Farm FRESH hard-boiled eggs! Oh yes, you can!

“You can’t make hard-boiled eggs with fresh eggs – they are a mess to peel! You need to use OLD Eggs!”

Um, I beg to differ! And I have had this discussion with a several people recently, hence this post! I don’t ever use OLD eggs and I make a batch or two of hard boiled every week. There is a simple change to your cooking method that helps immensely.  Boil the water first!!

When you put the eggs into your cooking water and allow them to heat with the water, the membrane inside the shell fuses things together.  ‘Old’ eggs have had some desiccation (drying out of the membrane and contents) through pores in the shell, which is why they are less ‘sticky’ when hard boiled. By getting the water to a rolling boil first, and then putting the eggs in, the rapid temperature change “shocks” the shell membrane and you have less fusing or stickiness at peeling time. Although, you may get some shell cracking during cooking with this method because of the temperature shock.

 So, here is my simple method for hard boiled with our very FRESH eggs.

1.      Put 1-2 quarts of water (depending on pan size and to make sure eggs will be covered) in a pan with 1 Tablespoon of salt (just an eyeballed shake from the can) and bring to a rolling boil.

2.      With a spoon, ladle, tongs, or utensil of choice, put 6-12 eggs (so they are 1 layer in the pan with some space in between) in the hot water and boil for about 7-10 minutes depending on desired doneness of the yolks.

3.      Pour off the hot water and run some cold water in the pan for a few minutes – you can use ice water if you want, but I usually just use my cold tap water to keep it easy.

4.      Peel and enjoy or you can store the shelled eggs in the refrigerator for several days. If the egg shells are cracked be sure to use them soon and store in a container.

Some people will use an air fryer, steamer rack, instapot, or a pin prink in the shell, or there are countless other methods out there on the web which I haven’t tried yet – because the above method always works really well for me and I don’t even really think about it anymore.

There are so many ways to eat hard-boiled eggs. I love our hard-boiled fresh eggs with some salt and pepper for a quick, easy, breakfast before morning feeding chores or as afternoon snack for a pick-me-up. In the summer, a chilled egg salad sandwich with a fresh tomato slice is great for lunch on a hot day. And who doesn’t love a good, deviled egg (or two) at a fancy picnic or as a side at a backyard grill out? They are great sliced on salad for added protein with lettuce fresh from the garden and your favorite dressing. Hard-boiled eggs also add richness and nutrients when added to macaroni, potato, or green pea salads. So many possibilities!! All are EGG-cellent !