We’ve all been there…
You get the hankering for a good, old-fashioned hard-boiled egg. And since you have your very own flock of chickens, you can hardly wait to boil up a batch.
You carefully select the eggs, place them in the pot, and simmer them to perfection.
Your mouth starts watering as you gently crushed the shell and peel the egg–with the salt shaker ready and waiting.
And then you get this:
It’s enough to make you wanna say a bad word.
With their gorgeous, orange yolks and rich flavor, there aren’t many downfalls to farm-fresh eggs. However, since the inner membrane clings tightly to the shell of a fresh egg, it’s near-impossible to have anything but ugly results when you try to hard-boil them.
There are lots of suggestions floating around to make the process easier to peel eggs, including:
- Letting the eggs age first (I don’t know about you, but my 2-3 week old farm eggs are STILL hard to peel!)
- Boiling them with vinegar (this didn’t work for me…)
- Boiling them with salt (this didn’t work either)
- Boiling them with baking soda (this sorta worked…. almost)
- Using a pin to prick the shells before boiling (I REALLY wanted this to work, but alas, I think I’m too heavy-handed)
I had pretty much completely given up this whole concept, until I ran across the idea of steaming the eggs.
It sounded kinda crazy at first, but in my desperation, I decided to give it a try.
I started with these babies–fresh from the chickens that morning. An egg-peelers worst nightmare:
And I ended up with these. Yeah, I may have done a happy dance in the kitchen. Maybe…
**Update: Have an Instant Pot pressure cooker? I have an even easier technique for you! Click here.
Watch Me Make Easy Peal Hard Boiled Eggs on Video!
Easily Peel Farm-Fresh Hard-Boiled Eggs Technique
You will need:
- Fresh eggs
- A metal colander or steamer basket
- A pot with lid
- Water
Instructions:
So technically, we are steaming the eggs, not boiling them. I don’t have a vegetable steamer basket, so I just used my metal colander to hold the eggs instead. Feel free to use whatever you have.
Initially, I tried setting it on the rim of a pot, like this:
But this prevented the lid from fitting on top, which released a lot of the steam, which resulted in half-cooked eggs. We don’t want that.
So, I grabbed a larger pot, and place the colander in the bottom, like this:
(Definitely don’t use a plastic colander for this–it’ll melt.)
Fill the bottom of the pot with water–the exact amount isn’t important, just make sure you aren’t submerging the eggs. And also make sure that there is enough water to keep the pot from boiling dry.
Place the eggs in the colander, and the colander in the pot. Bring the water to a boil, and place the lid on top.
Allow the eggs to steam for 20-22 minutes. Remove the colander (or steamer basket) from the pot and rinse the eggs with cold water to halt the cooking process.
And now… Relish in the experience of peeling a farm-fresh egg without strife, frustration, or bad words. Life is good. 🙂
More Egg-Related Tips:
- Do You Have to Refrigerate Eggs? Here’s what you need to know.
- How to Make Hard Boiled Eggs in an Instant Pot
- 50+ Ways to Use Extra Eggs
- How to Make Non-Stick Eggs in a Cast Iron Skillet
- Creative Ways to Use Old Egg Cartons
We’ve found that doing it for 30 – 35 minutes works better, but you may be lower than us (we’re just under 7,000 ft at the continental divide). Otherwise, they aren’t cooked quite enough and can be a bit tough to peel. It also seems to help if I submerge them in ice water immediately after turning off the pot. I started doing this last summer and the results are MUCH improved from anything else we’ve tried, including “oven hard-boiled” eggs.
That’s why Brits eat their eggs with an egg cup and spoon!
My egg yolk is always super close to the shell on one side and never in the center sometimes there is no white part at all and the yolk is showing when I peel them. Any suggestions on what’s wrong?
Hi Jackie (April 18,2022). Turn your whole egg carton (with your eggs in it) upside down in the refrigerator for a few days and the yolk will move towards the center of the egg. Then proceed to boil the eggs. Good luck!
Good idea – makes sense!
The very best way to make hard boiled eggs is to put them in a pot cover the eggs with water, cover. Once the water comes to a boil, turn the heat off let them sit in the pot for about 7 min. Then empty the water. Put a litter cold water in the pot place lid on. Shake the pot side to side for a few minutes. The shell completely loosen. Then roll the eggs in your hands and the shell comes right off. This has worked for me for many years.
That doesn’t work so well on fresh eggs. You need to bring your water to a boil first,boil for 10min, drain, submerge in ice water 3 min, peel and enjoy.
This is the only way that works for me. Be sure to chill the eggs for at least 2 hours first. Then add them to boiling water. I have to cook mine for 15 min but they are very large farm eggs. Drain immediately and run cold water over them. let sit for a minute then drain and more cold water. I then bang them on the side of the sink and roll them to get cracked all over and place back into cold water. This helps them chill faster. It’s the two “shocks” -cold eggs into boiling water, and -hot eggs into cold water, that make that inner membrane let loose.
This works for me as well. Bring water to boil first. Then place old or new eggs in water. Boil for 10-15 minutes. Pour hot water off and run cold water over them. Haven’t timed how long to let stand. Roll on counter to crack shell all around. Shell come off easy most of the time.
I am excited to try this, I love hard boiled , deviled eggs but didn’t want to ruin our sweet girls eggs, and I was getting tired of egg sandwiches and omlets LOL THANK y’all!!!! ??????
Do you know if this would work the same for duck eggs? I love them but have heard they can be a bit rubbery sometimes(though I haven’t come across this since I usually scramble instead of fry). Any advice for FARM FRESH DUCK EGGS is appreciated:)
We used them in cakes when I was growing up. I think they count for 2 eggs unless that was goose eggs. Good luck!
I have had 100% success with the following technique when boiling fresh eggs:
1. Bring a pot of water to a boil
2. Gently lower in eggs, making sure they are fully submerged
3. Set a time and boil for exactly 15 minutes
4. When timer goes off, transfer eggs immediately to a large bowl of ice cold water and let them sit for several minutes
5. Peel and rejoice as shells slide right off
On Rachel Ray the guy cooked the eggs in already boiling water for ten minutes. Place them in the fridge in a sealed, Tupperware type, bowl. Once they’re cooled they peel like a dream. My eggs come straight out from under the chicken.
Worked the firsttime for me! THANKS SO MUCH!
WOW! Wonderful with our very fresh eggs! I’m so excited about this (Debra’s 4-13-17 posted method)–THANK YOU!!
Worked great! Thank You!
Just tried this with new store bought eggs. Worked nice. Thank you.
Debra, your method worked very well with my 3- and 4- day old farm fresh eggs. Thank you!
I do mine the same as Debra, and it works great every time.
Have done (1 day old) eggs several times now as suggested by Debra, and I do indeed rejoice as the shells slide right off. Thanks for a detailed comment!
