Properly Cracking An Egg – No More Broken Yolks!

“To crack an egg is easy” may be a sentence that I hear all too often. Then why do you still find yourself digging out shells from a batter or cracking WAY more eggs than you need because the yolks keep breaking?

Today, I’m going to demonstrate the optimal technique for correctly breaking an egg to avoid broken shells and broken yolks. We will look at the do’s and the don’ts so you can save yourself time, effort, and even money. 

You can apply your newfound skills by making these delicious recipes. First, try a hearty breakfast of Bread With Egg And Bacon In The Middle. Then, you can make something a little more filling and rich, Eggs Shakshouka. And finally, for dessert, you can make my famous Vanilla-Chocolate Cheesecake.

Why Is There A “Best Way To Crack Eggs?”

If you have ever cracked an egg, I am sure that you will immediately be able to figure out why some methods work better than others. But for those who don’t, let’s dive deep into this simple yet excruciatingly annoying issue.

When cracking eggs, there are two common problems people run into. The first is that the shell or pieces of the shell fall into the egg white. The second issue arises when the egg yolk ruptures while the shell is being cracked open.

Egg Shells – Every Baker’s Worse Nightmare

Now, cracked eggshells in the egg mixture may not seem like that big of an issue. Simply take them out? Right?

WRONG!

It’s such a tedious and annoying task to take up because the jelly-like egg white sucks the shell pieces in immediately. Unless you have tweezers, it takes a couple of tries to remove the tiny piece you are looking for.

And what’s worse is trying to remove multiple pieces of eggshell that broke off. This process consumes far more time than necessary!

So, in my opinion, it’s best to avoid this issue entirely rather than spend a ton of time picking out shell pieces individually.

Why Not Leave The Eggshell There?

The edges of eggshells are extremely sharp. This can cause cuts in your throat or stomach. While being uncomfortable, it’s not the end of the world.

That is, until the cuts become infected. This issue isn’t as easy to solve. And again, better to avoid completely rather than deal with the consequences later.

Broken Egg Yolks

This issue only matters if you are trying to make a perfect yolk (usually for fried eggs) or need to separate egg whites and yolks.

If you are beating the eggs for a batter, filling, sauce, pudding, or to make scrambled eggs, obviously, it’s not an issue.

Why You Shouldn’t Be Cracking Eggs On The Side Of The Bowl

We have all done it before. It’s arguably the most popular method for cracking eggs. But just because it’s a popular option doesn’t make it a good choice.

When cracking an egg on the sharp edge of a bowl, it pushes the shells inwards. This sometimes breaks the yolk, making it impossible to separate it from the egg whites.

Simultaneously, as the shell is pushed inwards, it breaks into smaller and smaller pieces. Once you pull the two shell halves apart, those tiny pieces tear off without resistance and fall into your batter.

The Best Way to Properly Crack An Egg

The most effective method to break an egg is by striking it against a hard, flat surface. This means you don’t have to force much to get the egg to crack. Secondly, it means a large area cracks into large pieces instead of a small slit cracking into many tiny little pieces.

It’s also a way to avoid the shell pushing inwards, breaking the beautiful golden yolk.

Crack The Egg On A Table – The Easiest Technique

If you are in a kitchen, you have a hard flat surface to use. 

To start, you have to gently (but firmly) tap the SIDE of the egg against the table. The side of the egg is the weakest part of the shell and will crack the easiest. DO NOT tap the top or base.

Once you have cracked the side, you can put the eggs between your hands. Insert your thumbs between the cracks and carefully pull the two shell halves apart.

As you pull, the egg white and yolk will fall directly into a bowl.

If you still have some parts of the shell fall into the egg mixture, they should be quite large and easy to remove.

Crack Two Eggs Against Each Other

This is a method I use most often, especially when cracking a few eggs.

Take an egg into your non-dominant hand. Then, take another egg into your dominant hand. 

Use the egg in your dominant hand to crack the other egg. Strike with confidence, yet not with too much force.

Only one of the eggs will crack (it could be any one of them). Take the cracked egg and pull apart the two shell halves to allow the raw egg to fall out.

This method is quick if you are cracking a bunch of eggs, and it doesn’t break the yolk or the shell into tiny pieces.

Best Way To Crack An Egg – Tips And Tricks

The biggest tip I can give you when it comes to cracking an egg is to always crack them in a separate bowl.

Crack one egg into the bowl, make sure it’s what you want, then add it to the batter or set it aside. If you break eggs directly into a batter or together in a large bowl, removing tiny eggshell pieces will become A LOT more difficult. And more often than not, those pieces disappear completely.

So again, crack the eggs individually into a clean, SEPARATE bowl before mixing them all together.

Another tip is not to be too gentle or too rough. You want a good hit that will create a crack on the first try. Shaking the egg too much (with too many gentle taps) will cause the yolk to break inside.

But obviously, a tap that uses too much force will just break the egg inside your hand or break the shell into MANY pieces.