It is very simple to hard boil fresh eggs so they peel easily. Fresh eggs are notorious for clinging to their shells and leave a ragged mess once shelled. You do not need to leave them in the fridge for a week or two before boiling for easy peeling, just follow the steps below for fresh hard boiled eggs with bright yellow centers and shells that slide right off.
See the bottom of this post for tips on baking eggs in your oven.
See the bottom of this post for tips on baking eggs in your oven.
1.) Place a large pot of water on the stove on high heat to boil.
Hard Boiled Eggs
2.) Open carton of eggs and flip eggs so fat end is up and pointed end is down. Using a clean thumbtack or sewing needle, gently poke 2 small holes in the top of the fat end of each egg, about a half-inch apart. Try to pinch the needle or tack between your fingers (close to the tip) without jabbing yourself and poke through the egg shell just enough to pierce the shell thickness and no deeper.
3.) Once water comes to a boil, place eggs in pot. A colander insert made for the pot is best, place eggs into colander and place colander into pot of boiling water. If you do not have a colander insert, you can use a slotted spoon to gently lower eggs into bottom of pot.
4.) Lower heat to medium and boil softly for 9-10 minutes. Turn off heat and let pot of eggs sit on stove for another 4-5 minutes.
5.) Remove colander from boiling water or use slotted spoon to remove eggs from water. If you used a colander insert, you can rinse the pot with cold water, reinsert the colander and fill with ice water. If not, place eggs into a bowl of ice water. Refrigerate eggs in ice water to stop the cooking process and allow them to cool quicker.
6.) After eggs have cooled (about 10-20 minutes), remove from ice water and place in carton and refrigerate.
Tip: If your bathroom sink drain and pipes can handle it, you can pour the boiling water down your bathroom sink to clear up light clogs or keep it from clogging by clearing out buildup and debris.
Oven Baked Eggs
You can also bake eggs in their shell. Simply place eggs on rack in preheated oven and bake at 325° for about 20 minutes. You can try heating the oven and eggs together. Add about 5-10 minutes more cooking time for this.
Transfer eggs to a bowl of ice water and refrigerate at least 10-20 minutes to cool and stop the cooking process. The whites should come out soft and the yolks will be a bright, light yellow.
This method is prone to problems, however. The egg shells will probably not be attractive when done and often there is a small burn mark on the egg white where the egg shell was touching hot metal. This spot can be sliced off. Use the flat part as the bottom of deviled eggs if possible. Some folks recommend using a muffin tin to contain the eggs and placing insulation between the egg shell and metal (such as cupcake papers or flattened cotton balls) to prevent the burn mark.
Try with a few eggs at a time until you find what works best for your oven. This can be a little more unpredictable than hard boiling but if all goes well, you will have soft and tasty eggs right out of the oven!
Transfer eggs to a bowl of ice water and refrigerate at least 10-20 minutes to cool and stop the cooking process. The whites should come out soft and the yolks will be a bright, light yellow.
This method is prone to problems, however. The egg shells will probably not be attractive when done and often there is a small burn mark on the egg white where the egg shell was touching hot metal. This spot can be sliced off. Use the flat part as the bottom of deviled eggs if possible. Some folks recommend using a muffin tin to contain the eggs and placing insulation between the egg shell and metal (such as cupcake papers or flattened cotton balls) to prevent the burn mark.
Try with a few eggs at a time until you find what works best for your oven. This can be a little more unpredictable than hard boiling but if all goes well, you will have soft and tasty eggs right out of the oven!