If you’ve ever peeled hard boiled eggs to enjoy by themselves or to transform into deviled eggs, you’ve probably run into a few technical difficulties. First, part of the egg might unevenly pull off with the peel. Or all of it will. Or it takes forever to get all of the shell off (especially no fun if you’re preparing a lot of them). Well, fortunately there’s an easy, fool proof trick to peel hard boiled eggs both quickly AND easily…in just a matter of seconds! No more unevenness or time consuming peeling.

The method that I’m sharing with you is one that I’ve known for quite some time. It tends to run through the circles of people who own egg-laying chickens. I had assumed that others knew about this trick, and, indeed, some did, but a vast majority of people had never heard of such a thing. And, really, it isn’t exactly a logical system for peeling hard boiled eggs, so it’s unlikely many people simply just come up with it on their own!

How to Peel Hard Boiled Eggs

What You Need

• a 1/2-pint mason jar with lid
• hard boiled eggs
• 1/4 cup cold water (regular tap, any temperature)

What You Do

1. Be sure the eggs have cooled completely after hard boiling them. Learn how to achieve perfect hard boiled eggs here.
2. Put one hard boiled egg in the jar.
3. Pour the water over the egg.
4. Adjust the lid tightly enough that the water won’t leak (or at least not as much–I typically do this over the sink in case it drips).
5. Gently (you don’t want to get too rough and split the egg, but you also don’t want to be so gentle that the shell won’t crack) shake up and down, left and right, and in circular motions for about 10 seconds or less.
6. Remove the lid and pull out the egg.
7. Peel the egg.
8. Repeat with remaining eggs. You can use the same water, just top it off or change it as necessary.