by Texas Homesteader~
I’m preserving or using up my fresh eggs from our pastured flock as quickly as I can. ‘ve made breakfast burritos using eggs and cooked sausage wrapped in a tortilla & frozen for quick grab-n-go convenience.
But I still want to make sure none of our fresh eggs go to waste.
I recently made egg salad with several of them but as many of you know, boiling & peeling very fresh eggs is a challenge indeed. I was surprised that I had no trouble at all with them. Here’s how I did it:
Shelling very fresh boiled eggs is a challenge because the shell holds so tightly to the membranes when they are fresh.
I’ve had maddening episodes of peeling a fresh boiled egg until only mangled pieces remained in my hands. But using this method I had no trouble at all.
Tips I’ve Read
First off, I don’t put the eggs into cold water and then bring the water to a boil. Instead I first boil enough water to completely cover the eggs. Then when the water is boiling I use a slotted spoon to gently lower the eggs into the boiling water.
I’ve read that the boiling water on the cold eggs will shock them making them easier to peel. (not sure if it’s an old wives tale or not, but it certainly worked for me!) Then I cover the pot and allow the water to return to boiling and set the timer for 3 minutes.
When the eggs have boiled 3 minutes I turn off the heat. I allow them to sit in that hot water another 10 minutes before I drain the water.
The boiled eggs are then placed into an ice-water bath to force them to cool quickly.Then I drain the ice water & place the boiled eggs in a colander. To catch any drips I slide a plate underneath and set them in the fridge overnight.
Cracking The Shell
When I am ready to peel the eggs the next morning I bring them out of the fridge. With firm pressure I roll them on the counter to crack the shell all the way around.
There’s usually a small air pocket on the large end of the egg. So I start there & I begin peeling the egg.
There were some minor areas where a tiny amount of egg white pulled off along with the shell. But for the most part the shell was easy to remove and all the eggs came out whole.
Now I don’t know to what I can attribute this easier peeling of fresh boiled eggs. Maybe dropping them into boiling water really does shock the eggs & help the membrane detach. Or maybe placing freshly-boiled eggs into an ice bath does the same thing.
Maybe placing cooled eggs into the fridge overnight and peeling the eggs when they’re cold the next morning helps hold everything together.
I’m not sure, but what I do know is it all worked great for me and that makes me very happy!
~TxH~
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42 Responses
Wow, I am really going to try this! Our eggs looks horrible after we hard boil them & shell them! We feel like we are tossing so much in the composte, too…:(.
Thanks! The Kiessling Family! Have a Blessed day!
I know Janet! There’s nothing more frustrating than carefully peeling the egg and having it all come off in chunks. AAARRRRRRRRGH! This procedure worked well for me. ~TxH~
Good to know! I will definitely be trying this method next time! 🙂
Wow, if your pic had 3 or 4 eggs in it, I would just think it was luck, but you have a lot of them that peeled perfectly. I will have to try your method. Thanks for sharing on Tuesday with a Twist!
I was pretty surprised myself Janet. I’ve never raised my own chickens and had eggs so fresh before, and some of my attempts in the previous days were maddening! I was pleasantly surprised that this method worked so well for me. ~TxH~
Thank you for this tip!! Our girls have only been laying a couple of months and I boiled my first batch of eggs a couple of weeks ago. Totally mangled them trying to get the shells off ’em! I’m going to try your method this weekend. The kids will be so happy!!
I’ve also heard that using your older eggs for boiled eggs helps too – the fresher they are the tighter the membrane clings. In any event, hope this works as well for you as it did for me. ~TxH~
Visiting from My Turn For Us Freedom Fridays- wow, great tip! Thanks for sharing. My hubby loves egg salad.
This is how we peel ours, and even my 5year old can do it (with a little practice!). Love that you get all those fresh eggs–what a blessing!
It’s certainly been fun going to the coop & collect the fresh eggs every day.
I would love to have fresh eggs! I keep trying to talk the hubby into some chickens! Thanks for sharing at Share Your Stuff Tuesdays!
Emily, I was pleasantly surprised at how easy & enjoyable it was to raise them and how beneficial they were to our operation – eating the larvae that never grew into flies to torment our cattle, scratching the manure piles down to allow them to fertilize the grass more quickly, eating the pests around the house such as grasshoppers & scorpions – and VERY fresh eggs to boot!
Very timely. My daughter ask for boiled eggs this morning. I told her just a minute there is an article I must read. Oh and it works straight out of the cold water, did not refrigerate overnight. Thanks for sharing on Rural Wisdom and Know How #3
Well perfect timing! Good to know about the refrigeration part – that helps if I’m in a hurry. Thanks for commenting.
