# how to slice a hard-boiled egg



## mimi2 (May 18, 2002)

Hello,

Can someone please tell me the best, easiest, most elegant and non-destructive way to slice an egg for deviled eggs? And what type of knife to use (serrated?)?

Thanks, mimi2


----------



## peachcreek (Sep 21, 2001)

I use a piece of dental floss. It works great.


----------



## anneke (Jan 5, 2001)

I use a paring knife with a thin blade, but I cut the egg as I would an avocado. Everything comes out clean.


----------



## pete (Oct 7, 2001)

I never really have a problem when it comes to cut eggs for deviled eggs. The whites usually present no problem to cutting. Usually it is the yolk that sticks or breaks up, but since you are making deviled eggs that really doesn't matter since you mix up the yolk anyway. Cutting beautiful halves and quarters for other uses though can present a problem. Make sure you use a thin bladed knife, and stay away from serrated knives as that will tend to rip the yolk up. Dental floss works great, as Peachcreek mentioned, and if you have to do a lot of slicing (as cheesy as this sounds) one of those old-fashioned egg slicers works great (you know the one, where the egg rests in a cradle and a handle with 7 or 8 wires cut the egg.


----------



## mezzaluna (Aug 29, 2000)

I've used one of those cake slicers that looks like a cheese slicer minus the little roller. Works great. But I'd think the dental floss would be great, too- just don't use the minty stuff! :suprise:


----------



## pete (Oct 7, 2001)

How about cinnamon flavored?!


----------



## mudbug (Dec 30, 1999)

The thinner the knife the better (meaning from the top part you look down onto to the cutting edge) .Try rubbing a touch of oil on the blade. The dental floss really does work beautifully, and works for cutting cakes for layering as well.


----------



## b1pju89 (May 20, 2002)

a pareing knife works well here, another choice would be fishing line.


----------



## matthew357 (Mar 21, 2002)

I say use a sea bass with a frickin lasers on it's head!

Matt
-Having an Austin Powers moment....


----------



## anneke (Jan 5, 2001)

:lol: :lol: :lol:


----------



## kimmie (Mar 13, 2001)




----------



## kimmie (Mar 13, 2001)

I noticed this is your very first post!

Welcome to Cheftalk Mimi2! 

:bounce:


----------



## chefboy2160 (Oct 13, 2001)

Kimmie , you beat me to it . The cheese slicer is the easiest Ive ever used .


----------



## susiewill (Mar 7, 2013)

I've used the same egg slicer for decades. It is quick and gives me perfect slices every time .




  








200px-Eierschneider.jpg




__
susiewill


__
Mar 14, 2013


----------



## michaelga (Jan 30, 2012)

Another tip - if you want your egg yolks to be centered in the eggs - shake the dickens out of them for 20 or 30 seconds before hard cooking them.

Worked at a buffet and the chef was rather particular about the yolks not being way off center, lowest guy on the totem-pole always got this job.

They looked like a complete loonie while going through a couple of flats before service.


----------



## mrmnms (Nov 28, 2012)

I just shake my chickens the night before and hard boil in the morning to center the yolks... Sorry, not that funny


----------



## michaelga (Jan 30, 2012)

Mrmnms said:


> I just shake my chickens the night before and hard boil in the morning to center the yolks... Sorry, not that funny


And I thought that the younger guys looked like complete loonies shaking their way through a couple of flats of eggs!

Just imagine what shaking 60 chickens would make one look like!

/img/vbsmilies/smilies/eek.gif


----------



## alamoelle (Mar 15, 2013)

Buy a few egg slicers. Cheap ones. Buy new wire at the hardware store and re-wire each to desired thicknesses. For the deviled eggg just have one in the middle and one on each end to cut a straight bottom. Perfection with ease.


----------



## ed buchanan (May 29, 2006)

No such thing as a hard boiled egg. Its hard cooked and really should not be vigerously boiled. then cool and cut with wire egg slicer


----------



## chocolatediva (Dec 4, 2012)

Mrmnms said:


> I just shake my chickens the night before and hard boil in the morning to center the yolks... Sorry, not that funny


Well I think it is hysterical!! ROFLMAO :lol:


----------



## chocolatediva (Dec 4, 2012)

MichaelGA said:


> And I thought that the younger guys looked like complete loonies shaking their way through a couple of flats of eggs!
> Just imagine what shaking 60 chickens would make one look like!


:lol:


----------



## mrmnms (Nov 28, 2012)

I laughed more from your comebacks, thanks. I actually think my chickens are pretty cool and they are very social. They come running when they hear me or my kids. They pick'm up , pet them (no shaking) Happy birds are great layers. I use a cheese knife.