Debra, thank you so much!! I will say they were week old farm eggs but have tried to “age” them before boiling in the past with no success. This was perfect! And the yolk was perfect-not discolored from cooking too long. So happy it worked!
Thanks!! Gonna try this
This method does NOT work for fresh eggs. They won’t peel easily. Half of your egg white will go in the trash as mine did this morning. Works fine for store-bought eggs though.
Wow, this worked so well with my fresh eggs. It was amazing. Thank you. Robin.
Yes, has that worked with farm-fresh eggs, ie, 1 to 2 days old? Cuz I’ve tried this method many times on store bought eggs with no problems!
Are you using farm fresh eggs, i.e. collected & used the same day?
This method ALWAYS worked for me (20 years);but since I have began buying rang-free, fresh eggs, i have had nothing but grief!
This doesn’t work for FRESh eggs. I leave my eggs out of the Fridge 5-7 then boil 7 min leave covered 20 min then cool crack and peel. I’m going to try the steam method and see how it works.
I’ve tried this… works with store boujght eggs but not farm fresh eggs.
That works for hard boiled eggs you are chopping up for salads but it makes ugly deviled eggs unless you are more gentle shaking the pan than I am.
tried that just as you said and the yellows were runny in the middle….:/ Maybe two or three more minutes in the hot water??
Sounds good to me!
I just steamed my free range eggs for first time and results are a beautiful sight, will do again. I was raised to boil and never had issues until using free range eggs. I am sold on steaming.
Just discovered this too. Will never boil again and works on fresh eggs
Steam will get much hotter that water. Is this the reason it works so much better?
I just used my rice maker to steam the eggs and they were perfect! Why didn’t I know this sooner. ?
Thank you for your comment. I was wondering if that method would work as well. That’s how I’m going to try it to begin with.
The easiest and most reliable way is using a pressure cooker. Bring to 10 pounds pressure, turn off the heat, wait for pressure to go all the way down. Eggs will fall right out of the shells EVERY time.
My altitude is less than 1400 feet, does altitude make that much difference? Any suggestions on how long I should steam them? And I have a clam steamer, it will be perfect for this. 🙂
Altitude only effects the amount of time / temperature at which water boils. It does not effect how long it takes to cook food at a specific temperature.
If you have steam which is at 210+ degrees, it will take the same amount of time to cook no matter what altitude you’re at….
Maybe, instead of telling people to overcook their eggs, you should just boil your water for 10 more minutes.
That’s not true. At our house, located in Colorado at 9356′ above sea level, water boils at roughly 195 degrees. Therefore when we’re boiling or steaming, we aren’t cooking at 212, we are cooking at 195. That makes it take a LOT longer, therefore cooking times need to be adjusted up. Every approx 550′ above sea level you go, water boils at approx 1 degree lower than 212. This is why cooking directions have “high altitude directions”.
It totally worked! Over 20 years of not being able to peel these and this worked!
So been trying to figure this egg thing out for months, and today I steamed them for 20 minutes and put right in ice water. And let me add I got the eggs fresh for the coop this morning. Best eggs ever thanks again for the tips.
I steamed them just the way she said and they was the best eggs I have ever done and they were so much easier to peel
Cooking eggs in a Power Pressure Cooker works great – they almost peel themselves! I’m sure the InstaPot works the same way – just Google it.
Perfect! I was going to try that. Makes perfect sense.. I may put a pin hole in the large end to see what happens too. The pressure is consistent over the surface and I’m guessing the hole may allow pressure to enter the shell without blowing the egg out ..thus even easier peeling….?
I’m at sea level in Southern California. I use a steam tray in a covered steam pan . I boil the water, then add the Covered steam tray and lower the flame to simmer for 10min. After 10min. I turn off the burner, empty the water and let the eggs cool naturally them refrigerate then when at room temperature-Works perfectly for me every time.
Whoa!! Incredible!! I’ve tried every trick in the book to find an easy way to peel fresh hard boiled eggs and NONE of them worked…until this “steaming” approach described in this article. It worked perfectly! 60 years of frustration peeling fresh eggs, until now. Problem solved! Thank you!!
That’s what we like to hear! SO happy this worked so well for you. 🙂
The recipe says bring to a boil. But steaming is usually done on low heat. So do I bring to a blood then lower the heat or put the lid on and let it go full force for the 20-22 minutes?
Yes! Right on.
This technique is the best, thank you so much for sharing, it works GREAT for me!!!
I hard boil for ten minutes, drain off the boiling water, leave the eggs in the saucepan and cover with cold water. I then leave for 2-3 minutes, no longer, and i have never had a problem getting the shell off.
The vinegar doesn’t work because it’s not to make the eggs peel easier.. it’s in case you have any hair line cracks, vinegar seals them so the egg white doesn’t come through the shell
What a gem you are Paula! Thank you SO much for the note about altitude adjustments, I’m at 7500′ and you’ve saved me so much time experimenting. There’s always an abundance of info about making breads and cakes up at high altitudes but never anything said about the myriad recipes that include boiling water as a key technique, and of course the temperature of boiling water is the whole problem up here in the clouds! Thanks again!
This works!!! Thank you thank you thank you!
Kinda life changing, isn’t it?
This must be a sign. I was thinking about having some delicious hard boiled eggs earlier today and then thought about how difficult they can be to peel. Going to try this today! Thanks!
I’ve done the same thing many times,the frustration isn’t worth what’s left of the reward…..
Will try this for dinner and I really hope it will work because you are right..it is so frustrating (not to mention the bad words!!!) not to be able to peel our “girls gifts”!
Thanks for sharing
Fra
Believe me it works just done 3 dozen
We’re so glad this method worked for you Eugene! 🙂
Do you keep the burner on high for the 20 minutes?
Thank you very much for your useful advice. Kind regards.
sounds like a great idea, but the extra energy usage seems too great a loss for the perfect peeling.
Extra energy usage? What r u even talking about?
Electricity, Dear, we are seniors on a limited budget!! God bless u, too!
I agree. It’s too much extra energy to cook them. I’d have to do it while steaming something else.
Ok—trying to figure out why all are having issues. I never have them. But I also don’t boil the heck out of my eggs. I don’t use straight from store—usually a week “aging” in my own fridge but obviously no where near expiration on package. Then I do the old farm method. Cold water in saucepan with water about an inch about eggs. Bring to a boil(full boil), then lid pan and turn off heat—leave in pan on burner for 15 minutes without peeking—then drain and put eggs in bowl of ice water for another 15—then done and peel or store in your fridge for use. I don’t even add salt or whatever to water—-doesn’t change the outcome but why bother?
Store eggs are usually 6 weeks old at least.
K’s method works great for supermarket *white* eggs. I suspect JStapler’s right about why. But brown eggs from my food co-op totally don’t work with that method. That’s our standard way of cooking eggs, and it’s terrible with the brown eggs, half the egg comes off with the shell, *every* time. Have to try Jill’s method – I really want our local organic eggs to work, but we’ve almost given up hard boiling them.
