Carla Hall's Easy Solution For Perfectly Sliced Boiled Eggs

There is something deeply aesthetically pleasing about a boiled egg. Perfectly ovoid, when sliced it reveals –- or should reveal — a parallel symmetry between white and yolk within. At a time when the price of eggs has varied wildly, no one wants to run the risk of ruining one with some uneven knife work, so we should be grateful that the chef and TV personality Carla Hall has a simple trick to ensure that each slice of boiled egg you prepare comes out neat and smooth.

On an October 2025 episode of YouTube's "Chewed Up," which features Hall, Clinton Kelly, and Michael Symon, Hall takes her co-hosts through three different ways to make deviled eggs. Admitting that she is "a little fastidious about the way things are sliced," Hall reveals that, in order to prevent the yolks from sticking to the knife and creating an uneven surface, she applies a small amount of oil to a paper towel and wipes her knife with it before slicing the boiled eggs.

Commenting that "presentation is everything," Clinton Kelly says, "You eat with your eyes first." Hall recalls that in her upbringing, deviled eggs were "everything" when it came to party food. However, all three "Chewed Up" hosts sorrowfully recalled attending events where this beloved hors d'oeuvre had been spoiled through clumsy cutting or peeling, rendering them "lumpy and bumpy" and visually unappealing.

That said, there are times when Hall is prepared to put her fastidiousness to one side and tear things up — quite literally. In a 2023 post on Instagram, Hall shared that her secret for achieving a luxuriously creamy egg salad was to first remove the yolks from the boiled eggs, then tear the egg whites apart by hand, before crumbling the yolks over the top. Artful presentation may be important, but Hall still understands that sometimes the good things in life require getting a little messy.