Nov 15

Nov 15 How to Quickly and Easily Peel Farm-Fresh Eggs

My husband, Chris, recently retired from 20-years in the U.S. Air Force, and we threw a small celebration in his honor. Our neighbors at the winery were kind enough to let us host our friends and family there. We decided that while in the height of chicken processing and military out-processing, it would be ideal if no one had to cook, so we asked our incredibly talented friend and executive chef, Paul, if he could take the pastured broilers we have raised this season and our pastured eggs and make some fried chicken and deviled eggs. Let me tell you - he did not disappoint! I think the deviled eggs were perhaps the best I have ever tasted, and ever since, I have had deviled eggs on the brain!

Finally, last weekend, I decided to try to recreate Paul’s heavenly deviled eggs using more of our farm fresh eggs. We love knowing where our food comes from and that it was raised right here on our herbicide and pesticide-free grass and non-GMO, locally-sourced feed. Eating clean meat and eggs has made a huge improvement in the respiratory issues our son had as an infant.

That being said, if you have ever tried to make hard-boiled eggs with farm-fresh eggs, you know what a nightmare it can be to peel them without taking a large amount of the white with the shell! This is because when they are so fresh, the inner membrane is still intact and attached to the shell. Never fear, I am here to show you how to get a perfectly-peeled egg every time!

Steam fresh eggs for an easy-to-peel hard-boiled egg

Add 1 inch of water to a large pot. Place a steamer insert inside the pot, cover, and bring to a boil over high heat. Add your eggs to the steamer basket, cover, and cook for 12 minutes for hard-boiled eggs (or 6 minutes for soft-boiled eggs).
Carefully remove the eggs from the steamer and place into a bowl of ice water. Allow to cool for 15 minutes before peeling. Gently tap hard-boiled eggs all over to thoroughly crack the shell, then remove the shell under a stream of running water.
Store shell-on cooked eggs in the fridge for up to 5 days and peeled eggs for 1 day.
Alternately, you can allow your fresh eggs to sit on the counter for 5 days or 2 weeks in the fridge before boiling them. As the eggs grow older, the shell’s protective coat slowly wears off, and the shell begins to loosen from the inner membrane.