I did this and it works with fresh eggs out of the coup works great !!!! brown eggs green eggs blue eggs it works on all of them Thank you ! been trying different ways for years now Iam going start pickled eggs :)>
THATXS the exact result I’ve had with brown eggs. Will try Jill’s method.
I heard it takes an average of 21-28 days to get an egg to the grocery store shelf. City folks haven’t a clue what a fresh egg is! I can’t tell you how many people have asked me why my egg yolks are orange. I have a few Bantam hens and have always thought how cute their eggs would be hard boiled or deviled for the kids. When you peel those there is no egg white left. Excited to try steaming them. I have not only a problem peeling them but what is left of the egg whites (not so much my blue shells) come out mushy as well, rather than firm.
USDA requires a pack date on store-bought eggs. This date is the day of the year (from 1 to 365 (366). Most states also require a sell by date, which is usually in easily readable format. So, it is (relatively) easy to calculate the age of the eggs.
Store eggs are not the same as eggs you go out and pick from the nest. Fresh in this case means just laid and nothing to do with expiration. Most farmers will tell you eggs will last up to 3 months if refrigerated properly. Id be leery of using store bought eggs that long.
This worked perfectly for me.
That works on store eggs, they’re not packaged until they’re at least a month old and then the expiration date is another 2 months after that. They’re old by the time you buy them. Farm fresh eggs are still too fresh at 3-4 weeks for your method. That’s how I do it too and it’s a disaster. I can’t wait to try the steaming thing in my clam steamer.
Do you honestly believe that? You think that these Factory Farmers are going to let profit slip away for an entire month while their product (which is usually produced at a farm within 2 or 3 hours of your store) sits around somewhere for an entire month?
The people here must all have some bizarre learning disability. No company on earth is going to waste money holding on to a product.
Tell me, what function does this serve the egg distributor?
GET THOSE OUT OF THE WAREHOUSE AND ONTO THE SHELVES!
They aren’t just “holding” them. Saying that they’re waiting around for an entire month before they’re even packaged just sound so stupid that I’m embarrassed for you for even thinking it. You think the earth is flat, too?
Store bought eggs are no older than 3 or 4 days by the time they are in the store, on the shelf, waiting to be purchased.
I work at a major chain grocery store, trust me, the eggs are 3 to 4 weeks old at least before we get them. It takes time for them to travel from the production farm to the distributor, then to travel again to the store distribution center and finally to the store! Not to mention that most stores get a delivery weekly, so part of that shipment is another week old before it even makes it out to the shelf.
I get my eggs delivered weekly by a local dairy that has relationships with several local small-scale egg producers. The eggs I get typically come from the farm that was once owned by my mother’s father, so I know exactly where it is and the rough layout and capacity of the operation. The eggs I got delivered today (4/17/18) were laid on 4/3/18. So, that means that it took about 2 weeks for the eggs that were laid a few towns away from me to make their way to the dairy and then end up in my delivery today. I have no trouble believing that grocery store eggs, which might be produced several states away, take 4 or more weeks to make it onto store shelves.
To T says,
You sound a lot like AOC!
Farm eggs on store shelves in 3 or 4 days?
Gotta get me some of whatever you are smoking!
No really, just joking, unlike yourself apparently, I don’t do drugs!
3 or 4 WEEKS at best!
Takes time, eggs are washed, graded, sized, candled, (automatically looked at with light beam to make sure there is no interior defects, etc), Along with various other inspections.
How about the title to this should be “If you have hens and collect eggs daily and want to make hard boiled eggs”….LOL…sorry but some of these comments, I just had to shake my head, thanks for the tip as I just demolished 6 perfectly good eggs ….until I boiled them and attempted to peel…LOL, I will steam next time for sure!! Thanks for the tip!
So glad this method works well for you!
This is for farm fresh eggs ( eggs straight from the chickens in your back yard ) not store bought eggs.
I have this problem with eggs from the store too. What I do is pull them off the stove, run cold water into the hot, just enough to be able to handle them, and peel while hot. It’s the best and easiest solution I’ve found.
yes that works for me as well
We also have ducks and most of the time when we hard cook eggs we use the duck. We’ve been steaming eggs for years and it is the best way we’ve tried. Our best results are to put in ice water and peal after they are chilled. We have a B&B and we frequently cook 18 to 24 eggs at once in a large steamer.
Fresh duck eggs are SO delicious. I usually do them over easy because I thought they’d explode if I boiled them. Thanks! 🙂
This is the only way I’ve ever used that I got my eggs to peel. It worked perfectly I will never use any other method God bless you
I have never tried this, but I will. In the past I have done the following:
Place eggs in the pot and cover with cold water and add salt. Allow them to come to a boil and boil them approx. 5 – 7 minutes. Let them sit in the hot water another 5 to 7 minutes. Pour off the hot water. Sit the pot in the sink and allow cold water to run over them until they are cool. Then I lift the pot and shake the eggs up, down and around until all the shells are cracked very well. Then I simply remove the shells. It has worked well for me in the past…..but you may not have the same results as I do. I live in the Houston area.
Target sells a real nice 5 egg steamer that works really well Steam them for 10 minutes, let them stand for 2 minutes, then emerse them in ice cold water, being careful not to burn your fingers when you pick up the eggs. You can do this by holding a piece of ice between your fingers for about 15 seconds, then, pick up an egg quickly and put it into the ice water. Take the eggs out of the water one at a time and place on the counter and roll them between your palm and the counter several times, then peel them. Works really good and the outer skin pulls away from the egg with the shell.
…OR you could just lift the eggs out of the water with a slotted spoon! Holding ice between the fingers…seriously?! lol
Sadly, this method hasn’t worked for me. I’ve tried it several times using both fresh and older eggs. It is a little better than the other methods, but not a huge improvement. I wonder why it hasn’t worked for me?
I have found that if I over cook the eggs they are hard to peel. So I place them in hot water, bring to a boil and boil for 20 min. Drain and run cold water over them and peel them while they are still hot. I never have a hard to peel egg this way. If I boil them longer than 20 min., that is when I have problems.
We also boil the water first and then add the eggs to it. After that put them in ice water and most of the time there is not a problem at all. So glad we started doing that! 🙂
boiling the water first… drop in room temp eggs… bring back to a boil for 10 minutes… drain… drop into cold water.. works perfect…. even better…. after draining off the hot water and prior to putting into ice water… “bang” the eggs around in the pot a bit to crack them. works even with the freshest of eggs… works better than any other method i have tried and believe me.. i’ve tried a bunch!!!!
I kind of combined 2 ideas, since my rice cooker isn’t big enough to try steaming. Dropped refrigerated fresh eggs (well, a few days old) into boiling water, and boiled for 12 minutes, then followed your instructions about the cold water and banging the eggs around in the pot. Perfect! Shells fell right off!
