Boiling eggs help

[Phins Fan]

Evening all,

So we started getting eggs back about 2 weeks ago. It started with the leghorns and has spread to our silkies and rhode islands. I had about a 2 dozen surplus so figured I would boil them up for hardboiled and deviled eggs. Turns out they don't peel very nicely at all. I will lose 1/2 the whites as they are stuck to the shells. Curious if there is a way to improve this and get a close to normal peeled egg. Thank for any feedback...

 

[pwiker]

We have had the same issue. The only method that seems to have worked so far is to avoid boiling. Use vegetable steamer or whatever you can use to steam the eggs for between 15 and 20 mins. Pull them out and cool them. They tend to peel properly at about a 90% rate.

 

[21hens-incharge]

Exact issue I battled for YEARS. A very frustrating issue to say the least.

What finally worked for us....
Start with warm not hot water, add a lot of salt, bring to a boil, cover and turn off heat and let sit in covered pot of water for 13 minutes. I do not do an ice bath but put in cold water. I change the water a couple times to keep it cool. I remove the shells when they are cool but not cold yet. My lost whites dropped from 99% of my eggs being a mess to 5% ending up ugly.

My neighbor also had this issue with eggs from us. He pokes a hole in the big end then steams them for 13 minutes. He said they are super easy to peel using that method. I think he is using a vegetable steamer for it. He gets a softer yolk then I like so longer should be better.

 

[Zoomie]

If you wait until the eggs are older they will peel easier. Freshly laid eggs are chock full of yolk and white and it's pressing against the shell. With time, water gradually escapes, and the egg is not quite so full.

I usually wait until the eggs are a little over two weeks old, THEN I hard boil. No problems at all.

The idea of steaming is interesting though.

 

[Nupe]

You can easily boil day old eggs without losing whites. Don't refrigerate the eggs and start with boiling water. Gently lower the eggs into the boiling water and boil for 16 minutes, longer depending on how many eggs and how much it cools the water. Immediately drain and run cold water over them. Add ice if you want. The fast cooling is what pulls the egg away from the shell. They should peel just fine.

 

[User395221]

The fast cooling is what pulls the egg away from the shell. They should peel just fine.

I think it varies by chicken. I used to have some australorps and their eggs were "normal" and doing that made peeling easy. Not so with my newer isa browns. The membrane in their eggs seems to be "glued" to the egg.

 

[Nupe]

There may be some variation depending on the chicken's diet but I have Australorps and their fresh eggs boil up just fine. The only trouble I run into is when I give them too many garden leftovers and the thinner part of the white wants to remain a little jelly like.

 

[User395221]

My new chooks and my previous chooks get the same, premium pellets and fresh veges/bugs and stuff they dig up themselves.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Steaming works for me. .. especially when followed by an ice bath

 

[Nupe]

Do you peel under running water? Just a trickle works wonders.