How to Cook Hard Boil Farm Fresh Eggs

Do you own chickens and have a heaping amount of farm fresh eggs? Do you dream about all the treats you can make with them? Only to hard boil them and the whites stick to the shells and crumble off when you peel them? That’s because there is a trick to hard boil farm fresh eggs…. and I am going to show it to you!

For years, I would grab my fresh eggs from the coop and boil them, just like I would any eggs from the grocery store. Only to wind up frustrated as my egg whites peeled off with the shell and I was left with bits and pieces of whites and a whole yoke.

Not exactly what I was looking for in a deviled egg or even just a hard boiled egg as a snack.

I knew there had to be a better way! Just when I was about to throw in the towel for good on my hard boil farm fresh eggs… I learned this new cooking process.

The steaming method is so simple. Now I get perfect hard boiled eggs every time that peel with ease! It is the only way I will cook my farm fresh eggs from here on out.

Why are farm fresh eggs hard to peel?

Let’s talk about why this happens in the first place. The big question is, why are farm-fresh eggs hard to peel and store-bought eggs not? I just couldn’t figure out what the difference was.

The simple answer is…. farm fresh eggs are just fresher.

The fresher the eggs the harder they are to peel.

Now let’s face it you don’t get much fresher then right from the chickens booty! The reason the fresher the eggs are the harder it is to peel is because the protein in the white bonds to the inner shell’s membrane and not to each other. The inner membrane then becomes almost like cement to the whites and that’s why it is next to impossible to peel.

When your eggs are fresh, the whites have a relatively low pH level, which makes them more acidic so they stick to the cell membrane stronger.

As the egg ages the pH levels will rise, separating it from the shell and making them peel easier. Store-bought eggs are not super fresh, as they have been collected, washed, and then sent to the store waiting to be purchased. The length of time from when they are collected to when someone buys them is longer then straight from the coop. This is why you usually don’t have this problem with store bought eggs but do with farm fresh eggs.

How to hard boil farm fresh eggs:

There are many different methods out there that claim to give you the best results, such as adding baking soda or vinegar to your water and boiling them. While I have not tried either of those methods, I have stuck with steaming my eggs and it has worked perfectly every time!

Instead of submerging your eggs into water and letting your water come to a rolling boil to cook them, the best way to hard boil farm fresh eggs is by steaming them. When I first heard about this method, I was a little skeptical.

I mean what’s the difference if I steam them or boil them.

But there is a difference!

When the steam vapor penetrates the shell, the egg membrane pulls away from the shell. This makes it so you can peel your hard boil eggs every time with ease.

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What you need to steam your eggs:

• pot with a lid
• metal colander or steamer basket
• eggs
• water

How to steam your eggs:

1. Place your colander or steamer basket into your pot. It should fit in nicely without too much of a gap. Make sure your colander or steamer basket it metal and not plastic.
2. Put your eggs into the colander in a single layer. Add water to your pot with just enough water to touch the bottom of your colander. Do not submerge the eggs in the water. Place your lid on your pot.
3. Turn your stove on high heat, and let the eggs steam for 15-20 minutes. I usually do about 18 minutes. Make sure to watch your eggs closely and do not walk away. If your water gets down to about an inch of water before the timer goes off, make sure to add a little more water to the pot so it doesn’t boil out.
4. After the timer goes off, turn your stove off and immediately run your eggs under cold water, some even recommend putting them in an ice water bath. Place in the fridge and wait for the eggs to cool completely down before peeling.
5. Once you have cold eggs you can peel them and watch the shells slide right off.

My favorite way to use up hard boil farm fresh eggs are in macaroni salad, which I share my recipe in my The Ranchers Homestead Cookbook, as deviled eggs, as a snack or in egg salad sandwiches.

How long will hard boil farm fresh eggs last?

While I don’t recommend using this method as a way to preserve eggs, this is a perfect way to use up your eggs when you are getting an abundance. They make the perfect snack and can be used in so many different salads.

I have found that my fresh hard boiled eggs will keep in the refrigerator for at least 3-4 weeks. Although we do go through them rather quickly so they rarely stick around for that long.

Remember when you are hard boiling fresh eggs from the coop, they are at their peak freshness. So their shelf life is already longer then a store bought hard boiled egg.

Make sure to always store your hard boiled eggs in the fridge. After a fresh egg is washed, they no longer have the bloom on the shell and need to be refrigerated. The bloom is a natural protective layer that coats your farm fresh eggs. As long as you don’t wash the bloom off, you are able to keep your eggs on your counter at room temperature for at least 2 weeks.

Once that protective coating is washed off you will need to store in the fridge. When you steam your eggs you remove the bloom.

Raising chickens is so fun. And there is just nothing better then heading out to the coop to gather your breakfast every morning. If you are new to raising chickens, check out my beginners guide to raising chickens.

This method is the perfect way to use up all those eggs sitting on your counter top, especially in the spring when the hens are in full production. By switching from hard boiling to steaming your eggs, you will get perfect easy peel hard boil farm fresh eggs every time!