I’ve always used my rice cooker to hardboil eggs, so I guess I’ve been steaming them all these years. Who knew?
A rice steamer! That’s brilliant!
My husband thought about using the rice cooker with a steamer basket and he cooked them a little longer, put them in the ice water. Best way to have hard boiled eggs without boiling. 10 eggs fit in the steamer basket perfectly. Just in time for Easter Ya Thank to all.
Wish I could use my rice cooker, but I have a small one in our RV, and the lid won’t close with the eggs in the steaming basket. Will have to try one of the other ideas.
I found this trick online somewhere and it works for me, the key is to make sure the water is boiling hard when you drop in the eggs gently with a spoon, boil for 12 minutes, then immediately submerge in ice water. Works for me everytime. If i put the eggs in sooner, they stick everytime. Wait till the water is boiling hard. Thanks for the tips, love love love your blog way way up here in northern Canada! 🙂
I have been using the same tip from “somewhere” on the internet, but we boil them about 15 minutes before transferring them to the ice water. It’s also helpful to crack the wide (air pocket) end first and work from there.
Thank you so much for this trick!! Right now I’m trying the “steaming” method, but can’t wait to try this way next!! It’s sure great having fresh eggs everyday but trying to peel them – not so great?!!
I wonder, would an electric rice steamer work?
YOU ROCK! I can’t WAIT to try this!
If you are not in a big hurry, I boil same day eggs and place them into the fridge overnight. The next day they will peel perfectly.
That may be better for me tried the steaming and chilling as soon as I read the email this afternoon, but it wasn’t a great success I was so sad, so will try chilling overnight thanks
Another option….place eggs in pot of water, bring to a boil, turn the eye off, let the eggs sit until cool. Peel by tapping with a spoon, insert the spoon in the hollow end, slip spoon under the membrane and slide around the egg to remove it.
I just tried the 1tsp of baking soda method a couple of days ago when I heard about it and it worked so great! I saw this method listed too but it seemed like more work to me. However, my eggs were a few weeks old so that might be why it worked so well. We have enough eggs coming off that I am always using them a few weeks old anyway. I guess if they slow down and we’re eating them that fresh I might have to try this. Love finding out better ways to do things!!
Wow great share! I have been fighting with this ever since I got my own laying hens. I have this technique now where I karate chop them in half with a knife and scoop the egg out with a spoon lol.
I like your idea much better. And I will be able to make deviled eggs again!
Thank you for this post! Just tried it and it worked perfect. Now even my 4yr old can peel a perfect egg.
Wahoo!
How well does this work if you wait a few days to peel it. My husband likes having boiled eggs available throughout the week….but we don’t peel them all at once.
I think it should still work.
I’ve even heard of and tried this different way of hard-boiling fresh eggs and that is to “Bake” them. you can find it on line by looking up ” baked hard boiled eggs ” Right now I can’t remember how long to bake them but if you go to the site it will tell you all that. It does work for really fresh eggs !!!!
I just saw this one the other day. Put eggs in muffin tray. Oven at 325 degrees for 25 – 30 minutes. Haven’t tried it yet. But am gearing up for Angeled Eggs for Easter.
Yes– I want to try that too!
“Angeled” eggs! I love it!
Baking in muffin pas works great but, right out of the oven, ice bath for 20 minutes and peel. Perfect eggs every time!
I agree, chilling works.
Going to try baking !
I have a variation on the “baked method”. I put farm fresh eggs in my smoker for 2 hours at 225 degrees, dump them into a pan of ice water immediately after removing from the smoker. Out of a dozen eggs you might get 1 that does not peel good. I usually use apple wood which imparts a very mild smokey flavor to the eggs. They are great for egg salad sandwiches, potato salad and pickled.
Forgot to mention that smoked deviled eggs are awesome!!!!
Thanks! I am going to try this tonight. We wanted to make a batch of Angel Eggs (yes, angel eggs because you can’t give credit to the devil for something so delicious) but we have never had luck with the girls’ eggs. Appreciate you trial and error. It saves me work. 🙂
THANK YOU to everyone for your suggestions!! If one way doesnt work then I have alternatives. And to think i was considering getting rid of my eight hens, who (if u can believe this) lay never less than six eggs a day. Today…a remarkable 10! ?
I do this in my rice cooker. Works like a charm!
Good idea!
I use my rice cooker as well! Works great!! It’s the only successful way I’ve found to have easy peel fresh farm eggs?
I just cover them with water in a pan. Bring them to a full rolling boil. Slap a lid on and turn the heat off and set the timer for 15 minutes. Drain the pan and cool them under running cold water. When they are room temp. peel away. Seems to work every time for me.
I’m an old lady and this method is what I’ve used for years. I find if I peel them when they are a little hotter than “warm”, under running water, it is easy and not chunky. I am going to try steaming them and maybe even baking them, just for fun. Little old ladies tend to have some time on their hands (after the volunteering, of course!). In any event, I will never ever even under duress go back to store-bought eggs!!!
P.S. I run the water into a big jug and use it to water my house plants. I’m in Arizona and we’re dried out, 17 years of drought.
I read this Anna and my mother used eggshell water too and her plants were so green.
Nutritional Analysis
Eggshells are primarily made out of calcium carbonate, which is the ingredient found in agricultural lime, according to the Master Gardeners of Hamilton County, Tenn. Jeff Gillman, author of “The Truth About Garden Remedies,” did his own small test to determine the nutritional properties of eggshells. He steeped a shell in water for 24 hours and then sent the water to the lab. The lab results found that the eggshell-infused water contained 4 mg of calcium and potassium, as well as very small amounts of phosphorus, magnesium and sodium.
Very cool!
Eggshell cooking water might work. Adding some vinegar titrates the calcium to release it. Without a soil test, you might be just “throwing something” at the plants. Too much of one mineral can “lock up” another, possibly needed mineral, depending on the pH of the soil.
FANTASTIC!! Thank you! 🙂
It worked fantastic. I steamed 18 eggs and only 2 were hard to peel, instead of all 18.
Thank you
Wow, so many ideas. I am blessed to have a friend with ducks and prick the wide end with my egg prick, place in already rolling boiling water, turn down to gentle boil, time 6 minutes, turn off leave for 1 minute. I get chilled water ready and dunk the eggs in and cracked all of them all over and peel. I do ensure the water is kept cool.
Our duck eggs peel much easier than our chicken eggs. Something to do with the thicker membrane lining the shell maybe?? They make great deviled eggs?
I have tried Alton Browns method of baking 150deg C for 35 minutes with room temp eggs, not bad but use a silicon mat and not a steel try as the point of contact can actually spot burn/brown the egg inside. They still can stick so I do what my mother always showed me, crack the shell all over liberally and peel under running water, it lubricates the shell membrain and generally slips right off.
