Reluctant Eggs

Have you met a hard-boiled egg that just didn’t want to come out of its shell in one piece?  Faced with the daunting task of peeling 24 eggs, I learned a lot about how to do it and how not to do it. 

I was assigned to make 2 recipes of curried egg salad for a Micah Cooks event tomorrow.  (I’m glad I limited it to 2!)  This morning I carefully placed the 2 dozen eggs in a big pot of water and boiled away on low temperature while I ate breakfast. 

I have encountered eggs where a piece stuck to the shell here or there, but never anything like these cage-free Trader Joe’s extra large brown eggs.  It took me at least 4 minutes to peel each egg for the first dozen.  I told myself to be thankful for two things:  they were not intended to be deviled eggs and they had at least started out as extra large.

After I added all the other ingredients and blended them in the food processor, no one would ever know the sorry state of affairs after peeling.



But then I had an idea for the second dozen, not wanting to spend the better part of another hour.  I decided to slice them in half with a large knife and scoop the egg out with a spoon.  Worked like a charm and took less than a minute per egg.  Sometimes necessity is the mother of invention.



Perhaps you know the secret to a perfect egg every time.  I obviously haven’t learned it yet.  So do share any tips!

But meanwhile, here’s the easy recipe:

Curried Egg Salad

1 dozen hard-boiled eggs
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 scallions, cut into small pieces
2-1/2 teaspoons curry
2 tablespoons dried tarragon
Salt and white pepper to taste

Enjoy on tea sandwiches as we will tomorrow or on a nice piece of multi-grain toast or straight out of the food processor on a spoon.  Yum!