----------



## thatchairlady (Feb 15, 2012)

SIL thought the ONLY way to cut egs for deviled was the "avocado method"... which I personally think is a bit silly... NO offense intended!?!  I can usually see where the yolk lies inside and cut so it'll be more centered.  Will defnitely try that shaking thing before hard-BOILING next time.


----------



## michaelga (Jan 30, 2012)

If you want the worlds easiest to peel eggs you'll pressure steam them rather than boiling.  

It makes such a world of difference and the intense quick burst of heat sets the whites and doesn't over-cook the yolks.


----------



## lagom (Sep 5, 2012)

Dental floss for cutting cake layers, that flipping brilliant, got to try that next week. Goes to what I always say, pay attention, even after 35 years of cooking theres something new to learn everyday.

Oh and ya, shake and steam then an ice bath, centered yokes and easy to peel for the dishwasher.


----------



## dropkick (Feb 3, 2013)

For deviled eggs I use a broken cheese slicer I picked up at Good Will years ago, the roller in it was missing and the space that made allows me just enough room to slice an egg in half sideways with the wire. -I only use it for this, I consider it a specialized tool, and usually only carried it if I was doing buffet work.

If I don't have it with me and I need to slice a bunch of eggs I usually use my boning knife (slim blade) and wipe it off between cuts with a damp rag.

All the egg slicers I had, while they were working were wonderful, but the wires always seemed to break out of them about the time I got an 8 top that was all chef salads. After a while I quit buying them and went from sliced eggs on my salads to quartered eggs. Usually I just used my chefs knife for this and tried to use a different portion of the blade for each cut, or wiped it down in between cuts.

EDIT: After posting this I remembered that I actually tossed the cheese slicer in a drawer and left it there unused for several years, until just a few years ago when I was selling my house and I threw it away. So as I only used it for a short time and then decided it wasn't worth carrying I can't really recommend it.


----------



## ed buchanan (May 29, 2006)

better yet break them first then steam(no Shell)


----------



## mrmnms (Nov 28, 2012)

All this for how to slice for deviled eggs. Maybe we have too much time on our hands. I better get busy!


----------



## lagom (Sep 5, 2012)

I hear ya Mrmnms, I hate the slow season, just waiting for the start of May, Im bored with doing 50 covers a night cause of low numbers in the hotel.


----------



## wyandotte (May 24, 2011)

I don't know why anyone would find the use of a cute little egg slicer objectionable.  It is easier than floss or thin knives.  To me, anyway.


----------



## wyandotte (May 24, 2011)

Mrmnms said:


> I laughed more from your comebacks, thanks. I actually think my chickens are pretty cool and they are very social. They come running when they hear me or my kids. They pick'm up , pet them (no shaking) Happy birds are great layers. I use a cheese knife.


Yes, indeed. Happy birds are great layers. This year I have Delawares. What breed of layer do you have?


----------



## maryb (Mar 21, 2008)

I jut use my chefs knife *shrug*


----------



## damon otan (Feb 25, 2013)

smalll bucket of hot water a clean cloth and a thin blided knife!! dip knife in water slice egg wipe blade dip and repeat! works a treat!


----------



## chefkelly (Mar 18, 2013)

The cheese slicer is  a great tool to use and its effortless. I have a ceramic knife which works beautifully.


----------



## chefbillyb (Feb 8, 2009)

As a Chef, I always had my pantry people slice them, that was always the easiest for me.............Lets move on to sliced bread now!!!!!!!!!


----------



## slowtigre (Mar 19, 2013)

I usually keep a damp towel on hand and wipe my super freshly sharpened knife with every slice.  I don't use any special knives, just my chef's knife.  Sorry if this wasn't much help.


----------



## mrmnms (Nov 28, 2012)

To Wyandotte, used to a bunch of fancy breeds, gorgeous birds, not all great layers . I currently have Buff Orpingtons, Rhode Island Reds and a few Sex Links. Laid all through the Hurricane ad storms this winter. They're a happy group of girls. Easy to manage.


----------



## mrmnms (Nov 28, 2012)

In the spirit of this post, I will be attempting to convince the girls to adjust their egg laying to half eggs to facilitate deviled eggs without slicing, which seems to be an enormous problem.


----------



## chefbillyb (Feb 8, 2009)

Mrmnms said:


> To Wyandotte, used to a bunch of fancy breeds, gorgeous birds, not all great layers . I currently have Buff Orpingtons, Rhode Island Reds and a few Sex Links. Laid all through the Hurricane ad storms this winter. They're a happy group of girls. Easy to manage.