I don’t have a metal colander, so I searched and searched for something else I own that would work (because we gotta have nice eggs for Easter). I realized, hey I could use my deep fryer basket and it worked like a charm (and they peel beautifully too yay). I hope this helps someone else and thank you for this post, very helpful.
Ah-ha! Creativity wins again! 🙂
I tried this yesterday and it works great. I was amazed. Thank you for this little treasure.
YAY!
Do you turn the stove off once it stats to boil?
No–you’ll want to let it continue to simmer (with the lid on) for the full 20 minutes.
I’ve been doing this for more than 2 years now and will never boil eggs again. http://www.fresh-eggs-daily.com/2012/01/hard-steamed-eggs.html
I am going to try this! Isn’t it funny how we can come up with a new method to cook something we’ve been cooking forever. I just tried some new methods for cooking brown rice and blogged about it, I was so excited to eat fluffy brown rice. Thanks!
I found that the eggs peel pretty well after boiling with a tablespoon or so of apple cider vinegar added to the water. Bring to a boil with lid on, turn burner off and let set on burner for 13 minutes. Drain and cover with cold water. Put kettle in fridge eggs, water and all. Let set over night. Then peel.
I was SO excited to try this, that I immediately set-up a steamer this morning. I’ve tried several different methods for hard boiling fresh eggs. Baking soda instead of salt, so far, seemed to help the most. Peeling under as-warm-as-tolerable water was another improvement. BUT, that was always with older (2 weeks or more) eggs. This morning I steamed eggs that were collected yesterday. After steaming I immediately plunged some in ice water and others I immediately peeled under warm-hot water. BOTH were an improvement over anything I’d tried with 2 wk old eggs. I saved one egg to put in the refrigerator, as someone suggested, and try peeling later. I do try to start the peeling from the larger end of the egg and of course getting the membrane to peel with the shell is the key to success
In thinking about what might effect how easy an egg peels, I wondered if possibly the kind chicken might give different results. My ladies are mostly all Araucanas.
Many thanks for posting this…BEST advice on peeling fresh eggs that I’ve gotten.
I am SO glad to hear I am not the only one at war with eggs (fresh or store bought). With Easter coming up I have been mentally preparing myself for battle lol! This is a great idea, thanks for sharing. I also have to share that a trick that works for me is adding a splash of olive oil to the boiling water, and letting the eggs cool slowly in the air rather than putting them right under cold water. I have more success when the eggs are still warm in peeling them 🙂
I need to try the olive oil trick!
I use the oldest eggs. Bring to boil; turn off heat; allow to sit 20 min. (8 min. for quail eggs). Rinse with cold water; tap to crack; leave in cold water as you peel, starting at end of the egg. I’ve used this method for many years.
This morning I tried my fresh eggs exactly as the instructions said. It was truly amazing! Every single egg (I did 10) peeled beautifully. I am sending this link to everyone who uses my eggs.
Wahoo!!
Used bamboo steamer over pot of boiling water. 21 minutes, then rinse with cold water. Worked great, thank you. The friend who supplies the fresh eggs could not believe it.
I’m so glad this method worked well for you!
Your my Hero !!!!
I tried this today and am amazed! This works like a charm, thank you!
YAY!
I never have luck with fresh eggs from the grocery store so, I can’t imagine, but I’m looking forward to trying because I don’t always have fresh eggs. My best boiled eggs are older eggs…I don’t raise chickens, so mine are probably days old when I get them. But they boil best after the date on the carton. Or closer to the date. If an egg is standing on its end in a cup of water, or lifting a little, then it’s perfect for boiling. (if it floats then it’s rotten, if it is laying perfectly flat on its side, then it’s very fresh) (…tho I plan to try with fresh eggs, today! )
My method….
Start with cold water, bring to a boil, immediately cover and remove from the heat. Allow to stand 15-20 mins. covered. Drain then fill pot with cold water. drain water after a few minutes, then shake in pan to crack them up…( tell a joke, make them laugh) 😉 … then peel away.
Use a cpl drop of vegetable oil in your boiling water and they peel with no problem.
Your idea for cooking hard boiled eggs really works great. It’s the first time I’ve had good looking eggs. They were sooooo easy to peel. and I’ve been trying to peel the perfect egg for over 60 years.
We have our own eggs so they are fresh and extra large so I steamed them for the full 22 minutes and they turned out great. THANKS FOR THE TIP. I passed it along.
Wahoo Carol! So happy it worked for you!
THANK YOU!!!! I tried this today, and it worked so well!
Wahoo!!
Great tip! BTW: You need to add a Pinterest “share” button to your posts! 🙂
Actually, if you hover over the photos and then click, it’s rigged to take you straight to Pinterest! 🙂
This hasn’t worked that well for me either. If I want to make egg salad, than I just poach the eggs in water and vinegar. You can’t even tell the difference.
Putting you eggs in cold water then bring them to a boil, then put them aside to cool. You will never have a cracked egg. but peeling is a pain. I got a lot of good info, I thank I will try the cold water after cooking. it seems to work for the most of you girls, Thanks
I have never seen this happen when peeling hard boiled eggs! I get my eggs from my local farmer’s market. Does this mean my eggs aren’t “farm fresh”?
Older eggs usually peel easier–it’s the super fresh ones that often give folks headaches. 🙂
1/4 inch of water in the pan, lid on, turn up to max, when boiling and lid is dancing off the steam, turn off heat, wait 14 min, you will now have perfectly hard boiled eggs and have used less electricity. This won’t work if you use gas, though 🙂
Sorry you have had so much fresh egg peeling trouble. I tried all that you mentioned, and the salt actually works for me. I use like 3 Tbsp, for a doz, in a pot just big enough to hold them and cover them with water. Glad you found something that worked. : )
I use a similar method, but put them in the pressure cooker (on low pressure). It only takes a few minutes, much quicker than plain steaming, but results in the same easy-peel eggs.
This works like magic! I steamed 6 fresh eggs and each one of them has peeled perfectly…no more bad words 😉
Steaming worked! Thanks for the great tip, I tested it out right away!
Thank you so much! I actually gave up boiling eggs because it frustrated the crap out of me! Will give the steaming a go!
All you have to do is put your eggs in the pot, cover with water and bring to a boil. Let the eggs boil for 1 minute, remove the pan from the burner, cover and let sit for 25 minutes. Voila! The perfect hard boiled egg every time. Never fails!
I do the pin poke method, set them into hot water and let them come to boiling temp in the pot, remove from heat and cover for ~10 minutes, and then dunk them into ice water with cool water running in the bowl and peel quickly while still pretty hot, leaving the peeled eggs in the ice water to continue cooling for a few minutes. I am in SE Washington and using an electric range if that helps anyone compare their method, because this works for me every time no matter how fresh the eggs are.
Agree with pin poke method, works everytime.
