source: Eggfarmers.ca
When it comes to everyday chores in the kitchen, there are few tasks as needlessly frustrating as peeling hard-boiled eggs. You know the routine, right? You make a whole batch of hard-boiled eggs with good intentions—egg salad, breakfast prep, it doesn’t matter—and then you go to peel one, only to discover you are in an epic battle of man vs. egg. You can’t hardly get the shell off without removing half of the egg white! Half the time, the egg looks like it went through a paper shredder. I know I’m not alone in this madness.
So imagine my surprise when I came across this little old-school tip from Jacques Pépin—the world-renowned French chef who has been cooking longer than most of us have been alive. Pépin has a really easy solution for peeling hard-boiled eggs—no gimmicky tools, no crazy TikTok “hacks” involving Mason jars and shaking eggs, just one little change that makes all the difference.
The Tip? Poke a Hole in the Egg
That’s it. That’s the tip.
Before you put your eggs into the boiling water, take something sharp, such as a thumbtack, pin, or even a safety needle, and poke a small hole in the wide end of the shell, where there is a small air pocket inside the egg. You have to simply pierce that area to let the air escape while the egg cooks.
Now if you’re squinting and thinking this is going to crack the whole egg, don’t panic. You are not stabbing into it like you are checking the pressure in a tire. You want to simply break the shell so the trapped air can escape while cooking.
And naturally, here is how it works. While the air is trapped in the shell, it creates a unique “air pressure” situation while cooking, which is why the white is stuck to the shell as if it is super-glued. But, by allowing the air to escape, the egg white can “settle” like it normally would, and when it comes time to peel? It comes out of the shell as if it just dropped out. No swearing.
How to do it without breaking everything
Alright, so to get down to the nuts and bolts of it: take your egg, hold it gently but firmly, and press your pin or tack into the rounded end — the big end, not the pointy end. You will probably feel a tiny pop as you break through the shell and into the air pocket. That’s your sign that you did it correctly. Then you gently lower it into boiling water and cook like normal.
No fancy utensils or prep work, no overpriced or overly complex egg gadgets from the latest viral video circling about a late-night infomercial. Just a tack and your time.
And yes, you most certainly can use this method with a soft-boil, medium-boil, or hard-boiled egg. It’s really all about the shell coming off cleanly (forget how done you like your egg).
Why This Is So Brilliant (Especially If You Really Like Eggs)
There is something genuinely satisfying about peeling a hard-boiled egg in one or two smooth rolls. And if you’re the kind of person who meal preps or just keeps boiled eggs around for a breakfast or snack, it takes this hugely annoying part of the process and makes it about a thousand times less annoying. No tiny shell flakes. No cratered eggs. No giving up and eating it directly out of the shell like some sort of breakfast goblin.
Also, this is perfect for deviled eggs. Because anyone who’s made deviled eggs out of lumpy mangled whites can understand the pain. It’s not just appearance, it’s also about the texture too—smoother egg = creamier filling and infinitely more satisfying presentation.
But, is it really that easy?
Yes. Honestly, yes. It feels like cheating, which is probably why this hasn’t been as widely known until now. But Jacques Pépin has been doing this forever, and if it is good enough for Jacques Pépin, it is good enough for me.
And for what it’s worth, I understand the skepticism—sometimes hacks really come with more trouble than they are worth. This really is not one of them. You can do it with one pushpin, and if you can spare an extra second of effort (you probably have this on standby), it’s worth it.
Also? Because it really just feels like one of those satisfying bits of cooking theory that makes you feel like a kitchen genius. Like you know something other people don’t. Like you’ve cracked the egg code. (Kind of).
So next time you boil a batch of eggs, just grab a pin and give this a whirl. Tiny hole. Boil like you normally do. Cool and peel, and you’ll see what I’m talking about.
And once you actually experience the bliss of an eggshell that practically falls off in one piece? You won’t go back.
