Buzz
At some point, you've probably boiled an egg. And if you have, there’s a high chance that during that time, a few choice expletives escaped your lips. Because unless you're fond of peeling eggs, it's usually a messy, time-wasting ordeal filled with nothing but frustration.
Perhaps you tried peeling the eggs too early, only to burn your fingertips. Or maybe you prepped a delicate ice bath for those fragile eggs, waiting for them to cool, then gently tapped their tough exteriors in a dozen spots to form cracks so the shells could be removed under a steady stream of water. (The divas.)
Maybe you summoned all your patience to coax the shells off with a spoon, or submerged the eggs in cold water, shaking them gently in a container in the hopes that their stubborn skins would finally break free. Whether it worked or not, it was probably still a frustrating experience.
If you're preparing deviled eggs and want them to maintain their perfect oval form, there’s no escaping the complex peeling process. Some eggs come out just right, filling you with a sense of victory, while others end up looking like golf balls flattened by a trash compactor, ruining your hard-earned success.
However, if what you’re after is egg salad, let me introduce you to a much simpler method for hard boiling eggs that requires no peeling at all. I followed a technique shared in a viral video by TikTok creator Jamie Fielding. Here’s what you’ll need:
Eggs
A loaf pan
A baking dish large enough to hold the loaf pan
Avocado oil, vegetable oil, or cooking spray
Start by coating the bottom and sides of the loaf pan with avocado oil, vegetable oil, or cooking spray (avoid using olive oil because of its stronger taste). Crack your eggs into the loaf pan—I used seven, since that’s what I had—but you can add as many as fit, up to a height of two inches. Then place the loaf pan in the baking dish and pour water into the dish, filling it up to the same level as the eggs.
After baking for 30 minutes at 350°F, use a spatula to gently lift the eggs out of the pan. Flip the pan onto a cutting board, tap the bottom, and let the eggs pop out, now baked into a neat white rectangle. Chop them into small pieces, and you’ll have the perfect base for your egg salad.
Now, does this method take longer than boiling eggs or microwaving them? Yes and no. While it does require 30 minutes in the oven, that’s not active time—you can do plenty of other things like play Wordle (or its many variations), fold laundry, or scroll through your daily dose of memes and dog videos on social media. Plus, there’s no waiting for the eggs to cool, no delicate shell-cracking, no peeling, and no frustration over being outsmarted by a tiny, lifeless object that even a toddler could crush. (Also, we’ve heard microwaving eggs leaves your kitchen smelling like a massive fart for quite some time. No thanks.)
Overall, I’d give this easy, mess-free method for making hard-boiled eggs for egg salad a solid 10/10, with only about five minutes of actual work time.