I just wanted to say thankyou soooooo much! I thought I was just never going to get to enjoy hard boiled eggs again and thats my favorite way to eat them. I can not believe how well this worked.
Carrie
Thank you, I’m going to try this. But first, 2 questions: were the eggs at room temp or fridge temp for the 22 minute cooking time, and, I like to cook a couple of dozen at a time and keep them in the fridge for later. Will they still peel easily with this method once they’ve been sitting for a couple of days?
Mine were cold– and yes, they should still peel fine a few days later. 😉
Hello, I am enjoying your blog, we run a dairy/hog farm. I also have chickens and have tried different methods for hard boiled eggs. I tried your way this am and was amazed with the results, thank you so much now I can make hard boiled eggs with confidence:)
This is amazing! Husband has size 16 fingers, he blamed it on that. He peals an egg in less than 5 seconds now! We’ve had chickens for 24 years, finally we can boil eggs without leaving then in the fridge for weeks!
Wahoo!
Just made a batch, and I will NEVER boil eggs again! Amazing! Thank you!
That’s what I like to hear! 🙂
I used your advice and it worked!
My first batch of 18 boiled eggs this morning were a disaster. I am making deviled eggs for a women’s group picnic. When they didn’t peel nice I googled “peeling fresh eggs” and I am so glad I clicked on your link! I steamed them like you said and “hooray” they peeled very nicely and much faster. Thanks! The first batch will have to go into potato salad!
Haven’t tried this method; I’ll keep it in mind. I read the comments and didn’t see anyone else mention what has been fool-proof for me: crack each egg lightly before boiling!
I often have very fresh eggs and have found that a very light tap, just ’til you hear that uh-oh sound that says the shell barely cracked, works perfectly. The idea is to crack the shell but not the membrane. I then place in cold water, bring to a boil, cover and turn off and let sit for 12 minutes before running cold water over the eggs and peeling.
Interesting! I haven’t tried that, but not sure I’d trust myself to have a light enough touch. 🙂
yeah I didnt trust it at first when somome told me but thye showed me hoe to do it and it really truly works. Hold the egg so that your fingers keep it from hitting the counter too much, just so that it gives it that hairline crack
The steaming method worked for me. I boiled some earlier the 12 minute way and all were cratered. Used some even fresher yard eggs, steamed for 22 minutes then directly into ice water. Though they didn’t peel as easily as store bought I only had one out of a dozen crater. Definitely the best method I have found for fresh eggs.
i didn’t have a chance to read all of the comments, so i am sorry if i am being redundant. i rarely have a problem with peeling eggs anymore. my secret is to put them in an ice bath.
i boil them for 7-8 minutes depending on the size. i like mine on the softer side.
next i poor the hot water out, add some cool water, and toss a bunch of ice in the pot for about 30 seconds. the eggs are still warm and they peel perfectly.
So I just followed the directions and began to peel an egg after running cold water to cool the eggs. The first egg I was not peeling well at all, but the complete cooled eggs that followed peeled just fine.
I will, in the future completely cool the eggs in iced water, then peel them. Instead of using a colander like pictured, I used one of those folding steamer devices which works beautifully. I steamed the eggs for 26-28 minutes on a medium heat after the initial boil started. Two of the dozen I did turned out poorly and could not be put into the brine left over from the pickles, black olives, Brussels sprouts and pickled veggies I bought at the grocery store.
What the heck? I never knew there were so many ways to have trouble boiling eggs. I must be a genius…never had any problems. Boil, pour off water, run cold water in pot. Take out an egg, crackle and crush the shell by tapping and rolling on counter top. Shell falls away, rinse egg under cold water to get last bits of shell. Eat.
I never had trouble either, until I started trying to boil our very fresh eggs–it’s different than trying to boil older eggs from the store. 🙂
Just like Olivia I have never had any problems with boiling eggs and didn’t know there was any problems, so maybe its all about what height above sea level we live ? obviously the way to compensate for this is to put eggs in a pressure cooker and test different settings & times needed. Thanks for bringing up an interesting topic.
Hey Jill,
Great post! I’ll have to give this method a try. I have found a different method that works well for me and I am working on a blog post for it now. I am new to the blogging world and I am still figuring out how everything works. I have a question and I’m not sure if it is practiced or not. Would it be acceptable for me to post a link to your blog post about cooking and peeling fresh eggs in my post? Thanks
Absolutely! Link away! 🙂
Tried this method last week with farm fresh eggs. Hands down the best method for hard boiling eggs! I will never boil an egg again.
Thanks sooooo much. This worked like a charm.
Hooray!
After many frustrating attempts, I found your post. Thank you, thank you, thank you! The method I used for store-bought (older) eggs didn’t work for our fresh from the chicken eggs. Steaming for 15 minutes gives us perfectly cooked eggs.
Yay Char! Glad it worked!
I am ecstatic!!! I just steamed around 30-40 tiny Belgian D’Anver eggs (THE most difficult eggs of all time to peel when boiled! ….unless it’s quail eggs..?) and the peeled BEAUTIFULLY! I only lost 3 or 4. The yolk to white ratio on these tiny eggs is different than the larger eggs (We raise Belgian D’Anver and also Salmon Faverolles), and in places on the eggs the white barely covers the yolk, which usually results in disaster when peeling. This steaming method worked unbelievably well! I was determined to use these tiny, bite sized eggs in my refrigerator pickled egg recipes, and thanks to this wonderful thread, I can do that!!! YAAAAAAYYY! (Can you tell I am super happy???)
HOORAY! Best feeling ever when the peel easily, huh?
So I just tried this and it worked perfectly! I steamed for 25 minutes – removed two at a time rinsed to handle and peeled while hot under slow running water and they peeled quickly and perfectly!
Yay!
amazing how many people visit this site! It now has its hooks in me and my garden thanks prairie homestead………do you really live in the golden rolling prairie?
Yes we do! Sometimes it’s golden, sometimes it’s just brown. 🙂
Thank you. My eggs came out well. I will always make them this way
Hooray!
Thank you so much for sharing this tip!!!!! I just steamed my first eggs (farm fresh, the ONLY ones I eat) and they peeled easier than any eggs I’ve ever done. I had given up boiling eggs. I’ve tried other ways and nothing has worked as well as this method. I’ll never make them any other way. ?
I saw a no-peel method, for farm-fresh eggs on YouTube. Put boiled eggs (cold or warm) in a container (glass or plastic) cover with water and add lid. Shake for about 20 seconds. Shells fall off.
This worked GREAT for me Thank you so much, I get about 22 eggs a day so I pickle them and such. This was fantastic and worked perfectly for me!! Thank you again!!
IT WORKED!! You don’t know how long I’ve been looking for this solution!
