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How to Boil Fresh Eggs That Peel Easily (no instant pot!)

July 7, 2022 by Autumn 8 Comments

Have you ever tried to boil and peel farm fresh eggs, only to have half of the egg whites come away with the shell? It’s terribly frustrating! So let me show you how to boil fresh eggs that peel easily (no instant pot required)!

Four freshly peeled hard boiled eggs sitting on a wooden cutting board

Whether you keep your own laying hens or buy fresh eggs from a local farmer, you’ve probably noticed that really fresh eggs don’t peel well.

Not only is the process slow and tedious, but it feels wasteful. Parts of the egg white always come away with the shell. And instead of having a smoothly peeled egg, you have a lumpy egg that’s lost half it’s egg white!

For the longest time, I didn’t know how to deal with this dilemma. I knew from online research that some home cooks have had excellent results processing fresh eggs in their instant pots on the steam mode.

But here’s the problem: I’m not a gadget girl and don’t have an instant pot. And I felt stuck until I recently realized it wasn’t necessarily the instant pot that gave people success but rather, the steaming process.

And you can certainly steam eggs on the stove top without an instant pot!

Things You’ll Need

If you’re a home cook, you already have everything you need to steam boiled eggs! And for this exact tutorial, you’ll need the following items.

  • 1 dozen fresh eggs
  • stockpot with a lid
  • water for the bottom of your stockpot
  • a timer

How to steam boiled eggs without an instant pot

Are you ready to learn how to steam eggs without an instant pot? Here’s how it works!

  1. Choose a stockpot large enough to hold 1 dozen eggs (stacking eggs is ok).
  2. Gently place 12 eggs in the bottom of your pot.
  3. Add about 1/2 inch of water.
  4. Place stockpot on the stove top and cover with a lid.
  5. Bring the water to a rolling boil.
  6. Lower heat to a gentle simmer and set your timer according to egg size (see below).
    1. Small pullet eggs need about 12 minutes.
    2. Large eggs need approximately 14 minutes.
  7. Once your timer goes, pour off hot water.
  8. Run cold water over your eggs to cool, then let them sit in cold water for 10-15 minutes.
  9. You can refrigerate immediately or (if they’re cool), gently peel.
A dozen fresh hard boiled eggs in a stainless steel pot

How to Peel Fresh Hard Boiled Eggs

Here are a few tips that will help you along when it comes to peeling your fresh hard boiled (or in this case, steamed) eggs!

Don’t cut the steaming time short! Soft egg whites never separate from the shell as well as firmly cooked whites.

Do ensure the egg is chilled before you start peeling off the shell!

Don’t smack the eggs on the counter a few timers before trying to peel.

Do rolled the egg around to thoroughly mash and break up the firm shell. It’ll come off much, much better!

The boiled eggs with mashed shells sitting on a cutting board next to a stainless steel pot of eggs

And just let me say? If you’re dealing with truly fresh eggs, you may still may lose egg white here and there. But most of them should peel smoothly.

This is one of the best ways to deal with farm fresh boiled eggs.

So now you know. Now you know how to boil fresh eggs that peel easily. And without an instant pot!

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Learn how to prepare fresh eggs so they easily peel

Best Recipes for Farm Fresh Eggs

You can use your farm fresh boiled eggs in many different, tasty recipes! Here are some ideas for you to try.

Fresh Deviled Eggs

Homemade Egg Salad Sandwich

Fermented Boiled Eggs

Potato Salad

Protein Green Salad

Scotch Breakfast Eggs

A dozen fresh hard boiled eggs in a stainless steel pot
Print
5 from 3 votes

Fresh Easy-to-Peel Hard Boiled Eggs

Learn how to steam fresh eggs in a stockpot so that fresh egg white doesn't stick to the peel!
Prep Time5 mins
Active Time14 mins
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Keyword: easy peel hard boiled egg, fresh hard boiled egg, steamed boiled egg

Equipment

  • 1 dozen fresh eggs
  • 1 stockpot with a lid

Materials

  • 12 fresh eggs
  • 1/2 inch water in bottom of stockpot

Instructions

  • Find a stockpot that is large enough to hold 12 eggs.
  • Gently set your farm fresh eggs in the pot, stacking if needed.
  • Add a bit of water, until you have about 1/2 inch in the bottom of the pot
  • Place on stove top and turn heat to high.
  • Put the lid on your pot and bring water to a rolling boil.
  • Lower heat to a gentle simmer.
  • Set your timer according to egg size.
  • Small pullet eggs need about 12 minutes.
  • Large chicken eggs need approximately 14 minutes.
  • Steam until your timer goes.
  • Pour off hot water and immediately run cold water over your eggs to rapidly bring down the temperature.
  • Once eggs are just warm, let them sit in cold water for 10-15 minutes.
  • When they are no longer warm to the touch, you can refrigerate or gently peel.
  • To peel, thoroughly crush the egg's shell before attempting to remove it.
  • Use as you would any hard boiled egg.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Paula says

    August 10, 2022 at 9:38 am

    5 stars
    Wow! I can’t believe this worked so well! I’ll bet my great-great grandmother knew this, but the information just didn’t get passed down. Especially in the 80s when food “experts” said the cholesterol in eggs was bad for us. I now have five dozen pickled eggs in my fridge, and one dozen fermenting on my counter. Thank you so much Autumn!

    Reply
    • Autumn says

      August 10, 2022 at 1:23 pm

      Glad to pass the information along! πŸ™‚ Enjoy!

      Reply
  2. Tessa says

    July 20, 2022 at 10:52 am

    5 stars
    Great tips! It’s really simple if you just follow the steps, right?

    Reply
    • Autumn says

      July 20, 2022 at 11:15 am

      Absolutely! πŸ™‚ Its nice to have fresh hard boiled eggs that peel nicely!

      Reply
  3. Danny says

    July 11, 2022 at 11:41 am

    5 stars
    Excellent! Thank you so much for sharing this method.

    Reply
    • Autumn says

      July 14, 2022 at 7:40 am

      Glad it could be of help! πŸ™‚

      Reply
  4. Sarah says

    July 11, 2022 at 8:37 am

    I always had this dilemma too πŸ˜…πŸ™ˆ
    I now tap the bottom of the egg on the counter and use a teaspoon to slip between the egg white and the shell and it works beautifully and very quickly.

    I love hearing the different ideas people have for this common problem πŸ˜ƒ

    Reply
    • Autumn says

      July 14, 2022 at 7:40 am

      Great idea! I’ve broke boiled eggs in half before and removed each half with a spoon, but sometimes I need eggs in whole form for recipes. I just never thought about going in from the large end! Thanks for the tip!

      Reply

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