I have 8 Buff Orpingtons pullets giving me 6 eggs a day, I give them apple and grass and layer feed.........happy gals and one Buff Rooster starting to wink at them as they pass the water troff,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,I see love in the air.........ChefbillyB


----------



## chefbuba (Feb 17, 2010)

Bill....your chickens will eat meat too!....Mine loved it. I'd throw the carcass from a roast chicken out to the hen house, they would go wild getting the leftover meat off it.....Throw some cooked spaghetti out for them too..Funny to watch.


----------



## wyandotte (May 24, 2011)

Oh, yes.  Chickens will eat ANYTHING.  Baby mice, huge insects, corpses of all kinds if they're there and I don't notice them to remove them.  Ugh.


----------



## mrmnms (Nov 28, 2012)

When I watch 'the girls" eat when they're hungry, I 'm glad they're not 10 feet tall. Carnivorous dinosaurs definitely come to mind. Very aggressive toward left over meat and insects.


----------



## chefbuba (Feb 17, 2010)

I had an empty lot next to my property, about three acres, in the summer the grass hoppers were plentiful and about 3" long, the birds spent a lot of time over there hunting and consuming lots. And yes to mice too....they were always on patrol for them, had lots of field mice around the pole barn, baby mice went down easily.


----------



## mrmnms (Nov 28, 2012)

My neighbors are afraid of my chickens. Too friendly for their own good. They weren't too crazy about my Rottie either. He got along just fine with the chickens.


----------



## marygoround9 (Apr 4, 2015)

That won't work for deviled eggs.


----------



## laurenlulu (Sep 9, 2012)

Cut while turning the egg, around the yolk then pop the whole yolk out


----------



## brutuzrawk (Sep 16, 2014)

I think it might be argued that if slicing the yolk leads to a crumbled aftermath perhaps it was boiled on too high a heat? This is my observation... I've had soft glistening yolks that were fully cooked and firm, the crumbling seems to be one of those neurotic imperfections which drives one slowly bonkers over time....


----------



## ordo (Mar 19, 2009)

Sam's egg:


----------



## autumnstar (Apr 11, 2015)

I just made deviled eggs tonight and find that slicing isn't the problem but peeling is (unless the eggs are about a week old). I find that a good paring knife does the trick for me.


----------



## guster12345 (Sep 14, 2015)

mudbug said:


> The thinner the knife the better (meaning from the top part you look down onto to the cutting edge) .Try rubbing a touch of oil on the blade. The dental floss really does work beautifully, and works for cutting cakes for layering as well.


Yes the dental floss works wonderfully. If using a knife, what would rubbing oil on the blade accomplish?


----------



## brutuzrawk (Sep 16, 2014)

ask yourself this 'does the recipie for deviled eggs call for oil? cuz you're about to introduce it into the mix


----------



## kinza (Aug 24, 2015)

Wyandotte said:


> I don't know why anyone would find the use of a cute little egg slicer objectionable. It is easier than floss or thin knives. To me, anyway.


lol.. yes, I agree with you.. but I think it's a no no for professional chefs.


----------



## pete (Oct 7, 2001)

Kinza, not sure why you would think that. When I worked in the hotel I found plenty of uses for my egg slicer.


----------



## panini (Jul 28, 2001)

I agree. We always had a bunch of them in the Garde Manger kitchen. You can also cut olives, mushroom, mozzarella balls, and strawberries, etc.

I wouldn't use oil for easier slicing with knife or cutter, I would use a little water.


----------



## chef oddball (Jul 5, 2015)

Yes give them a good shake..... Is there such a thing as a bad shake?? ... I'm not talking about the bacon vanilla caramel milkshake we think about once and a while 

We cook our boiled eggs in a steamer (Rational)

to cut usually use a french knife with a hot water bath nearby to clean between slices

Into an ice bath to cool and then we start appealing!

How many flavours of deviled eggs do others usually make? We usually do 3, goat cheese, avocado, cajun


----------



## winebear (Feb 28, 2016)

The best method I found is to use a ceramic knife when the egg is still cold.


----------



## bloodymary (May 9, 2017)

I just use a cheap paring knife. It's quite suitable for deviled eggs.

I steam week old, hard boiled eggs for 12 minutes and then drop them in an ice water bath. For the deviled eggs, I just use mayo, powdered mustard and some salt and white pepper. Sprinkled with a light pinch of paprika. The way my grandma always made them.

I like the egg slicer idea for strawberries, mushrooms and fresh mozzarella. I'm not sure about the dental floss idea since hard boiled eggs are slippery when they are wet.

And by the way Mimsie, thanks for making me crave for deviled eggs. I had to go make some today. lol


----------

