Step 1

First, choose eggs that are at least 7-10 days old - the fresher the egg, the harder to peel. Fresh eggs are perfect for poaching or frying sunny side up.

Step 2

Place eggs in a single layer in a pot. Cover with water so there's about ½ to 1 inch of water above the eggs. (While some people recommend adding salt or baking soda to the water, I've never found this to make a difference.)

Step 3

Bring to a full rolling boil. Once boiling, turn off the heat.

Step 4

Put a lid on the pot and let rest for 14 minutes (the perfect time for solid but not over cooked yolks of large eggs). Set a timer!

Step 5

Immediately after the 14 minutes are up, run cold water over eggs and let sit in an ice/snow bath for 2-3 minutes.

Step 6

After the eggs have cooled in ice water for a minute, gently crack the shell of each egg. Just enough to let a little water seep in.

Step 7

Put the eggs back in the ice water for another 1 to 3 minutes so that the water can penetrate in between the shell and the cooked egg white.

Step 8

Take out an egg and gently crack the shell all around it - you don't want to crack it so hard that the shell tears into the egg white. Gently but firmly roll the egg on a counter using the palm of your hand. Don't press super hard - you don't want to squish the egg, you just want to make a thousand tiny cracks all around the egg. You should begin to feel the shell separating from the egg white. I find this step really, really helps. Don't skip it!

Step 9

Peel the egg starting at the wide end where the air sac is. Use the thin membrane to peel back the tiny pieces of shell. If more help is needed, peel the egg under running water so that the water runs between the shell membrane and the egg white.

Step 10

Serve cooked eggs any way you like!