I’ll have to try this. I’ve tried several methods that involve cold water and cold eggs, adding vinegar to the water or baking soda to the water, timing the boiling time for 8 mins only and then setting the pot off the burner and covering it for a time. We’ll do whatever it takes to have a perfect boiled egg won’t we? And if not, we’ll make egg salad 🙂
Judith, whatever I can do to keep the ole blood pressure from rising higher & higher as I gingerly work on an egg only to end up with several small parts of egg in my hands. LOL
My hubby loves hard boiled pickled eggs, so I will make a dozen or more at a time. I am going to try it this way next time. Thanks! Stopping by from Thriving Thursdays!
I will need to try this method. I’ve never boiled the water and then added the eggs. Thanks for sharing with us at The Thankful HomeAcre Hop!
~Ann
Great post. Congrats on being chosen as a featured post on this week’s Wildcrafting Wednesdays! I hope you’ll join us again and share more of your awesome posts.
Pinned this so I can refer to it later. Very helpful hints!
Thanks Nancy. I was peeling our hen’s very fresh eggs just this morning & thinking how good it is to know this secret. (Yes I’ve had maddening episodes in the past where nothing but a mangled egg remained in my hands when trying to peel it, why do you ask?? LOL) Thank goodness I don’t have that frustration anymore!
Thanks for the suggestions! I’ve got some older eggs to use up…but it is good to know that I could boil some fresh eggs too!
Oh wow, they really are peeled perfectly! I am horrible at that. Thanks for the tip! Pinned and shared 🙂 Hope you and Rancher Man have a wonderful Thanksgiving tomorrow!
Thanks for the pin Ashley – and a wonderful Thanksgiving to you & yours as well!
Great idea. If I boil mine and set the in frig overnight, they are easy to peel. Just not always able to have the overnight chill time because I am not always planning ahead 🙂 I will certainly try this method. Thanks for sharing.
I will definitely give this a go the next time I get fresh eggs from my neighbour’s chickens!
Linked over from the weekend blog party at Sincerely, Paula’s blog & am so glad I found your blog!
My brother-in-law loves deviled eggs but I hate when I can’t get the shells off the eggs! Definitely will try this technique next time. Thanks for sharing at the Homestead Blog Hop, hope we see you there again next week.
I’ve certainly been successful using that procedure Nicole. Give it a try.
I don’t have chickens but always plan to by any eggs I plan to make deviled eggs with at least 4-5 days before I need them. If not, the peeling isn’t fun to say the least 🙂 It must be the first step of putting into boiling water because I always use ice water to cool and refrigerate before peeling so I will definitely try this next time !!
Give it a try Charlene – sure works great for us!
Great suggestion to bring the water to a boil before putting eggs in. I haven’t tried that, but now I will!. Found this on Motivation Monday. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you for this tip! One can go crazy trying to peel a fresh egg!!! I am going to try it this week! I also wanted to invite you to our weekly link up sharing homesteading, homeschooling and homemaking posts (The Art of Home-Making Mondays) if you would like to stop by 🙂 It looks like your posts would make a lovely match!
Happy December to you!
Ooohh – thanks for the invite Jes – think I’ll ‘hop’ on over!
This is great, we have heaps of eggs at the moment too and I have preserved some in salt and made heaps of quiches but I love the idea of the breakfast burritos. Thanks for sharing this at good morning mondays. blessings
Those breakfast burritos sure are a quick convenient breakfast on those hurry-hurry-hurry mornings. I love it when we can make our own convenience foods. \
I’ve been using a similar method as the eggs I get from my “egg lady” may be mixed as far as age. I steam them in a double boiler 20 minutes (digital timer), let them set under cold running water 20 minutes, and then peel like you do. Have come out perfect every time…
Gotta love it, John!
Thanks for sharing on the Whats for Dinner link up!
Yup, that egg peeling session where they come off in frustrating chunks. Thanks for the tips!
GRRRRRRR…. Maddening isn’t it Charlotte? Some people steam their eggs instead, some add baking soda or vinegar – there are lots of different ways people try to keep the egg-peeling process from reaching critical frustration. I’ve certainly been pleased with these results.
Saw you on Simply Natural Saturdays! Thank you!! I sooo needed this!!! The struggle is REAL!! LOL
Yes it is LisaLee! I don’t like being that frustrated trying to do a simple task like peeling eggs. Thank you so much for stopping by this morning.