To crack open an egg, tap it on the counter until there’s a small dent in the egg.
Then put your two thumbs on opposite sides of the dent, and gently pull apart the shells. Or just give it a good, sharp crack on the side of the bowl and pull it apart.
Always crack the egg into a cup before adding it to your mixing bowl. That way, you can see if there are any stray shells…which you can scoop out with a piece of the broken shell.
To separate the yolk from the white use three bowls: one to work over, another one for the whites, and a third one for the yolks.
Give the egg a sharp crack on the side of the bowl. Let the white slip into the bowl while you flip-flop the yolk from one half of the egg shell to the other.
OR…if you have an egg separator set it on top of a cup, crack the egg open, and slide it into the separator; the yolk stays on top while the white slips through…Perfect!
Cheers!