Hard to Peel Hard Boiled Eggs

If you've ever tried to boil your farm fresh chicken eggs
and been disappointed about the results,
here's some helpful tips to make
those hard to peel fresh eggs
a LOT easier...

Why Are Some Eggs Hard to Peel?

Have you ever noticed that eggs from the store are almost always easier to peel than fresh laid eggs from your backyard? This is because the store bought eggs are older. As a matter of fact, that date on the side of the carton of eggs is a 30 DAY expiration from the time they're packaged. The older the egg, the easier it is to peel.

 

But why? When an egg is laid, it has a tiny air bubble inside. That air bubble grows as the egg ages, causing the eggs contents to seperate from it's shell. The size of the air bubble inside the egg determines the age of the egg. For instance, a AA grade egg requires that the air bubble be less than 1/8 of an inch, where as a B grade egg has no limit to the size the air bubble can be.

The larger the air bubble, the older the egg and the easier it is to peel.

How To Boil a Fresh Egg: Method One

All is not lost, however, if you'd like to boil your own fresh eggs. There are two different ways to do this. First, you can set aside the eggs you'd like to boil for at least three weeks. By doing this, you allow the air bubble inside to grow so that when you boil the eggs, they'll be eaiser to peel.

How to Boil a Fresh Egg: Method Two

But if you don't want to wait that long, here's another method to help you peel those fresh eggs:

First, add your eggs to a pot of water and bring to a boil. Remove pot from heat and allow to sit for 15-17 minutes (keeping the eggs in the hot water).

Next, remove the eggs from the water (but don't dump the water, you'll need it again) and place in a large bowl of ice. Leave in ice for 5 minutes.

Bring the pot of hot water back to a boil. Once boiling, transfer the eggs from the ice, back into the boiling water. (Boil no more than 6 at a time). Boil for 10 seconds.

Return the eggs to the bowl of ice water. Keep them there until they're fully cooled.

How to Boil a Fresh Egg: Method Three

This final method is much like the 2nd one, but with fewer steps. You'll have to experiment to see which one works the best for you.

A key to this final method is boiling the eggs quickly. Slow cooking eggs are harder to peel by nature. Also, add salt to the water you're using to boil the eggs. After boiling eggs, place in ice water to cool.

Regardless of which method you use, you're likely to end up with much easier to peel hard boiled eggs.