I have soooooo many eggs right now. Literally thirteen dozen in my fridge. And more in the coop. Of course, there will be more in the coop tomorrow and the day after, and the day after.
Which means I’ll be forced to workout this afternoon so I can take my farm fresh eggs to the Y to sell. But, it also means I’ll be pulling out all my tricks for using eggs! We’ll eat them scrambled, as omelets, in quiche, as egg salad, but my family’s favorite is deviled eggs. Which is great. Except that hard boiled eggs can be such a pain!
Thankfully, I’ve learned a few things about the science of eggs. Nearly all of it has been confirmed by the girls at the Y too, so you can be sure these will work!
First, use old eggs. A fresh egg is “full”, making it difficult to separate the cooked egg from the shell, but an old egg has lost water through evaporation. This creates an air pocket at one end of the egg. You can test eggs by setting them in water. If they lie flat, the eggs are fresh with no air pocket. If one end floats up at a diagonal this egg is older and will work great for boiling or baking. If the egg stands perfectly on end, well, you’ve held on to that one too long!!!
Then place the eggs in a pot and cover them with cold water. The water level should be at least one inch above the eggs. Turn the heat on and allow the water to reach a rolling boil, then cover the pot with a lid and turn the heat off. Set a timer for 12-13 minutes.
This is important! When the timer goes off, don’t ignore it! Its okay to finish changing the baby’s diaper and all, but don’t think that no burning = no foul! Cool the eggs quickly in cold water. Once they’ve cooled to the touch lightly crack the entire surface of the egg. Under cold, running water carefully find the film under the shell and peel the egg. Try to find that air pocket and start there.
If you are Martha Stewart or the Pioneer Woman and have a whole kitchen just for your food show, you will have a beautiful, smooth, perfect egg ready for deviling!
If you are a crazed, homeschooling, foster parenting, goat caring, chicken wrangling, blogging mom who didn’t bother to test the eggs and then left them cooking for 45 minutes, you’ll probably end up with something not quiet that perfect.
So that’s where my two best tips for hard boiled eggs come in.
First, let you kids peel the eggs so you can proudly show off your creations as something your adorable offspring accomplished.
And second, cook twice as many as you need and make egg salad with the worst ones.
There ya go. Two tips for cooking hard boiled eggs, from my home to yours. 😉
Daddy's Tractor 
My cousin bakes her fresh eggs, then refrigerates them. (She has dozens, too.) She says it’s the chilling that makes them peelable.
I love the tip about putting the eggs in water to check to see if they are too fresh or not for good hard boiled eggs. I’ve never heard anyone say that before, but I’m definitely going to add that to my bag of tricks. And for the record, I appreciate a real kitchen where people are really busy and just trying to get things done and they don’t always look perfect. That is how life really is at my house, too.
LOL–thanks! I think the internet was made to make us all believe everyone else’s house looks like a Pinterest board!!
Great Post!! I have a love hate relationship with my eggs, Keep up the great posts!! made me smile.
Hey, any chance you’ve tried “preserving” your eggs by coating them with lard or vegetable oil? My mother-in-law says she remembers her mother doing this and storing them in their cool cellar. She claims the eggs will last a year that way, but, well… I’m not in the mood to die. LOL. Have you ever heard of this practice or ever had the guts to try it? My LO and I do a good job of keeping up with the eggs, but every once in awhile we get a serious surplus.
I haven’t tried that! I do know that eggs have their own natural coating and can be refrigerated for six months if you don’t wash them. I’ve never left them that long, but I have left them out on the counter (without washing) for three weeks and they were still fine. I did cook them thoroughly however!!!
Three weeks? That’s amazing! I didn’t know I could even leave them out on the counter! LMBO. I usually run out as soon as Ozma announces there is an egg in the basket (she sings a song for everyone else’s egg, too), because I’m afraid they’ll spoil in the sun. When I bring them in, they just immediately get put in the fridge. You just made my life soooooo much easier. LOL
Three weeks was pushing it a little, but I do 10 days all the time. As long as they are fresh from the hen!!
Yep, they are. All Buff Orphingtonly butt flesh fresh! <<Drives my husband insane when I say that! LOL
Oh where oh where were you 30 yrs ago!?? Oh how I’ve have struggled w/ boiled eggs all my life! It is like the family joke. Love this post!