimes steam them and other times boil them. They are easy to peel if not too fresh, eg at least a week or more old. I also have chooks and know how old my eggs are. I usually do around 6 - 8 eggs at a time.


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## geezee (Feb 15, 2018)

Here's something I just tried. If you have an Ipot, think 5-5-5. I put a whole dozen (or as few as you want) right out of fridge. Use the rack comes with Ipot. (I used a tea strainer to fill the center hole of the rack). Pile high with eggs. Add 1 cup water for a 6qt pot. (1 -1/2 cup if 8qt.) Set to manual pressure. Cook 5 min. Unplug. Let sit 5 min. Manually bleed off pressure. Remove with tongs plunging them into bowl of ice water with ice cubes. Let sit in ice water 5 min. Peel. Peels flew off no sticking! I deviled them. Perfect.


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## Linda6885 (Feb 13, 2011)

I use 'old school'. Bring eggs to hard boil, turn off heat, cover and let sit for 20 min. Drain and cool in ice water, Perfectly done, no gray rings around yeellows. Or Bring eggs to boil, turn down to simmer for 12 min. Drain, cool in ice water. perfect.


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## MoCoop (Feb 17, 2014)

I just remembered that when I was a kid, yeah, back in the dark ages, we used to bake eggs now and again for variety. Melt some butter in a muffin tin in the oven, take the tin out and break one or two eggs in each cup - they all have to have the same number unless you like yours runny, In fact I think that's why we did it that way, my oldest sister's eggs had to be done to the point of being chewy, the rest of us liked them softer, salt & pepper, bake until set. I believe we baked them in a hot oven, 400F or so but I can't really remember. Baking eggs is not a new "hack", it is as old as ovens, and those go back thousands of years. It is a useful skill regained


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## Nana Chickens (Feb 9, 2012)

My favorite way of doing hard boiled eggs at the moment is my, Instant Pot. 5 minutes, high pressure, 5 minutes natural release and finally 5 minutes ice water soak. Then crack the shells by rapping on a hard surface and slipping the shells off.


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