Easy-Peel Hard-Boiled Eggs – Two Ways

One of the frustrating things about farm-fresh eggs is that, once hard-boiled, they’re so darned tough to peel!  In fact, the fresher your eggs in general, the more the shell will stick to the egg white, making peeling hard-boiled eggs cleanly a chore if not completely futile. Well, steaming to the rescue! Over the years, I’ve refined these two awesome steaming methods for making perfect hard-boiled eggs that are easy to peel even when they’re straight from the hen!

The first method is to steam the eggs on the stove-top. Steamer inserts and racks can be made of perforated metal (similar to a colander), wire, or bamboo. It’s common for sets of pots and pans to include a perforated metal steamer insert that fits perfectly into the same pot that might be used as a double boiler or into the stockpot. Woks also typically come with a wire steamer rack.  Bamboo steamers typically sit on a wire rack inside a wok.

The second method is to cook the eggs in an Instant Pot with a steamer basket or trivet.  If you haven’t yet figured out how amazingly versatile and useful the Intant Pot is, here’s yet another check mark in the “necessary kitchen gadget” column.  This method takes more time overall because you have to wait for the Instant Pot to pressurize, but it’s also a set-it-and-forget-it method that’s hard to beat!

Which ever method you choose, the secret to perfect hard-boiled eggs (and avoiding that overcooked green-tinged yolk) is to stop the eggs from continuing to cook once they’re done by immersing them into a bowl or sink full of ice water or by running cold water from the tap over them for a few minutes.  At this point, you can gently crack the shell if desired which makes the eggs even easier to peel, but also decreases their shelf life. If you crack the shell, eat the hard-boiled eggs within 3 days, but if you leave them intact, they’ll keep in your fridge for a week.