I love hard-boiled eggs, but they can be very hard to peel, especially if the eggs are very fresh. However, I have discovered the best way to peel eggs - and the secret is to steam them instead of boiling them.

The Best Way to Peel Farm Fresh Eggs

Spend a little time on social media and you'll read advice ranging from letting eggs get old before you cook them, so adding everything from vinegar to baking soda to the water.

But in reality, you don't need to do either of these things. I often cook eggs that were laid a mere hours prior, and they peel perfectly. 

You don't want to let eggs to sit around for a few weeks before cooking them because then you end up with that weird dip in one end where the air has seeped in through the pores in the eggshell. And that doesn't make for pretty eggs. 

In addition to just not tasting as fresh, an old egg won't be the perfect oval shape. And you really want a perfect egg-shape when you're making either hard boiled or deviled eggs.

So I was determined to figure out how to get easy-to-peel farm fresh eggs.

Various Methods for Hard Boiling Eggs

I'm pretty sure I tried every method out there  - with mixed results. 

I tried adding salt to the water, I tried adding vinegar to the water. I tried adding baking soda to the water. Nothing seemed to make much of a difference. 

I tried poking a tiny hole in the eggshell with a pin. That was kind of a pain in the neck and again, didn't seem to help. 

I tried using eggs straight from the fridge, I tried using room temperature eggs. I tried adding the eggs to cold water, and waiting until the water was boiling. And still, my fresh eggs wouldn't peel right.

Then, probably more than a decade ago by now, a friend told me a great tip for hard-boiled eggs. She said she learned it from her grandmother (don't grandmothers always have the best advice!) She told me to STEAM them instead.

• No more boiling. 

• No more hard-to-peel eggs.  

• No more waiting until your fresh eggs are old.

• No more salting the water or adding vinegar or baking soda.

• No more cracked eggs if they knock against each other or against the side of the pot in boiling water.

• More earth-friendly: you use WAY less water!  

• And lastly, no more weird green/gray ring around the yolk

This method of cooking eggs is easy, quick and foolproof. 

How to Steam Farm Fresh Eggs for Easy Peeling

What you Need 

Steamer basket, bamboo steamer, colander, etc.

Pot of water

Pot cover

Tongs

Bowl

Ice cubes

What you Do 

Heat several inches of water to a gentle boil in a large pot. Set a colander, double boiler, vegetable steamer or bamboo steamer on top of the pot. Use whatever you've got. Doesn't matter. As long as the steam will get through.

(I don't have an Instant Pot, but I'm told by lots of you that you can make hard-boiled eggs right in your Instant Pot and they'll peel well for you. I can't personally vouch for this, but if you have an Instant Pot, it's worth a try!)

Rinse your eggs in warm water (you can use eggs you just collected that morning, if you want, trust me!) and place them in a single layer in the top of the steamer.  Place a cover over the pot.

Then cook your eggs. How long will depend on how runny you like your yolks.

• Set your timer for 6 minutes for jammy eggs.

• Set your timer for  8 - 10 minutes for soft set eggs.

• Set your timer for 12-14 minutes for hard cooked eggs.

• Extra large or duck eggs, steam for 20 minutes. 

Then using the tongs, gently set the eggs into a bowl of ice water until they are cool enough to peel.

How to Peel Hard-Boiled Fresh Eggs

Gently roll each egg on the counter to break the shell and then crack the blunt end of the egg and start to peel the egg at that end. 

If there is any air sac inside the egg, that's where it will be, so it will make it easiest to start peeling there. Carefully remove the shell from each egg.

Perfectly peeled eggs - every time. 

What's that Green Gray Ring around the Egg Yolk?

And as an added bonus, you won't get that gray-green ring around the egg yolk that sometimes forms.  That ring is a chemical reaction that is the result of cooking the eggs for too long or cooling too slowly. 

As the egg cooks, the sulfur in the egg starts to break down and turn into hydrogen sulphide. This compound reacts to the iron that occurs naturally in eggs to form iron sulphide. 

And that's the greenish gray ring. While it's perfectly safe to eat, it's not aesthetically pleasing, of course, so avoiding that is an added bonus.

And  you'll get perfectly peeled eggs - every single time.  The shells will practically fall off!

So dust off that bamboo steamer, or veggie steamer basket. Or just use a colander if that's all you have.

And scroll down for my favorite egg salad and deviled egg recipes!

  

Try steaming your eggs. I promise you once you try it, you will never boil eggs again.

What you Need: