Hard-boiled

[CT11]

Hi All

Not sure which forum to post in, but I’d like to ask your experience with hard boiling your eggs. Specifically, the peeling of said eggs.

If I boil my girls’ eggs the same way I boil a store bought egg, they peel totally differently. My eggs are a disaster and usually lose most of the top layer of white. Store bought peel perfectly.

So what gives? Why do they peel so poorly. Anyone else have this experience?

 

[HeatherKellyB]

How fresh are the eggs from your flock?

 

[HeatherKellyB]

I've read about many folks saying that it's better to use eggs that aren't "just laid". I usually boil eggs that are maybe a week old, sometimes just a few days after being laid and haven't had problems yet. The eggs purchased from the market are usually not very fresh.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Older eggs (such as eggs from the store) have bigger air cells and the whites have started pulling away from the inner membrane, so they're easier to peel. I deliberately set eggs aside to "age" for at least 2 weeks before I hard boil them.

Steaming has also been recommended on here as a way to boil very fresh eggs and make them easy to peel, though I haven't tried it myself.

 

[Cindy in PA]

If you steam them, they will peel! Even fresh eggs peel pretty good when steamed. I tries all different things over the years, but steaming finally worked. Older eggs are always peel better, but fresh eggs will peel with this method.

 

[RoseHawke]

Definitely age. Save your freshest eggs for frying, the yolks stand up nicely and the whites run minimally with those, and as has been mentioned at least two weeks for hard boiling. Shoot, I even leave the store bought eggs for a couple weeks before attempting hard boiling them. The frustration just isn't worth it.

 

[Krazikatlady64]

When you peel them, don't "crack" them. Roll them on the counter or table top. Press lightly to crack the shell and roll it between your hand and the counter all the way around. Works on all eggs for me. I cook mine in the pressure cooker.

 

[Sally PB]

I cook mine in the pressure cooker.

Instant Pot? How long?

(Dreaming of the day when the girls will lay again...)

 

[Krazikatlady64]

Instant Pot? How long?

(Dreaming of the day when the girls will lay again...)

Sorry, Instant Pot is the same as a pressure cooker. Mine has an egg setting 6 minutes. I have not timed how long it takes to get to pressure, then the 6 minute cook. Then natural release for 5 minutes. Then release it all. Ususally by that time there is nothing left really to release. Open and plunge into the cold water. I let them sit for 30 minutes if I can. Ice and cold water in a big bowl.