Easter eggs are steaming this year! 🙂
Seems like there are a few ways of accomplishing this. What has worked for me so far (and even with just picked eggs) is shocking them. And it works for my bantam eggs as well as my standards. First, the egg needs to be in the fridge long enough to get really cold. Start the water boiling and then drop the cold egg into the boiling water. After they are cooked, take them out of the pot and drop them in an ice water bath and let them sit there until they are really cold. I have no trouble peeling them after that. Now if I want to eat a hard boiled egg and I want to have it warm. Dropping the peeled egg back in the boiling water for about 30 sec. will warm it. I think the shock of a cold egg in boiling water and then boiling egg in ice water causes the membrane to shrink away from the shell. Well, it works for me, anyway. 🙂
Wonder if you could steam them in the veggie tray of a rice cooker?
Been doing this for years.
Bring water to boil.
Add eggs to steamer basket.
Steam for about 12/14 min (soft/hard boiled).
Immediately place in ice water to stop cooking process and shock.
Omg that you so much for this tip. We love our chicken and duck eggs but have always dreaded peeling them since more that half comes off with the shell and my husband does end up using a few choice words, lol! I’m totally going to give this a try!
I tried this today-truly magical! I will NEVER boil an egg again! All 12 eggs peeled perfectly! My husband helped and he was even impressed!!
This worked perfectly for me as well! I have a steamer so I didn’t even have to mess with a colander and pot. Just put them in, set the timer, and leave them alone. They didn’t crack, peeled beautifully, and were cooked perfectly. I will never boil eggs again!!!!
Wahoo! Egg victory!
Thank you for the great idea to steam the fresh eggs! After reading the post and the replies, I decided to do a test myself. Boiled vs. steamed. All my beautiful eggs are same-day to 3 days old. I boiled 8 (~15 min.) and steamed 5 (~30min). Both batches were immediately put in ice water for about 2 minutes.
My findings: both worked pretty well, but without question the method that left the eggs easiest to peel and the cleanest was the steamed method. The steamed does take twice as long, but for half the hassle, I’ll take it! Thank you again for the super idea. Happy Easter.
Have an old pasta pan – looks like a double boiler with holes in the top pan!- in which I steam the fresh eggs! Put the eggs in the top pan, water in the bottom, NOT touching top pan. While they are cooking I put ice and cold water in a bowl and set that next to the sink. When the eggs are cooked I lift the top pan out of the pan and pour the eggs into the iced water.
Thanks so much Jill it worked like a charm for me this morning! I have my own chickens and will be happy to make more egg salad or stuffed eggs,God bless you for sharing!!!
So glad it worked for you!
I read this article and tried steaming a half dozen eggs that evening. IT WORKED! Thank you so much! Our chickens have really been cranking out the eggs this spring and it is wonderful to have a successful hard boiled option at meal time.
Yay! So happy it worked for you!
So entertaining, and so helpful!! Couldn’t believe my good fortune….was afraid there was no solution!
Thank you!!! I love my fresh chicken eggs, but HATE hard boiling them because they never peel well. Today I tried your steaming technique, and it worked like a charm! I appreciate your post!
Thank you a bunch for sharing this with all people you actually recognize what you’re speaking about!
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Thank you sooo much for this idea! Just tried it with very fresh eggs and they peeled beautifully!!
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I boil normally – cool in fridge overnight.
Peeling is a breeze 24 hours later.
It is the cooling that pulls the egg off the shell.
This steaming method did not work. I’ll go back to boiling and submerging in ice water to try that ??
I had tried every type of boiling and cooling methods and nothing worked for eggs that were only a few days old. I tried this steaming method following the steps exactly, and it worked perfectly. Thank you so much for sharing!!!!
I’m surprised the people here don’t know this, but you have to scrub the protective coating off of your eggs when you first harvest them.
This allows them to age properly for Hard boiling.
After scrubbing, you have to let these eggs sit in your fridge for at LEAST a week. Probably two.
Now your eggs will peel easily. No more dumb “tricks”.
Also, adding vinegar has nothing to do with making eggs easy to peel. Vinegar causes the egg whites to solidify on contact. This is a technique used to prevent whites from leaking out of cracks in the eggs.
It’s also a great technique for holding a egg together for poaching, if you’re going to crack whole eggs into boiling water. Try boiling an egg (no shell) in water with, and without vinegar and look at the difference.
I have tried this. It works. Yay! Thank you!!
Yay it worked perfectly!!!! Got to have my hard boiled eggs. Now I DO!!!!!
Perfection! Thank you! We now can confidently have our hardboiled eggs no matter when!
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Steaming works! I am so doing a happy dance right now!
Thank you thank you thank you!! Finally I can enjoy hard-boiled eggs from my little flock!!!
Just wanted to pop back in and THANK YOU!!! I am hooked on steamed eggs now… I’ve done several batches using recently laid eggs and it works great! I like that I can control the color and texture of the yolk by minding my minutes. Enjoying delicious deviled eggs right this moment, miraculous hack! I will never boil an egg again. BTW… Happy Easter 😉
I could kiss you right now. This worked perfectly for me. Peeling hard boiled eggs used to be my worst nightmare. You weren’t kidding about the happy dance!
this worked like a dream!
We have a Black & Decker steamer and so we placed the eggs in the steamer basket and set the timer to 24 minutes (just to be sure they would be done). When the timer went off we placed the steamer basket with the eggs in a pot of ice water and left them there until they cooled down. When they were cool we took them out and were overjoyed that the shell came off easily. After a while however we noticed that the later eggs started to be harder to peel and so we put the remaining eggs back in the ice water and all was well. Thank you!
Thanks so much for testing different methods (so we didn’t have to!) and recommending steaming. The very fresh eggs I just steamed came out beautifully. No, they aren’t perfect, but they are 95% intact and saved me endless frustration. They will make deviled eggs I will be proud to bring to an event tonight.
we got our own chickens this spring and regular boiling the eggs was a nightmare, tried the steaming method and it was an instant success! thank you
It worked!!!! Just so you know, if I ever meet you in person, I’m gonna have to give you a BIG HUG! Lol, thank you for sharing this!
Yay!! Love happy reports on the egg front! 😉
3 thumbs up! Absolutely perfectly peeled eggs from fresh. Only method that has worked for us. Fabulous! Thank you! Thank you!
Steamed them a few minutes longer and submerged in ice water for a couple minutes after. Peeled off so easily!! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!
This worked beautifully! Thank you. Very frustrating with traditional boiling, I was throwing so much egg away with the shell. Steaming was spot on perfect. Peeled in seconds to a beautiful boiled egg. Thanks
First time I tried this steaming method, I got perfect ? eggs….so easy!!!! Thank you!
Thanks Jill for the tip, worked flawlessly.
You have just literally changed my life. I LOVE my fresh eggs, but was never able to successfully hard boil them. I HAD TO BUY EGGS to hard boil, which was irritating to say the least. I tried your method, it WORKED, and I may have shed a tear of joy. I immediately called my best friend and then came right back here to say thanks. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!
oK`~~ i just tested this way of prepping hard boiled eggs by Steaming`~~~~ “` i used my cast iron dutch oven w/ a stainless steel strainer laid over the top` h20 underneath as You directed . . . added the eggs to the strainer then covered w/ a flat cast iron skillet-after the boiling started i timed It exactly for 20 mins. then removed rinsed In Cold Water while still IN the Strainer` then PEELED immediately` OMYGAWD i am Ecstatic!!!!! All of the Shells Slid off of the Eggs as If Peeling a Banana` actually easier! i am like Whoaaaaaaaaaaaa Thank You sooo much for Sharing!?
I steam the eggs and then put them in cold water, just cooled down enough to handle. Next I take a quart jar, fill it about 1/3 full of water, add egg, put lid on and shake til the shell comes off. You may have to peel or slide it off, but most of the time it all comes off.
This technique is great but there is even an easier way, use a pressure cooker. Leave the eggs just as they are & Pressure cook for 4 minutes. Put Eggs in Ice water to cool off and stop cooking.
We have a Power Pressure cooker. All the eggs go into a basket (2 doz), 1/2 inch of water. Pressure cook for 4 minutes. Eggs go into Ice water for a couple of minutes, Done.
This is an amazing technique… seriously. Just did it this morning with fresh eggs from my hens. I didn’t have a pot big enough to fit my metal colander inside so I improvised by using tin foil over the top of my pan. Worked like a charm- I’m still in total shock!!!! It’s the best thing since sliced bread ? Thank you for sharing a fabulous technique!
This worked so well! Thank you!!!
I just used a rice cooker/food steamer instead and it worked awesome!
One question about using this method. Once the eggs are brought to a boil, do you leave the burner turned on for the 20 minutes or do you turn it off once the eggs are brought to a boil and you put the lid on? This was not clear in the directions. Is there a way to print these directions off for future reference?
Please answer this!
WOW! I wasn’t convinced, but it worked perfectly. 18 eggs easily peeled in 11 minutes, even with me stopping to show everyone in the house LOL. I will never use any other method! PERFECTION!
I cannot believe this worked! I was hesitant, though. It took a couple minutes to peel six eggs by rolling them across the counter with some mild pressure. They peeled off in two halves. I can make hard boiled eggs again! Thank you!!
Thank you thank you thank you thank you!!! This is the BEST, EASIEST way to hardboil (hardsteam?) fresh eggs and peel them!!! I’m over the moon! Thank you!
You, my friend, are a genius…… I have just steamed my fresh eggs and Im amazed. I had given up on boiled fresh eggs. They dont last long enough to age in our house.
Perfect boiled(steamed) eggs that can be peeled with ease thankyou ever so much for this tip.
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Thank you
Steaming them for 20 worked perfectly! I am so happy to find something that actually works – thank you!
YAY!!! So happy to hear this method works for you.
Do you peel the eggs after they have completely cooled down, or do you peel them immediately after running hot water on them while they are still really warm?
oops…I meant…running cold water on them.
I find it best to peel them while they’re warm. I like to run cool water over them to get them down to a cooler temp so I can handle them easily, then peel them.
This is an awesome find! I steamed 18 eggs hoping for 12 perfect ones. I had 5 blow out on me. Can you say egg salad?! The shells came off without any effort at all. I will not cook hard “boiled” eggs any other way. I am so pleased with the results. Thank you Jill!
We’re so glad this method helped you! It can be so frustrating when eggs are really hard to peel.
Awesome! Worked perfectly. Thanks.
I was so estatic when I found your page on how to steam farm fresh eggs. I also live in the country and have researched and tried all the tips I have come across and nothing has worked for me until now. I quite boiling eggs for about 2 years until I came across your post. Thank you so much for posting about how you did it.
So glad to hear this method works so well for you. It’s pretty magical, isn’t it? 🙂
OMG this worked perfectly!!! I had given up hard boiling my fresh eggs not anymore! This was so easy and the eggs turned out perfectly!!!!
SO glad to hear this! It’s pretty magical, isn’t it?
Hi, I’ve been using the steamer basket method with farm fresh eggs and it works perfectly! However, last week and just now I’ve had 1 or 2 eggs where it’s almost not enough room in the egg shell once they cook and they break open??? What causes this and is there any way to prevent this from happening?
If you continue to have eggs cracking on you when steaming them, try bringing them to a boil when they’re at room temperature, versus cold from the fridge (if you store them in the fridge). Otherwise, some people swear by pricking the end of the egg with a pin before steaming them, to allow the steam in the egg to escape without the shell cracking.
Asked a question on May 13, 2019 and never got a reply. I wanted to know if you are supposed to leave the heat cranked up on high for the full 20-22 minute cooking time when steaming the eggs???
I have question that another person asked. Instructions/video not clear on whether you leave eggs on high heat to boil, or reduced heat to boil or to turn off heat after boiling point to let steam. Very unclear. Would love to try this technique.
THANK YOU…THANK YOU…Just made 4 of the most perfectly peeled hard-boiled farm eggs I’ve ever seen! I’ve tried everything, and this one actually works! I let them sit in ice water after for about 5 mins and wow, the shell practically comes off in one piece! So glad I found this post!
This worked perfectly! Best eggs I’ve had, thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe!
I don’t know if you still monitor this post but I came across your video doing some research. I have no problem peeling my farm fresh free range eggs that I purchase from a friend. My problem is that no matter how I cook them whether it is all points up or all points down or just anyway that I place them in the pan: the yolk always goes to the outside edge of the shell. Even if they peel perfectly the yolk is still showing through the white. Impossible to make pretty pickled eggs or deviled eggs. Have tried starting in different water temps and a dozen other suggestions from well meaning people; Any suggestions or ideas that you have would be appreciated. This is my second year with free range eggs and I would love some nice eggs for deviled eggs but to no avail. Thanks!
I’ll admit I had my doubts about this method. I just tried it on eggs I collected last night and OMG!!! This works!! This is a game changer for me!!
THANK YOU!
I’m so glad I came across this post!
I tried this tonight with fresh eggs. It’s an amazing tip. Thank you!
I tried this tonight with fresh eggs. It’s an amazing tip. Thank you! I peeled 18 eggs in under three minutes. All eggs were perfect.
Just tried this tonight and had near 100% success with peeling and the eggs were boiled to perfection! Will be sharing with all my farm fresh eggs only peeps who lament everytime they boil an egg, lol!
Thank you!
I was very skeptical as fresh eggs have always given me a problem. We have chickens and sometimes our eggs are freshly laid. I used my instant pot and placed my eggs on a rack putting about a cup of water in the bottom cooking for 4 minutes. It worked better than I imagined. It was so easy and super quick. Thank you so much for the tip. It is life changing!!
I just tried this method and it works! The eggs peeled so beautiful and we are so happy! The yolks are perfect!